JCM: Reality and injurious effects of death penalty

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Reality and injurious effects of death penalty

Capital punishment is not effective crime prevention, it may result in the loss of innocent lives, it is morally wrong, and there are other more humane alternatives can be formulated other than this.

Studies posted by the Death Penalty Information Center confirm that in 2001, the murder rates in states without employing capital punishment were thirty-seven percent lower than the murder rates in those states with capital punishment. Researchers also discovered that Southern states, which are responsible for eighty percent of the executions in the United States has been pointed as a determinant of higher murder rates in the country

Capital punishment is not a solution; it is a burden on society and does more harm than good. The countries that have abolished capital punishment have substantially lower crime rates. The murder rate in the United States is three times higher than in countries such as France, Italy, and Sweden who are not advocating death penalty as a form of punishment.

The death penalty puts innocent lives at stake. It is widely recognized that justice system is not perfect. There are times when people are wrongly accused of crimes or they are not granted fair trials especially when the people involved are alien in a particular country. Whether we like it or not, there is still corruption, inaccuracy, bias and discrimination in justice system causing faulty cases to slip through these cracks. Families of innocent people suffer for the inadequacy of the death penalty. Capital punishment creates a large risk to innocent people and their families.

Helen Prejean, author of "Executions are too costly - Morally," says, the government has no right to put conditions on human life. Life and death occur at a natural pace, and it is wrong for the government to interfere. She says that allowing the government to kill citizens compromises the deepest moral values upon which the country was conceived: the inviolable dignity of human persons. Taking another human life is committing murder and capital punishment is premeditated murder, making no one better than the murderers and common criminals who fill the prison walls.

The death penalty sends a confusing and contradictory message. It endeavors to prevent criminals from murder and violent crimes by ending the lives of the convicted, which is highly contradictory and inconsistent as it implies message like "Don't kill or we will kill you." It only reinforces violent behavior than correct it, which serves no purpose but to retaliate victims and their families. Society is sanctioning retaliation by death penalty. Capital punishment is not a correctional tool but a state-sanctioned retaliation.

Capital punishment is not essential because there are other alternatives. First of all, tougher sentencing would help discourage offenders from committing crimes. Longer jail time or life sentences for felons and first-time offenders would keep them from entering society until they are able to rehabilitate, and prevent violent offenders from committing additional crimes to the society.

Although money can never replace a loved one or completely heal the damage even with the provision of monetary penalty aside from imprisonment, the absence of death penalty could help families reconstruct the lives of the prisoners. There are more constructive alternatives to the death penalty.

Murderers and violent offenders deserve punishments for crimes committed, while victims and their families deserve justice. However, the death penalty is not a perfect solution. As a nation, everybody is responsible for preserving justice. Throwing lives away in a practice that is flawed occur because of government and politicians that are too busy in corruption while indolent in seek other alternatives that are just.

Statistics below provide the status of executions and death sentence around the world:[1]

Statistics of Confirmed Executions Around the World
COUNTRIES	YEARLY NUMBER OF EXECUTIONS Note: (+) Positive sign affixed opposite the figures indicates minimal estimate										TOTAL (Approx)
COUNTRIES	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	TOTAL (Approx)
China	1,000s	1,000s	1,000s	1,000s	1,000s	1,000s	1,718	470	1,010	1,770	10,968
Iran	289+	369+	314+	360+	252+	388+	346	317	177	94	2,906
Saudi Arabia	90+	79+	79+	82+	27+	69+	102	143		86	757
Iraq	61+	169+	129+	68+		120+	34		65		646
United States	35	39	43	43	46	52	37	42	53	60	450
Sudan	23+								65		88
Somalia		34									34
Yemen			28+	41+	53+					24	146
North Korea					60+						60
Pakistan							36	135	82	31	284
Vietnam										21	21
Jordan										11	11
Mongolia										8	8
TOTAL(Approx)	1,498	1,690	1,593	1,594	1,438	1,629	2273	1,107	1,452	2,105	16,379

In 2014, the same as in 2013, at least 22 countries were identified to have carried out judicial executions. At least 607 executions were carried out in 2014. This figure does not include the thousands of executions that were believed to be carried out in China. Starting 2009, Amnesty International stopped publishing minimum figures for the use of the death penalty in China, where such statistics are considered to be state secrets. At least 2,466 people are known to have been sentenced to death in 2014, an increase of 28% versus 2013 statistics. The increase was brought by large numbers of death sentences in Egypt and Nigeria, where mass sentences were imposed in single cases with large numbers of defendants.

Come 2013, at least 22 countries were known to have carried out judicial executions, with 778 executions. This figure does not include the thousands of executions that were believed to be carried out in China. Beginning in 2009, Amnesty International stopped publishing minimum figures for the use of the death penalty in China, where such statistics are considered to be state secrets.

While in 2012, twenty one (21) countries were known to have carried out judicial executions, with 682 executions exclusive of the thousands of executions that were believed to be carried out in China. Beginning in 2009, Amnesty International ceased to publish minimum figures for the use of the death penalty in China, where such statistics are considered to be state secrets.

