CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE IN AN INTERNATIONAL SCENE.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE IN AN INTERNATIONAL SCENE.

AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM

AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM Over the last thirty years, the death penalty has been a subject of debate and as such caused a worldwide revolution. This according to statistics has declined considerably and with regards to the declaration of the European Union as ‘death penalty free’ in 1998 and the death penalty has been prohibited within its borders (Eeas.europa.eu, 2016). The cost of inducing a painless death runs into millions of pounds while housing criminals in prison costs about £65000 annually (Fpe.org.uk, 2016).

Capital punishment is defined as the lawfully acknowledged termination of an individual as punishment for a crime. It is also known as the death penalty. This scope was widely employed in the constitutional structure of countries such as Britain and USA (but subsequently abolished) to address issues such as murder and treason but not limited to them. China, Bahrain, Bangladesh amongst other nations retained the use of capital punishment while countries such as The United Kingdom, Mozambique, Venezuela and a host of others, have abolished the practice altogether (Deathpenaltyinfo.org, 2016). A big question remains whether or not the death penalty is moral in discipline. Since its founding, its validity under the law has created so much debate in relation to the effects on our society and the morality of capital punishment. Those in support of capital punishment/ death penalty argue that it is necessarily essential in today's world, stating that criminal behavior is greatly deterred by the prospects of capital punishment. The questioning of the morality as well as constitutionality of the practice by those against capital punishment remains. They also put forward that it is not effective and grossly imperfect, mostly aiming people of the lower social class. A vast portion of Europe specifically more than two-thirds of the world countries have abolished the capital punishment according to Death Penalty Information (DPIC). Statistics show that since 1976, the emergence of evidence saw 142 inmates freed from death row (Deathpenaltyinfo.org, 2016). The pitfalls of the death penalty include but not limited to the cost of execution methods and above all

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AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM executing the innocent. This essay aims at explaining capital punishment and its overall effectiveness as an instrument of justice. In order to do this, this essay will highlight and attempt to analyze the pros and cons of capital punishment with reference to the reduction in crime rate and population control, as well as racial bias. It will also highlight the economic effect of capital punishment to the society at large. To achieve this, this essay will focus on China with reference to other countries some of which are Indonesia, the US and the U.K. which have varying criminal prosecution systems.

The reduction in crime rate and population control are some of the main factors surrounding the introduction of capital punishment. The increasing crime rate within the society is subject to the increasing population growth within the society. With a booming population of 1.3 billion people, China upheld punishment by death to control population growth. According to Dui Hua Foundation, China kills about an estimate of 5,000 prisoners annually. In 2006, about 74 countries with an estimate of 86% of the world’s population upheld capital punishment in an attempt to reduce population growth (Stearman, 2008). According to Sunstein (2005), the morality of capital punishment comes with preventing the taking of lives. Capital punishment in an attempt to control population, reduces crime rate by permanently removing criminals from the society in general. With this in mind, the introduction of capital punishment in the judicial system of various nations was quintessential.

Although the wheel for the abolishment of capital punishment was set into motion after the Second World War in 1948 by Labour MP Sidney Silverman and was later abolished under the Murder Act, 1965 (Webb, 2011). The case of Lithuania which created so much heated debates during the 90’s saw the replacement of the death penalty with life imprisonment after critical evaluations of the sociological, legal and political sides of the death penalty (Hodgkinson and Schabas, 2004).

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AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM Alternatively, capital punishment may be said to have a resulting effect in reducing crime rate, some criminologists believe that the death penalty is of no deterrent effect (Radelet, 2009). The capital punishment as a deterrent factor in China includes but is not limited to offenses related to terrorism resulting in death, rape not resulting in death, Economic crimes not relating in death, aggravated murder and murder (Deathpenaltyworldwide.org, 2016). A case study of Kenneth Junior French encompasses major criteria of the capital punishment verdict. The unfortunate event where Ken French, a 22-year-old mechanic who had acquired the rank of Sergeant E-5 walked into a Cumberland county supermarket in North Carolina and began firing sporadically. His shooting spree which was halted by the intervention of an off-duty police officer who had to subdue him (Ken) by firing twice at him. Although Ken had managed to kill four people and inflict injuries on numerous other. The trial in court showed that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crime. Ken was then charged with Four counts of first-degree murder, a count of firing into an occupied building and eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury, all of which he pleaded not guilty (Deathpenaltycurriculum.org, 2016). In the sentencing phase, Ken was sentenced to death as the presented evidence showed the crime as being cruel and heinous and Ken as a threat to other lives. In 1965, the UK recognized the invalidity of capital punishment in the country’s system.

Similarly, some parts of the U.S such as Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas and California also abolished capital punishment on the grounds of its promotion of deterrence in the country. According to Jimmy Carter, capital punishment was in fact an opposite of strong deterrence to murder. From Rubin’s (2006) view, capital punishment has a ‘deterrent effect’ of between 3 and 18 murders. Although death may be the resulting effect of crime, reports (Wu and Rui, 2010) prove that the crime rate in China is on a dramatic increase. This which is contrary to other popular belief shows that capital punishment

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AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM goes a long way in saving lives. These statistics show that the executions in China surpass that of the entire world. This goes contrary to the beliefs within the religious sector of the society who are prolife. Judging the merits of capital punishment, the consideration of expiation is necessary. This which is the belief that crime committed by any individual makes such an individual unfit to live in society and renders the society impure (Melusky and Pesto, 2011).

