INDEX 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………..4 2. Procedure when Death Penalty is Imposed………………………..6 3. Constitutional Validity of Death Penalty……………………………7 4. Evolving Parameters for Imposition of Death Penalty………..9 5. Similar Crimes, Different Punishment………………………………11 6. Sentencing Policy……………………………………………………………14 7. National Crime Record Bureau………………………………………..18-20 8. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………..21
INTRODUCTION
The Death Sentence is the harshest of punishments provided in the IPC, which involves the judicial killing or taking the life of the accused as a form of punishment. The question of whether the state has a right to take the life of a person, howsoever gruesome the offence he may have
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The statutory provisions do not provide an guidelines as to when the judges should impose capital punishment in preference to imprisonment for life, or to award lesser sentence of life imprisonment. A wide judicial discretion in opting for either of the punishments is vested with the judiciary. When the court decides that death penalty is appropriate sentence to be imposed in the light of the circumstances of the case, the nature of the offence committed and the absence of mitigating factors, then the court under the provisions of s 354 of the CrPC has to give ‘special reasons’ as to why it came to this conclusion.
The above provision was brought into the CrPC necessitating the court to give ‘special reasons’ for awarding death penalty. This was in contrast with the earlier provisions which made death penalty the rule, in case the court came to the conclusion of guilt of murder against the accused, and the requirement that the court was required to give special reasons only when awarding life sentence. Thus, the amendment in 1973, in form of the present provision, makes it mandatory for the court sentencing to death to record special reasons. Thus under the existing law, life imprisonment is made the normal sentence for murder and death sentence is allowed to be passed only in exceptional cases.
There is yet another procedural safeguard provided in the context
Capital punishment has been a controversial issue that still exists in America today. Capital punishment is a law passed by the government to punish any individual that has been convicted of committed a heinous crime. The death penalty has been a method used throughout history as punishment for criminals. The punishment also known as the death penalty is a scheduled execution, which would be done with lethal injection. The reason why this punishment is chosen is because when crimes are committed that shock the conscience, the immediate emotional reaction is to retaliate with severe punishment (Schnurbush 2016). The death penalty is debated when it is brought up, opinions vary from one group of people to another, one side says the execution is murder, and the other saying that it is justice being done. Each side presents valid arguments to why people should be for it or against it; people’s opinions are formed by personal beliefs.
The legitimacy of the use of capital punishment has been tarnished by its widespread misuse , which has clouded our judgment regarding the justifiability of the death penalty as a punitive measure. However, the problems with capital punishment, such as the “potential error, irreversibility, arbitrariness and racial skew" , are not a basis for its abolition, as the world of homicide suffer from these problems more acutely. To tackle this question, one must disregard the currently blemished universal status quo and purely assess the advantages and disadvantages of the death penalty as a punitive measure. Through unprejudiced examination of the death penalty and its consequential impacts, it is evident that it is a punishment that effectively serves its retributive, denunciatory, deterrent, and incapacitative goals.
Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, is a controversial subject which has been argued for decades due to the ethical decisions involved. People believe the death penalty is the right thing to do and that it is the perfect example of ‘justice’ while others believe that it is immoral and overly expensive. The death penalty is not a logical sentence for criminals, it doesn’t give them the right type of justice and it is immoral.
The debate on whether or not the death penalty should be abolished has been ongoing for quite a long period of time. While there are those who believe that the death penalty does not serve its intended purpose, proponents of the same are convinced that the relevance of the same cannot be overstated and hence it should not be abolished. In this text, I examine the arguments for and against the death penalty.
Death penalty is a constant source of controversy and divided opinion depending on who you ask. The punishment of death is given to criminals who commit severe crimes. The severity of crimes that attract the death penalty is debatable due to the severity of the crime. The justice system is based upon punishment for crimes committed by emphasizing the punishment fitting the crime committed. Countries such as China and Singapore, and United States, issue the death penalty to punish murderers or rapist, therefore fueling the already going debate on how to befit the punishment is in such cases. All the death penalty aims to achieve is the punishment to those who break the rules. The death penalty has well documented weaknesses as well as strengths. Not least of is brutality and finality, some of these frailties lead to the calls for its abolishment. The death penalty is inhumane. Wrongly applied as well as completely unjustifiable sometimes killing innocent people irrespective of the crime. Life sentence of imprisonment without parole or pardon achieves all that the death penalty seeks to achieve without costing the society its moral standing and families losing those they love.
