Arguments for and Against Capital Punishment

Arguments for and Against neat penaltyJump to Arguments in esteem of Capital Punishment ArgumentsAgainst Capital PunishmentIntroductionCapital penalization is a legal process in which a psyche is put to goal by the country or state law as a penalty for a offense. It is also known as ending sentence or devastation penalisation. Capital penalisation sends the message that such whitlow acts allow for non be tolerated in the society. It works on the simple theory that populate desist from doing a particular action when they know that they will have to birth a high price for the same. There is no doubt that death penalty is one of the most debatable issue in our society. In reinforcing stimulus of death penalty plenty argue that it discourage early(a)s from resorting to similar crimes, those who oppose it ar of the opinion that it is non as in effect(p) it is promoted to be.Many countries still slip away the capital penalization in their penal laws. This is a insti tutionalize that has been on that point since time immemorial as a sign of the Law of Moses, which integrated a retributive approach that was characterized as an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.1There ar 7 types of capital punishments known to world. These are2Death by HangingExecution by Firing SquadLethal InjectionGas Chamber ExecutionsDeath by StoningDeath by decollateElectrocution.Capital Punishment in BangladeshThe capital punishment is one of talkative issue in present day Bangladesh. In the international surround death penalty is actively go fored and well protected. In nigh cases, it is also a debatable matter in the domestic area. According to Amnesty global report, Bangladesh is a retentionist country.3That means Bangladesh is the promoter or supporter of capital punishment. There is a lot of evidence which support the statement of Amnesty International report. The unimaginative natures of the explanations or evidences support the elimination of the death pen alty in Bangladesh.Crimes punishable by death in BangladeshThere is a wide range of crimes are currently subject to the capital punishment in Bangladesh. According to the Penal Code 1860, here is a set of crimes which are subject to the death penalty in BangladeshSection121 Waging war against Bangladesh132 Abetting mutiny194 Giving false evidence upon which an not discredited person suffers death302 Murder305 Assisting the suicide of a child or insane person307 Attempted shoot by disembodied spirit-convicts396 Kidnapping of a child infra the age of ten (with intent to murder, grievously hurt,rap or enslave the child) and Armed robbery resulting in murder.According to the Special Powers Act 1974Section15 Sabotage25 Hhoarding of goods or dealing on the mordant market, counterfeiting, smuggling, andpoisoning or contamination of consumables or attempt of any of these offences.In addition, there is an act, Women and Children Repression Prevention Act-2000, to prevent violence agai nst women and children. beneath this act the capital punishment is available for murder or attempted murder involving burning, use of acid, trafficking of women and children for illegal or immoral acts, sexual assault of women or children occasioning death etc. wickeds Excluded From the Capital PunishmentThe persons who are below 18 years old at the time of desireting crime will be excluded from the capital punishment.4In 2009, the U.N. Committee on the Rights reiterated this alarm and suggested that Bangladesh explain its clarity of the child to include all pile under the age of 18. U.N. papers point out that Bangladeshs situation is that it does not implement persons for crimes committed while under the age of 18, that capital punishment for such individuals are infrequently-if at all-meted out by addresss and that Bangladesh is allowing for altering the 1974 Children Act to assure a clear legal exclusion.5Women are not applicable for death penalty during pregnancy period. Wom en with new born children also will not punishable by death sentence.6The people who are mentally sick are excluded from death penalty. During committing the woeful act if the person is in unsoundness of mind or is incapable of knowing the nature of the act will not be punished by capital punishment.7Courts and the Judiciary of BangladeshBangladesh operates under a judicial establishment. It was mainly fill out from the British common law tradition. The Supreme Court is the highest appeals court in Bangladesh. It is divided into the appellate Division and the High Court. The High Court hears appeals from subordinate courts. Under the writ jurisdiction, the High Court issues orders to enforce fundamental rights and grant other available summons. From the High Court division, the Appellate Division hears appeals. An important function of the Appellate Division is supervising the subordinate courts and tribunals.8Legal basis of Capital Punishment in BangladeshCapital punishment is subject to prior approval of the honable high court division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.All capital punishments in Bangladesh are carried out by hanging according to the Bangladesh government law.9Like other nations in the region, Bangladesh does not have a jury system suspected reprehensibles are tried and sentenced by a judge.10Those sentenced to death have an automatic appeal audition before the High Court. If that appeal fails, the person also has the option to lodge additional appeals with the High Court and, if those fail, with the Supreme Court. Should all these avenues of appeal fail, the condemned persons final jeopardy is to appeal to the President for clemency.11The Jail Code also affords an avenue for appeal, whereby prisoners house appeal to the cast out authorities at heart seven days of being brought to jail this appears to apply to those prisoners extradited from overseas. Additional to these