New Delhi: The debate on the death penalty is a never ending one. While some are in favour of it, others give various reasons to abolish it. The debate has been revived after the Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted death penalty of 15 convicts on the grounds of inordinate delay and mental illness.
The apex court said the death penalty can be commuted when there is an inordinate and inexplicable delay in deciding the mercy plea of the convicts.
The court also ruled that a death row convict must be hanged within 14 days after dismissal of his/ her mercy petition.
Arguments for death sentence:
Death sentence serves as deterrent for other criminals.
A guilty must be punished proportionate to the severity of the crime
Death sentence in India should be there in the statute books to contain terrorism.
Death penalty provides a closure for the victims' families.
Arguments againdt death sentence:
Death sentence has not served as a deterrent to control crime.
Death sentence violates international human rights laws.
As death sentence is irrevocable - an innocent person can also be wrongly executed.
There is no uniform and fair principle on execution of convicts on death row.
Capital punishment across the world:
100 countries have abolished it.
48 countries permit its use for ordinary crimes, but have not used it for at least 10 years.
40 countries maintain the death penalty in both law and practice
7 countries have retained it for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.
Source: Amnesty International
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