The Abolition Of The Death Penalty

The death penalty is procedure conducted by the government by which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime. The crimes that can sometimes carry the death sentence in places like the US are war crimes, treason, murder, crimes against humanity, espionage and genocide. 103 countries as of today have fully removed the death penalty except for special crimes e.g. War crimes. Although this is a step in the right direction (for most people) 56 countries are known to perform the death penalty.

Nations can do without the death penalty for heinous crimes committed. The actions of taking a person’s life due to their crimes casts a significant burden upon the person responsible for the convict to meet their maker. Applying the death penalty to someone that stole innocent lives is not justified, one death does not bring back the lives of those already lost. “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”

In almost every society, there are crimes and violations of human rights. To deal with these things, there are laws that prescribe the prevention of their occurrences. However, if the law is broken, commensurate punishment is put on the violator. Depending on the seriousness of the crime, the punishment may be light such as imprisonment for up to one year with corresponding fines, or it could also be severe as death penalty.

As of 2008, fifty-eight, about one-third of the world’s countries, favor the death penalty, including the United States (Death Penalty Information Center). Currently, thirty-five out of the fifty states, including California, Florida, Arizona, Kentucky, Texas and even Washington, have legalized capital punishment (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). As of January 1st, 2010, 3291 inmates were awaiting their punishment on death row (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). California holds most of them, with 697, followed by Florida with 398 (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). The 2009 FBI Uniform Crime Report showed and stated the South has the highest murder rate of all areas of the country and is therefore directly related to being responsible for over 80% of all executions. Also, consistent with previous reports, the Northeast has the lowest homicide rate of the nation and is only responsible with a small 1% of execution (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). Now, in regards to Canada, the death penalty is a sentencing that the country does not justify. However, it has not always been this way. It wasn’t until 1976 that the death penalty was removed from the Canadian Criminal Act, where it was then replaced with the mandatory life sentencing without the chance of parole for the first twenty-five years. This was true for all first-degree murders (Munroe, 2010). Following that date, in 1998 capital punishment was removed from the

Capital punishment, also frequently referred to as the death penalty, is a government certified practice where a person is put to death by the state as a form of punishment for a crime they have committed (Henderson, 25). Crimes that are found punishable by death are referred to as capital crimes or capital offences, and commonly include offences such as murder, treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (Henderson, 48-9). The term capital is derived from the Latin term capitalis meaning "of the head" which alludes to executions that were carried out by beheading (Kronenwetter, 202). This paper will discuss the complexities of capital punishment’s history and methods as well as its economic, political, and

The death penalty also known as capital punishment “is a government sanctioned punishment whereby a person is put to death for a crime.” (Kronenwetter 2001) The death penalty has been and continues to be a topic of debate in Canada and America. In Canada it was formally abolished but in America the death penalty still stands in some states. First degree murder, treason, and espionage are some of the crimes punishable by death in the U.S. Many believe that capital punishment should be reinstated in Canada and others are against it. Although there is controversy about bringing capital punishment back the House of Commons will not allow it. This essay will examine this topic by examining the arguments in favour of the death penalty

“The total number of death penalties between 1867 and 1971 is 1481. The total number of executions is 710, 697 men and 13 women” (February 10, 1956). So many men and women died, some innocent, some guilty. However no crime is big or bad enough that it should take someone’s life away. Who are they to judge whether or not we should keep our lives, they were not the ones who gave it to us. And in the situation that they do kill an innocent person, they should die as well for murder, like the law states. Finally we do not have to live like this, “The argument against the death penalty eventually won Canadians over and the practice was abolished in 1976. Sadly this was after Wilbert Coffin” (February 10, 1956). After 104 years of executions and wrongfully committed victims who lost their lives for a crime they never committed, finally the eyes of society have been opened and people realized this practice was

In conclusion not only is the death penalty a cruel and unlawful punishment, but when the right to live freely is denied it is also a violation of basic human rights. There are around 140 countries that have abolished the death penalty, with still no international law forbidding the use of it. Nevertheless, Canada has spent around 15-20 billion on the Criminal Justice system in hopes that it will help solve crime. In the end, most Canadians would agree that bringing back the death penalty is a dishonest punishment, with permanent results and in no way promises that it will help decrease the crime rate and keep Canadians safe.

