Restoring Capital Punishment in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Capital Punishment Evaluate the Arguments for Restoring Capital Punishment in the United Kingdom Introduction: Capital punishment is the death penalty which deals with the execution of the convicted criminal by the state and the punishment for such crimes are for capital crimes or capital offences. Capital punishment is one of the oldest forms of punishment given by a state and has been known for execution of criminals and political opponents to punish and suppress crime or even political dissent. Capital punishment has been abolished in many countries across Europe, Latin America although it is still retained in some parts of Asia and Africa1. In non democratic countries, especially in Middle East, capital punishment is still quite common. Capital punishment is usually given for murder, treason and in Muslim countries it is also given for sexual and religious crimes2. In China, the death penalty could be given for corruption and other serious offences. In countries where capital punishment has been banned, the punishment is usually considered as a human rights issue and opponents of capital punishment argue that capital punishment does not deter criminals and the poor or minority are sometimes wrongfully convicted. In certain countries that retain capital punishment, delay between the actual verdict given and the execution carried out could go for many years as the convicted person would be allowed to go through many tribunals although excessive delay can also lead to basic human rights violation3. Most prisoners appeal against the death sentence due to the survival instinct although such a struggle may itself be a basic human rights violation that would prohibit cruelty in any form4. The death row phenomenon as this is called could pressurise states to modify their procedures or even abandon capital punishment. Capital Punishment - Issues and Arguments Supporters of capital punishment argue that such form of punishment would deter crime and would be an appropriate punishment for murder. As Murray notes, a major justification for capital punishment is the perceived public support although the complexity of the death penalty may not be generally understood by most people5. Murray aimed to examine the stability of the attitudes on the fair application of the death penalty and what are the public opinions regarding the fairness and administration of capital punishment. The complexity of these attitudes was analysed with a telephone survey and the results indicated instability in attitudes regarding the application of capital punishment although many seem to think that the application of the death penalty is not fair in many cases. Murray concluded his study by suggesting that, 'the justification for capital punishment may rest on oversimplified conceptions of attitudes toward the death penalty and its application'6. There have been recent debates on whether capital punishment should be restored in the EU as also in the United Kingdom following concerns and debates that banning death penalty and capital punishment could actually encourage criminals. The Guardian reports that there have been recent criticisms and condemnation of the Polish president Lech Kaczynski, a conservative who called for a reintroduction of the death penalty in Europe. According to the Guardian, Europe is concerned by what they consider as Poland's tilt towards the right7. In certain countries which are democratic yet retains the death penalty, the capital punishment seems to have wide public support although abolition of execution in some European countries has been a natural shift from authoritarianism to democracy. In the United Kingdom there is no capital punishment for any crimes whatsoever and there has been a complete abolition of the death penalty since 1964. In the United States on the other hand, capital punishment is still legal. In this case it would be essential to understand whether certain arguments for restoring the capital punishment would be valid and possibly show better reasons than arguments based on opposing the capital punishment. The public support for the death penalty and supportive arguments for the penalty could be studied within a historical context considering issues of government role in the process. Another relevant study highlights the fact that there has been varied support given to the government on the death penalty with support mainly coming from the whites rather than the black minority8. The influence of historical context in the formation of public attitudes towards capital punishment show the importance of understanding racial differences in punitive attitudes and issues related to crime and punishment. There may be other avenues of support of the death penalty and there is a distinct difference between the support of death penalty and expressed preference for death penalty over other sentences9. Niven claims that the support for death penalty may be almost illusory and a fabrication of the media and it may be necessary to go beyond media portrayal to understand a mix of preferences for death penalty or an alternative sentence10. The public who are generally informed about the realistic implications of the death penalty tend to be less supportive of capital punishment and believed that the death penalty would become less prevalent in the future11. The study highlights the extent to which the issues of death penalty and capital crimes are unrealistically portrayed in the media. There are however opposing arguments to the capital punishment and this would relate to whether innocent people have also been victims of capital punishment and this would question the legitimacy of the process. Research by Gallup was used to investigate whether the execution of an innocent person through capital punishment tends to bring down public support for this sort of punishment12. Racial attitudes towards capital punishment are also judged and the results of the study indicated that when people believed that an innocent person has been executed for his crimes, there are lowered levels of support for capital punishment as in this case the law is seen as being applied fairly. Some researchers provide their arguments that the key support of death penalty seem to be public opinion as it is generally made to believe that a high proportion of public tend to support the death penalty13. The study emphasizes on the point that, 'the prospect of executing innocents potentially impacts public support for the death penalty and, in the least, creates ideological space for a reconsideration of the legitimacy of capital punishment'14. Manacorda delineates the history of capital punishment in Europe and suggests that a complex process of restraints with regard to the capital punishment has made Europe a zone free of capital punishment and this decision seems to have been influenced by domestic, regional and universal international law that has led to a dynamic movement towards abolition of the penalty15. Restraints on the death penalty started at an internal level within each country and were then taken up to the regional and universal levels, although death penalty is now a part of the domestic law in every European country. However in certain European countries there are legal provisions to permit some sort of recourse to the death