Abolition of Capital punishment

Law or judicial system plays an essential role in every country as it acts as a guideline to what is accepted in a society or a country without law; there is a very good chance that there can be conflicts between social groups, communities, governments, and the public.

Thus, every person in the country needs to follow these rules and regulations to maintain peace in Society. Governments in every country need to have good laws, institutions, and processes to ensure accountability, stability, equality, and access to justice for all people of the country.

All laws and punishments are based on the proposition that there must be a penalty for wrongdoing. The main reason to inflict the punishments  is the belief that it is right and just that a person should suffer for his misdeeds, and the other idea is that it also discourages others from doing wrong.

Capital punishment is an essential part of the justice system. Because of the increasing strength of the human rights movement in India, the death penalty is stated as an immoral act against humanity.

What is capital punishment?

Capital punishment or the death penalty is the execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law for a criminal offence in the Society. The death penalty is the most severe form of punishment in any book of the law, and it is a sentence to the people who have done the most heinous, grievous years and detestable crimes against humanity.

The criminal sentenced to death and awaiting execution is condemned and commonly referred to as “death row”. These executions are carried out by hanging the prisoner, and the term capital punishment is sometimes substituted with the death penalty.

Issues and challenges for the death penalty in India

Capital punishment or the Death penalty is the most controversial penal practice in the 

modern world. In many countries, the method of punishment such as imprisonment or fines no longer involves the infliction of physical pain to a criminal. However, these punishments are universally recognized as necessary to control the crime. Many industrialized nations have stopped executing prisoners and substituted it with a long term of imprisonment for death as the most severe of all criminal penalties. There are several issues and challenges to the death penalty in India.

Brutality

The people who oppose capital punishment object to its brutality. This allegation of brutality caused two different responses by those who supported executions which being that the supporters affirmed that capital punishment was necessary for the safety of other citizens, and the second reason being the capital punishment supporters wanted to remove some of the most visibly gruesome aspects of execution that is the executions that had opened to public were relocated behind closed doors.

Dignity

Capital punishment is an essential topic for a debate about execution and human dignity; 

many supporters and opponents of capital punishment have found very few common grounds. The opponents of the death penalty believe firmly that it is degrading to the humanity of the person being punished. 

Since the 18th century, people who wish to end the death penalty have stressed the significance of requiring governments to recognize the importance of every individual in the country. Still, contrary to this, the death penalty supporters see nothing wrong with the governments deliberately killing terrible people who commit terrible crimes against the Society of the country and thus feel that there is no need to limit the governmental powers in the country.

Effectiveness

The opponents of capital punishment or the death penalty also argued that the infliction of the death penalty was not necessary to control the crime and adequately punish the criminals and also stated that the government can have alternate punishments such as imprisonment and could effectively isolate the criminals from the community. It prevents other potential criminals from committing the same offence.

Supporters of the death penalty countered that the ultimate penalty of death was necessary for punishing terrible crimes as it provides complete retribution and contamination. They also argued that the threat of execution was a unique way of discouraging other criminals from committing crimes.

Supporters and the opposers of capital punishment or the death penalty still debate its effectiveness from different perspectives. Social scientists have also collected several statistical data on the trend in homicide or murder before and after jurisdictions have abolished criminal punishment and compared the rates of homicide in places with and without capital punishment. They stated that the statical data indicates that the presence or absence of the death penalty or executions does not visibly influence the rates of homicide or murder.

Human rights

Another side of this modern debate about capital punishment is the characterization of the death penalty as a human rights issue. The human rights focus on capital punishment has continued, especially in settings of dramatic political change. When the country’s people view the death penalty as a violation of human rights, the countries becoming democratic have been eager to abolish capital punishment.

Conclusion

People who oppose capital punishment, also known as activists, continue to fight for human rights and the right to live and die with dignity mentioned in the constitution. India is not a country free of corruption, and hence there is no way to ensure that there will be no miscarriage of justice and can be misused by political leaders and those in power. Therefore, the death penalty or capital punishment should be abolished.