safeguards, is the requirement that the High Court approve all death sentences pronounced by a lower court before they burn down be put into effect. A hearing is held in which all documents relating to the case, including the lower courts judgment, are compiled.12Clemency processThe Code of Criminal Procedure specifies that executions require not be permitted by the executive.13The main executive obstacle to execution of a capital punishment is the privilege of mercy, approved by the Constitution and defined under the Code of Criminal Procedure and Penal Code. Damned persons petition the President for clemency. In addition, the government which may mean the legislature or some other executive official-may alter capital punishment.14Available statistics on Capital Punishment in BangladeshThe information or statistics about capital punishment are not publicly reported in Bangladesh. It only comes in publicly, when it is about a sensational or political matter. For example, the February 2010 hanging of 5 persons accused and tried for the mu rder of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was widely reported the same holds true of the 2007 hanging of members of the JMB who were accused in the 2005 bomb attacks on two judges at Jhalakathi.15There is No official information are available regarding the number of death penalty handed down, or the number of capital punishments carried out. According to the International Federation for military man Rights (2010), there are about 75,000 prisoners all over Bangladesh and 40-45 percent of them are convicted prisoners. In one district jail outside Dhaka, out of the 2,300-2,400 estimated total prison inmates, 90 prisoners are on death row.16The following table includes the number of capital punishments reported in AmnestyInternationals annual reports for the past five years, as well as the numbers reported by Hands Off Cain.Number of Executions, Bangladesh, 2005-201017Capital Punishment and the attitude of Bangladesh GovernmentBangladesh is a country where there is actually no right to life. Exerc ising the capital punishment violates the common human rights. In 2010, five people were ease offn the death penalty within a day. On January 28 of the same year, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh made the decision to execute death penalty of the killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.18On the contrary, on seventh September 2010 Zillur Rahman, President of Bangladesh, pardoned 20 prisoners death row. Those people were sentenced to death in 2006 by a Speedy Trial Tribunal (2002) for the murder of a then-ruling Bangladesh jingoistic Party (BNP) activist Sabbir Ahmed Gama.19In the history of Bangladesh it was the first where President gave pardon a huge number of death prisoners at a time. The important subject is that the benefited prisoners are supporters of the present governing party (Awami League). Amnesty International welcomed the pardon of President Zillur Rahman in their international report. At the same time it also argued that it is not ethical to favor only supporters of the gov erning party.20Though the death sentence is a permanent punishment, the legislative authorities should ensure that criminals are not released by the politically motivated grounds.Problems of Bangladeshs criminal justice systemLack of fairness and transparency.Political interference and arbitrary police control over the complaint mechanisms.Criminal justice system is politicalized, inefficient, and unprofessional.As far the administration of justice, the judiciary system does not enjoy independence.Lack of judicial competence and commitment to upholding the rule of law.The countrys medico-legal system still is not acceptable by international standards.Lack of interpersonal respect between lawyers, judges, political parties, medico-legal experts seriously hampers effectiveness of the administration of justice.Is the Capital Punishment an Effective Crime Deterrent?Capital punishment is based on the principle that the peril of death makes probable criminals bring forward twice before d oing to some serious crimes such as murder, rape and makes them totally give up on such criminal act. The effectiveness of death sentence to prevent criminal from doing serious crimes is questionable, whether it really discourages people to do crimes. A study in America discloses that 88 percent of American criminologists believed that capital punishment was not effective crime prevention. In this study about 87 percent of the respondents thought that capital punishment would have no major impact on crime rates in the country as such.21On the other hand, many criminologists think that death penalty in itself is one of the several factors which makes a person indulge in crime. The example of Canada wherein the murder rate decreased after elimination of capital punishment in 1976.22One important thing is that the criminal who is planning to do any crime, he or she will never contribute affected by the threat of being caught and convicted. In addition, the time gaolbreak between th e sentencing of convict and his actual execution is quite lengthy. As time elapse the preclusion effect of sentencing a person to death starts decreasing. Now the people who support the death penalty may argue that to speed up legal process and execute the death sentence early. But then, speedy trials would again mean more chances of an innocent person being sent to the gallows, and that is something which we cant afford to do.There are some studies which support the death sentence as crime prevention. A study showed that eighteen lives are saved for every criminal death penalty.23The legislative authorities of Bangladesh argue that the capital punishment is indispensable for control the serious crimes like murder. They also think that capital punishment will transmit the message of ultimate results of murder to the potential criminal. This