penalty for certain crimes such as war crimes, criminal offences and terrorist activities. Although there has been progress in the legislative frameworks, even such legal issues seem to be largely controlled by political leaders within a country and thus issues such as human execution represents a larger social and political perspective. A new abolitionist perspective has emerged in foreign death penalty cases and there is a right to intervene or right of interference when countries try to intervene when their own nationals are involved in death penalty cases16 This analysis is however based on the preceding discussion on the pros and cons of capital punishment and whether capital punishment should be abolished in all countries or restored in countries in which it has already been abolished. An example would be the restoration of capital punishment in the United Kingdom. In the UK there is absolutely no form of capital punishment for any offence whatsoever and all capital punishment and death penalty were abolished by 1964. Considering the recent spade of violence and murders as well as terrorist acts within the UK, would be justifiable to actually restore the capital punishment in what would be seen as rightist conservative move to eliminate dangerous criminals This could be a major debate and we have seen there was international furore when the Polish president took a rightist position to suggest that the death penalty should be restored within Europe. Death penalty on one hand remains a human rights issue and once a verdict is given, maintaining human rights either for a prolonged struggle against the penalty or receiving the penalty would be equal concerns for human rights activists. This would also be one of the main oppositions of the penalty if it has to be restored. On the other had considering examples from the media and the public opinion there may be little concern towards the type of punishment offered and there may even be public support for the penalty simply due to lack of consideration or interest among the public as to what kind of punishment if offered to the criminals. In fact if alternative forms of punishment are present, the death penalty may not be supported. Yet in some strong cases as in murder, torture, rape and terrorism acts it may be necessary for the benefit of justice to give stronger verdicts and the death penalty may in certain case seem to be a fairer judgment. Yet could the capital punishment be restored in the United Kingdom considering the advantages and disadvantages and varying public opinion on the need of such a punishment In order to support restoration of capital punishment it may be necessary to provide evidence on how capital punishment could ring in amore balance in society and would be ultimately beneficial rather than harmful. Dezhbahksh and Shepherd studied the rates of murder with regard to capital punishment and indicated that 'capital punishment has a deterrent effect, and that executions have a distinct effect which compounds the deterrent effect of merely (re)instating the death penalty'17. Murder rates would be seen as changing in accordance with death penalty laws. Conclusion: Capital punishment or execution is mainly given for capital offences as related to murder, terrorism, and in some countries as in Middle East, due to sexual or religious offences. However entire Europe and UK as well some parts of Latin America have abolished the capital punishment considering the fact that all human beings, irrespective of their crime should be given the right to live. Thus instead of capital punishment, alternative forms of punishment such as life imprisonment have become more popular in some countries. Capital punishment is retained in communist China where even corruption is considered as a capital offence although human rights activists continue to oppose the death penalty and Amnesty has been trying to ban it in all parts of the world. Despite international condemnation, the death penalty is quite common in certain parts of the Middle East and Asia. Even in democracies such as the US and India, the death penalty has not yet been abolished considering 'public opinion' which according to the media supports death penalty. This again may only be a media hype or an exaggeration of what the public wants as the public may not be completely aware of the debate about death penalty or may not be aware of other options available so merely shows uninformed support for the capital punishment. Within the UK the death penalty has been completely abolished since 1964 although some conservative rightists may raise the point on whether the death penalty should be restored in the UK considering recent rise in crime and terrorism. Yet restoring the death penalty or any support for the capital punishment within UK would lead to international outcry on the changes in UK's foreign policy. Considering these results and the fact that there may be certain amount of public support for death penalty, capital punishment may however stand to be restored in the UK only if the conservative right wing parties take a tough stance against all acts of murder and terrorism which has become a major political issue within the UK in recent times. Bibliography Auerbach A. H. The Dividing Line on Capital Punishment Peace Review, Volume 13,Number 4, 1 December 2001, pp. 545-551(7) Bantekas I.;Hodgkinson P. Capital Punishment at the United Nations: Recent Developments Criminal Law Forum, Volume 11,Number 1, 2000, pp. 23-34(12) Brooks T. Retributivist Arguments against Capital Punishment Journal of Social Philosophy, Volume 35,Number 2, June 2004, pp. 188-197(10) Cholbi, M. Race, Capital Punishment, and the Cost of Murder Philosophical Studies, Volume 127,Number 2, January 2006, pp. 255-282(28) Devine, Philip E. 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EXECUTING THE INNOCENT AND SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY Criminology & Public Policy, Volume 4,Number 1, February 2005, pp. 3-38(36) WALKER, Nigel David. Crime and Punishment in Britain. (An analysis of the penal system in theory, law, and practice.). pp. xiii. 367. University Press: Edinburgh, [1965.] Young, Robert guilty until proven innocent: conviction orientation, racial attitudes, and support for capital punishment Deviant Behavior, Volume 25,Number 2, March-April 2004, pp. 151-167(17) Websites bbc.co.uk guardian.co.uk homeoffice.gov.uk Appendix I - From the guardian.co.uk, 2006, accessed 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/eu/story/0,,1837082,00.html Polish leader angers EU with call to restore death penalty Kaczynski says ban gives criminals 'advantage' Europe concerned by Poland's tilt to right Nicholas Watt, European editor Friday August 4, 2006 The Guardian Poland's rightwing president has been condemned across Europe after calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty. Lech Kaczynski, a conservative who used to ban gay rights parades when he was mayor of Warsaw, warned that abolishing capital punishment had handed "an unimaginable advantage to the criminal". Many European leaders are concerned by the tilt to the right in Poland, the largest of the EU's new recruits. Europe's human rights watchdog warned that the reintroduction of the death penalty would be a "retrograde step" that would place Poland in breach of the European convention of human rights. Read More