The evidence of racial bias in court cases leading to the capital punishment verdict point out the irregularities which the capital punishment justice system possesses. According to the research conducted by Bowers and Pierce in 1977 where the chances of a black man being sentenced to death were greater if he killed a white man. This discovery which was from a collation of data from cases in four states in the US namely, Florida, Ohio, Georgia and Texas. The selection of Jury offered preliminary evidence offered a more complex form of discrimination where the jurors were laid off if they opposed the capital punishment. (Bowers and Pierce, 1980) The overall cost of carrying out the death penalty according to research shows that it is far more expensive than housing a criminal for life. The complexity and length require huge sums of money (Equal Justice USA, 2016). Rigorous research conducted in the U.S show that the death penalty is ten times more costly than non-death penalties. An example being California which has spent over $4 billion since 1978 on the capital punishment. This causes a strain on the general society as it is the taxpayers that suffer the cost as it is taken from taxes while other services such as highway funding and police funding also bear the burden (Baicker, 2004). The unseen cost of the capital punishment comes in the legal proceedings of sentencing an individual to death. This simply refers to the time taken to sentence an individual to death which could have been spent on investigating, prosecuting and solving numerous other cases. A question of whether or not this process can be made Page 4 of 10

AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM cheaper is still tough. This is because the incurred costs come from the legal proceedings of trying to avoid putting an innocent person to death and as such streamlining the cost only increases the risk of executing an innocent person (Anon, 2016).

The removal of Death-eligible economic crimes numbering about thirteen from the criminal law in China in 2011 has been in favor of the elite class. It saw things such as smuggling exotic animals, precious stones and tax related frauds judicially immune. The number of deaths from capital punishment in China remains undisclosed as it is classified a state secret and the immediate execution of convict shows that they do not linger on death row and in some cases a two-year suspended sentence is offered (Anon, 2016). Although research shows that the cost of upholding and maintaining the death penalty is far greater than that of a life sentence which involves maintenance of a convict behind bars.

Looking at the Cons of capital punishment, the execution of innocent people remains a negative aspect of the capital punishment. Governor Ryan of Illinois banned the capital punishment in Illinois although he was previously a fervent supporter of the death penalty. The ban which was actualized after the discovery that some inmates who had been placed on death row were executed even though they were innocent (Deathpenaltyinfo.org, 2016). As in the case of China, there have been recent cases of wrongful imprisonments which have in turn spurred debates concerning the capital punishment. A case in 1995 saw the execution of an innocent 20-year-old man who was accused of murder and rape but a later discovery in 2005 showed the man was innocent. Another case in 2002 which was that of a man aged 52 who was sentenced to death in 2002 but by the year 2012 was vindicated (English.caixin.com, 2016). Further death sentences have revealed that such sentences are bias in relation to the socio-economic status of the convicted individual. A case being that of a poor Page 5 of 10

AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM villager from Guizhou who was sentenced to death and denied mental assessment, while the sentence of the wife of a Politburo member was granted a suspended death sentence as a result of her mental illness (English.caixin.com, 2016). This goes a long way showing the influence of socioeconomic status on the justice system of capital punishment.

Furthermore, the death penalty has brought about a good number of international referendum and friction. This has to do with the execution of members of a certain country in a foreign land. As in the recent case of the tragic execution of two Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran by Indonesia. The discovery of hard drugs on them in Indonesia saw them face a quick verdict of the death penalty by Indonesian authorities with pleas of clemency from the Australian parliament and ministers being denied by the Indonesian president (Abc.net.au, 2016). This situation led to a further research carried out by Roy Morgan questioning whether or not a sentence of a death penalty should be carried out on convicted Australians in Foreign countries. Interestingly, the opinion poll turned out to have a 52% affirmative response. Followed up by a referendum of whether or not the execution of Myuran and Chan should proceed and a total 62% responded to the affirmative (Roy Morgan, 2016).

The society at large is filled up with people and their various standings on the capital punishment. Those that are pro-life theological view see that the capital punishment does not stem the unwanted influence of offenders to society but rather throws them in the spiritual realm where they have more devastating effect on mankind (Theosociety.org, 2016). The questions of what the longterm consequences could be of a society that has “legalized murder” and whether the deliberate termination of human life is justifiable remain unanswered (Theosociety.org, 2016). The atmosphere of hate and malice is further promoted in society through the capital punishment verdicts.

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AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM

In a nutshell, the capital punishment as a form of justice has taken different stances in different parts of the world. The stance where people uphold the capital punishment and the stance of abortionists.

This essay has been able to view how the death penalty system has been able to reduce crime rate by eliminating offenders and deterring potential offenders. Further looking at cases which encompass the criteria for the capital punishment verdict as well as the cost implication of the death penalty on taxpayers.

A look at the pitfalls of the capital punishment justice such as racial bias and bias based on social status is not excluded. The international level of capital punishment also assessed with a popular case. Although the capital punishment holds various views, pros and cons as well as immediate and sealed preventing effect on crime. Economists and leaders such as Governor Ryan of Illinois see it as barbaric and economically unwise. Furthermore, the natural law which requires punishment as a reward for deviance according to the laws of a society justify the capital punishment in as much as there is a gradual digression of nations using the capital punishment as a crime deterrent.

REFERENCES

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AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM Baicker, K. (2004). The Budgetary Repercussions Of Capital Convictions. Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, 4(1).

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AONDONGU JOSHUA BIEM Fpe.org.uk. (2016). The Cost of Prisons | Focus Prisoner Education. [online] Available at: http://www.fpe.org.uk/the-cost-of-prisons/ [Accessed 5 Mar. 2016].

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