Another type of custodial sentence is a mandatory life sentence which is the only sentence a judge has to impose for murder and is allowed to state the minimum length of sentence for the offender before is eligible to be released on license. This minimum is governed by Criminal Justice Act 2003 s 269 Shed 21 and it is giving to the judge the starting point for minimum length to be ordered to the offender, ranged from life sentence down up to 12 years, e.g. for child murder, sexual or sadistic murder the offender can serve 30 years imprisonment. The aim of retribution, incapacitation and general deterrence can be used to support this type of sentencing.
Correspondingly, in the published book “Deterrence and the Death Penalty”, the committee on deterrence and the death penalty presents research organized on the effects of homicide rates due to the death penalty. The author's research specifies that capital punishment neither increases, deters or has any effect on the numeral rates of homicide. This is important due to the fact that even 30 years
Death penalty is a just punishment for crimes committed against the rights of life, freedom and safety of victims. Some people are of the opinion that death should be only being justified with death; this gives the idea that the perpetrator of a crime should be
My topic is discussing the ethical issue of the act of capital punishment on prisoners who have committed serious crimes. According to www.amnesty.org there are hidden executions that are taking place across the world. These countries include South and North Korea as well as America. In 2001 there were 3,048 reported cases in 31 countries. 90% of the deaths occurred in four countries. China carried out 2,468 executions. Iran killed 139 people, Saudi Arabia 79 and the United States had 66. Furthermore Japan does in fact have the highest rate of capital punishment. Also in America there is 8 states which use the death penalty as a punishment on prisoners. The state with the highest death rate is Virginia which uses the lethal injection as its preferred method. The reason capital punishment is an ethical issue is the moral decision on whether killing a human is right or wrong. Even though that prisoner has committed serious crimes and has sacrificed the lives of others, it would be morally wrong to kill another person. “We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing”- U.S Catholic Conference. The reason that I chose this particular question was because I was particularly interested on the topic of how prisoners are treated on death row. This is because of the crimes they have committed and I am intrigued on whether they are treated differently.
In the modern world, abhorrent crimes result in major effects such as deaths and injuries. Examples include terrorism where there are multiple casualties. The law, while developing punishment for the offenders, presents the verdict to the individual in different ways such as jail sentence. However, in crimes involving serious impacts, capital punishment is considered a major verdict which is described as the practice of killing an offender as a result of their crimes. This punishment, also referred as death penalty, is inflicted upon following judicial procedure. The foundation for passing this verdict can be explained through the classical criminology which in the modern version is referred as rational choice theory (RCT). Notably, the foundation for inflicting death penalty judgment is according to the assumptions and arguments of RCT.
In the cases of capital punishment killing can be justified. According to the article, When Murder Is Punished with Death, fewer criminals will murder, “The deterrent power of punishment is axiomatic, criminal law would be meaningless without it” (Jacoby). In
The Death Penalty Discussion In today’s world terrible crimes are being committed daily. Many people believe that these criminals deserve one fate; death. Death penalty is the maximum sentence used in punishing people who kill another human being and is a very controversial method of punishment. Capital punishment is a legal infliction of death penalty and since ancient times it has bee used to punish a large variety of offences.
According to the statistics of Information center of death penalty, the death penalty is legal and supported by thirty three states and it is banned or abandoned in seventeen states. Rationally this division should be removed, and everyone should stand on a single forum to raise voice against the death penalty. There are solid and logical reasons behind setting the capital punishment like death penalty or life sentencing against severe nature of crime like murder or rape by the legal system of any country. When somebody does a crime like murder, he/she should also be convicted with the penalty like death in order to set a strong example for other criminals so that they do not dare to repeat the crime. Both articles are
Death penalty is an ancient punishment since time immemorial. It has been used as a way of resolving blood feds and it is more of a thing of the past. The modern contemporary society must adapt a more human procedure to punish those accused of doing wrong. However, it is important to note that there are a minimum number of offenses that an
Capital punishment is beneficial to the community. It provides the society with a sense of security. The death penalty contains a positive influence on the future. A heavily debated topic is, “Does capital punishment deter people more than a life sentence to prison?” An explanation on why will be covered later. An issues many people have with capital punishment, is when it is just or not just. This is a topic many stray away from, because it is difficult to decide. Finding the right consequence for an action is difficult. While this paper is for the use of capital punishment, it is clearly not needed for every crime, or even every murder. Overusing capital punishment, such as using it for every murder, will negatively impact the country, and not using it has the same effect.