Whereas in 2011, (twenty) 20 countries were identified to have carried out judicial executions with 676 executions not to mention the thousands of executions that were believed to be carried out in China. Starting 2009, Amnesty International stopped publishing minimum figures for the use of the death penalty in China, where such statistics are deemed to be state secrets.

At least 23 countries were established to have carried out judicial executions in 2010, with 527 executions in this year, exclusive of the thousands of executions that were believed to be carried out in China. The Amnesty International chose not to publish minimum figures for the use of the death penalty in China, where such statistics are regarded to be state secrets.

Eighteen countries carried out executions in 2009 with 714 executions, not to mention figures from China where the majority of the world's executions take place. The real global total is significantly higher. The five countries with the most executions are Iran (388+), Iraq (120+), Saudi Arabia (69+), the United States (52), and China, which executed more people than the rest of the world combined.

In 2008, at least 2,390 people were executed in 25 countries around the world with 8,864 people executions in 52 countries. It almost doubled in number from 1,252 in 2007. Ninety-five percent of all identified executions were carried out in only six countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Pakistan and Iraq.

In 2007, a minimum of 1,252 people were executed in 24 countries with 3,347 people sentenced to death in more than 50 countries. Just five countries - China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the USA - carried out the overwhelming majority (88%) of identified executions in the world last year. In China execution figures are a state secret which may imply that their total number of executions could be much higher.

In 2006, there were 1,591 executions around the world. It fell by more than 25% in 2006, down from 2,148 in 2005 to 1,591. Of all these executions that took place in 2006, 91% were carried out in six countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the United States.

In 2005, there were at least 2,148 executions in 22 countries around the world pointing to China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States that were responsible for 94 percent of these identified executions.

Many countries added the death penalty for drug crimes in their legal system between 1980 and 2000. In some countries, drug crimes are the main cause of death sentences and executions.

The death penalty in practice:

• 100 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes

• 6 countries have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes

• 34 countries are abolitionist in practice

• 58 countries and territories are retentionist

• 22 countries carried out executions in 2014

• 33 countries and territories retain the death penalty for drug crimes:

-13 of the 33 countries have taken death penalty for drug crimes in the past five years

-12 of the 33 countries maintain compulsion on death penalty for particular categories of drug crimes

- 5 of the 33 countries are abolitionist in practice

The number of countries that have officially put an end to the death penalty or eradicated the use of the death penalty in practice has increased during the last decade:[2]

141 countries are abolitionist in law or in practice;
97 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes;
36 countries have abolished the death penalty in practice;
8 countries have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.

According to Amnesty International, 21 countries accounted executions in 2011, compared to 31 countries 10 years ago. Even the USA which is identified as one of the worst offenders on death penalty has shown progress as individual states have eliminated or limited the death penalty.

Many other countries have also abolished the death penalty in the past decade, including: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Bhutan, Burundi, Cook Islands, Gabon, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Mexico, the Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Togo, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Unfortunately, this election campaign period shows probability or bringing it back because two of the presidential candidates namely Senator Grace Poe and Davao Mayor Duterte are in favor of this.

Other countries that have not legally abolished the death penalty have at least stopped it in practice, either by declaring an official moratorium or by not carrying out executions. Sierra Leone and Nigeria for example have declared a moratorium on executions, and Tajikistan has had a moratorium on both death sentences and executions since 2004.

Several countries that have not yet abolished or imposed a moratorium have taken steps to narrow its scope. Kazakhstan has eradicated the death sentence for ordinary crimes. China recently removed the death penalty for specific economic crimes, and its Supreme People’s Court has reintroduced mandatory review of all death sentence cases.

Over the last decade, some retentionist countries have put into practice many of the universal international safeguards on their death penalty application and have abolished that punishment for particular categories of persons. For example:

· Individuals suffering from intellectual disabilities - in 2003, the US Supreme Court forbidden the execution of people with intellectual disabilities.

· Individuals suffering from mental illness – Thailand stopped using the death penalty against persons suffering from mental disorders.

· Juveniles - while a few countries, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, have sentenced juvenile offenders to death, Iran was the only country in 2010 and 2011 to still execute those under the age of 18 at the time of crime commission. In a promising move, in May 2011, Sudan accepted the UN Human Rights Council recommendations not apply the death penalty against juvenile offenders.

· Pregnant women - In 2003, Uganda stated a death sentence cannot be enforced on pregnant, but receives life imprisonment sentence instead.

Several countries have expanded, or attempted to expand, the scope of the death penalty over the last decade to include:

· Drugs: 32 countries or territories still have laws imposing death sentence for drug offenses. Drug offenders make up the majority of those sentenced to death in many retentionist countries.

· Homosexuality: several countries like Liberia and Uganda, have launched efforts to impose the death penalty for acts of homosexuality.

· Terrorism: Other countries are implementing or modifying laws for terrorist crimes or against those supporting terrorist acts - not necessarily lethal ones. Syria imposed the death sentence for those arming terrorists in December 2011. Bangladesh, India and Nigeria include terrorist acts among the offenses punishable by death.

Certain countries have returned to death penalty like Afghanistan, Taiwan, Equatorial Guinea, the United Arab Emirates and Japan have resumed executions amidst the global trend of abolition.