so-called prevention of criminal act is shown to not be working effectively, as incidents of serious crimes rise each year. For example, accord ing to the Bangladesh Police website, there were 3592 murders during 2005 and 4219 murders in 2009.24Arguments in favor of Capital PunishmentThere are two types of criminals in our society ones who commit crimes under unavoidable circumstances and other ones who commit crimes intentionally. The people who commit crimes intentionally, they do not feel any kind of guilt for their actions and they do not hesitate to do same again. So, it is important to implement capital punishment for making such criminals to realize that they are not the decider of life and death. Here is some supports behind the capital punishmentFear of DeathAll people have the fear of death, even though death is inevitable. Implementing death penalty for serious crimes like murders or rapes will absolutely make the criminal think twice before doing any brutal crimes. There are some killers who are commit killing only for fulfill their hobby. Capital punishment will send the message to the criminal that, he or she is preparing own grave by killing someone else.No EscapeNo one can getaway from the death, but any one can escape from imprisonment. There are so many evidences of jail escaping illegally by managing political attractor or prison inspector. After escaping the criminal commit crimes again and making the innocent suffers. So this is unethical to let innocent people die and criminal live.Justice not KillingSometimes the people who do not support capital punishment, they think death penalty is all about retaliation in the name of law or justice. However it is very important for our society to teach criminals about the importance of life.Saving the InnocentTo save innocent people there is no other alternative way without death penalty to the serious criminals. If we allow criminals in the imprisonment, then suffer for the innocent people will be huge.Law Should Provide JusticeCapital punishment issued by law is fair and justified for the society. The innocent victims do not get any cha nce do crime, then why should we give the chance to the criminal with imprisonment.Arguments against Capital PunishmentSome people think that reason of the death penalty is to send a right message to the society. Such harsh punishment means that no serious crime will be tolerated and the obligated must be punished for his or her act.Denial of basic rightDeath penalty violates human right the right to life. Human being life has a essential value. The holiness of human life is denied by the capital punishment. Life is priceless.The possibility of errorCapital punishment is decided by the lay in evidences against the individual. Sometimes those collected information and investigation might be wrong or manipulated. So in case of imprisonment, after finding error in judgment individual may be released and compensated for the injustice. However, in case of capital punishment judge can do nothing without feeling guilty for taking innocent life.Lack of DeterrenceThe goal of capital punis hment is to deter serious criminal activities from the society. However, according to the available information, the capital punishment has not been effective in controlling the murder rate. For example, according to the Bangladesh Police website, there were 3592 murders during 2005 and 4219 murders in 2009.25Racist FactorDeath penalty is a cruel and fantastic punishment for human being. Most of the people in all over the world think that death penalty is a way of minimizing the number of minorities in a particular country.Killing is ExpensiveKeeping one person in the prison for entire life is less expensive compare to give death penalty. Long and complex process of death penalty cases is the biggest drawbacks of capital punishment.Justifying circumstancesThere is possibility for individuals to suffer from emotional trauma, violence, destructive social environment to commit such terrible crimes. So it is unethical to blame only them for their activities.RecommendationObserve existi ng law with a view towards diminishing the range of crimes that attract the death sentence to only those with deadly consequences.All mandatory death sentences should be revoked as unconstitutionally controlling the judgment and freedom of the judiciary, as required under international standards.Other convicts may under no situation be entrusted to carry out a capital punishment, a practice that is not in conventionality with the domestic legal structure and constitutes an inhuman and degrading treatment for concerned prisoners.Make public information about the death penalty and executions to permit an informed public debate on the capital punishment.Assign a committee of high level jurists to inform on the purpose and situations of implementation of the capital punishment in the country.ConclusionDeath penalty is as basically wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure of poverty. Bangladeshs constitutions Article 35 prohibits torture, cruel, degrading or inhuman puni shment or treatment.26There can scarce be any argue that the capital punishment does not amount to brutal punishment, which is banned in the countrys supreme law. In fact, such brutal punishment comprises a violation of the Constitution by deflation the natural dignity of human beings. The reality concerning the criminal justice system must be understood to measure out how hazardous the use of the capital punishment can be in Bangladesh. Essential policies or steps should be taken to reduce the reappearance of crimes that are presently penalized by the death sentence in the place of continuing with this unsuccessful prevention.Bangladesh should obey to national and international statement for human rights. And Bangladesh government should devolve the death sentence system immediately, if they believe on human rights.