Capital Punishment

Question 1

What is Capital Punishment?

Answer 1

• “the legally authorised killing of someone as punishment for a crime.”

Question 2

How many countries still retain the use of Capital Punishment, and what are some examples?

Answer 2

• 59 including China, Thailand and Afghanistan

Question 3

What are some statistics for Capital Punishment (2019) ?

Answer 3

• 657 people were executed in 2019 across 20 countries (excluding China), which was down %% from 2018.
• 86% of all executions (excluding China) took place in just four countries: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt
• At least 11 exonerations of prisoners under sentence were recorded in two countries: USA and Zambia
  • At least 26,604 people were known to be under sentence of death globally at the end of 2019

Question 4

What are some of the different types of Capital Punishment?

Answer 4

• Lethal Injection
• Hanging
• Gas Chamber
• Electric Chair
• Firing Squad
• Beheading

Question 5

What are the pros of Capital Punishment? (1)

Answer 5

• Ultimate deterrence as the offender knows the worst crimes get the ultimate punishment.
• Prevents reoffending as their life is taken away which makes society safer.
• With Lethal Injection, the death doesn’t;t have to be carried out brutally and it is more compassionate.

Question 6

What are the pros for Capital Punishment? (2)

Answer 6

• Limits prison overpopulation + creates room for rehabilitation.
• Eliminates sympathy for criminal as they realise the consequences of their actions to everyone and the actions are addressed by court which can deter others.
• They can’t escape as they’d be dead.

Question 7

What are the cons for Capital Punishment? (1)

Answer 7

• Violates offender’s right to life and is inhuman + degrading
• Hypocritical message = punishes murder w murder
• Expensive to run death penalty ($1.26m v $90,000 to keep alive annually)
• If used for lesser crimes, it is immoral as it’s not proportional.

Question 8

What are the cons for Capital Punishment? (2)

Answer 8

• Doesn’t deter violent crime, (in the US it shows state w most executions have the highest murder rates)
• No sense of justice as the criminal doesn’t have to live with what they’ve done.
• Innocent people’s life at risk - since 1970 over 160 people have been freed after being convicted.

Question 9

What are the cons for Capital Punishment? (3)

Answer 9

• Doesn’t address issue of crime in society, removes a problem but doesn’t fix it.
• No possibility of rehabilitation as it it assumed nothing could be done.
• It is discriminatory (2017, UN press release stated poorer people are more likely to receive death penalty.)

Question 10

What is a moral issue surrounding Capital Punishment? (1)

Answer 10

• It takes away a person’s right to life outlined by Article 3 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UN argues life is non-negotiable and not dependent on anything else. Taking away a life should never be used as a punishment as all life has meaning and value.

Question 11

What is a final moral issue surrounding Capital Punishment? (2)

Answer 11

• It contravenes Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states: “No shall should be subjected to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
• Some would argue death penalty is a cruel + degrading punishment with some methods being torturous.
• This is supported by examples which have been botched executions caused by poorly trained technicians and resulting in a prolonged period of pain for the offender.