Crimes of murder, treason, and rape carried the death penalty. In 1961, murder was categorized by either capital or non-capital offenses. Premeditated murder in Canada was considered capital murder and if someone committed murder against a police officer, guard, or warden while on duty it would be classified as a capital offense which carried a mandatory sentence of hanging. In 1966, Capital punishment was limited to the killing of on duty police officers and prison guards. Capital punishment was abolished in 1976 and replaced with a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years for all first-degree murders.

Capital punishment is the most extreme form of punishment which can be given to an individual in Canadian society. Its controversial nature threatens the very fabric of the Fundamental Human Rights. It has existed in Canada since its earliest history and was first implemented by the French and English settlers. The death penalty lasted a total of 109 years in Canada, from 1867 to its abolishment on July 14, 1976. Since then, more than 100 countries across the globe have abolished it because of its lack of effectiveness and need. The death penalty has been seen as the staple punishment for all heinous crimes committed, although there is little need for it as the negatives outweigh the positives. The idea of capital punishment is in direct violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Also, the presence of the death penalty did little to deter crime in Canada. Through the application of the death penalty, there were numerous flaws which made it an inefficient method. This essay will explain why capital punishment is not needed and why it should remain abolished in Canada.

Though Canada abolished death penalty for almost 30 years, there are many public opinion still supporting restore capital punishment today.Whether capital punishment will restore is a disputed issue. People who in flavour of capital punishment are mostly believed that it can decline criminals, and also make people fear capital punishment. People who supporting

1) What is Capital Punishment and what was its history in Canada? Capital Punishment, also called the death penalty, is the execution of an offender sentenced to death as a punishment for a crime. In 1865, "crimes of murder, treason, and rape carried the death penalty in upper and lower Canada" (1, Susan Munroe) . Furthermore, in 1961, murder was classified into Capital and Non-Capital offenses. Capital murder offenses in Canada were intended murder and murder of a police officer, guard or warden in the course of duty and "had a mandatory sentence of hanging" ( 1, Susan Munroe). To add on, in 1962, the last executions took place in Canada. Arthur Lucas, convicted of the intended

However, three genocides took place throughout the world and nothing was done to prevent it, making Lemkin a failure. That being said, Karadžić’s trial was a great triumph for the United Nations and was “likened to the Nuremberg trials of former Nazi leaders.” Many decades have passed since the world agreed to Lemkin’s idea to stop this atrocious crime. Radovan Karadžić’s trial caused a turning point for the world because genocide was finally being punished. It may have reminded the world of the forgotten promise they made back in 1948. Karadžić’s trial proved that the world would punish this evil crime, thus upholding the protection of human rights. In addition, this ultimately “marked the first ever genocide conviction in Europe” and fulfilled Lemkin’s life-long goal. If another sinister deed is executed that involves the mass-extermination of a group of people, there is hope that the United Nations will carry out Lemkin’s dream of preventing it and bringing those responsible—like Karadžić—to

After the French regime, the only one way for capital punishment to civilians was hanging in Canada. The last time of using capital punishment in Canada was in 1962 for Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin by double hanging at Toronto’s Don Jail.But in face fact, Canada abolished death penalty in 1963 and it was enacted on law in 1976 by Bill C-64 besides military commits.In 1998, Canada ultimately eliminated death for the military commits( Capital punishment,

Criminal law is imposed by almost every nation in the world to reduce crime rate and maintain law and order of the society. An individual who found guilty of a crime will have to face corresponding punishments. Among all penalties, capital punishment is considered to be the most severe and cruelest one which takes away criminal’s most valuable right in the world, that is, right to live. It is a heated debate for centuries whether capital punishment should be completely abolished world widely. The world seems to have mixed opinion regarding this issue. According to Amnesty International (2010), currently, 97 countries in the world have already abolished capital punishment while only 58 nations still actively adopt death penalty.