Death Penalty in Africa and the USA - Term Paper Example

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN AFRICA AND THE UNITED S There are several debates on the topic of death penalty. These debates revolve around making a necessary recourse of this form of punishment. First, the death penalty acts as a deterrent, the public domain demands its removal and that it enforces the need for remorse and retribution. Conversely, more intensive debates about the abolition of this form of this punishment keep arising. Most of the arguments focus on the idea that the punishment violates basic human rights. In Africa, the death penalty is rare in the region. The death penalty punishment dominates. These African states retain the practice despite the aggressive international human rights campaigns gearing towards the abolition of the death penalty. In addition, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights fails to mention the death penalty. This raises some curiosity among individual researchers who develop concerns over the matter. For the first time, during the thirty-sixth African Commission on Human and People’s Rights ordinary session, the issues discussed included the death penalty. This thesis compares death penalty between African States and the United States and concludes in supporting the abolition of the practice in resonance with the International trend. Universally, justifications for intentions to maintain the practice only seem flawed. Also, alternative means of punishment other than the death penalty need to be prioritized over the later. Introduction Nigeria classifies offenses as simple or misdemeanors. The felonies encompass the most serious forms of offenses. The death penalty mainly accompanies the capital offenses such as those captured in the Capital Code. These include homicide that allows punishment under the Penal Code, invasion of Nigeria, treason as well as armed robbery as noted under the Miscellaneous Provision of the Robbery and Firearms Act. Once an offender pleads guilty to a capital offense, the judge’s jurisdiction does not allow for a detour. The hands of a judge would only be tied towards imposing the death penalty. The recurrence of the word “shall” makes it mandatory for death to be imposed (Donohue & Justin, 2005). The only exceptions to the death penalty for a person guilty of capital offenses cover only two persons. Under the general rule, a pregnant woman or an offender that might be under the age of seventeen would be exempted. IN Nigeria, the elimination of offenders who pose a danger to the society seems customary and should be imposed through the death penalty. Traditionally, execution only befell the people guilty of witchcraft, profaning of the gods, murder and adultery. With the infiltration of the British influence, the abolition of customary penal and criminal codes resulted in the current ruling. Capital offenders would be susceptible to capital punishment after participating in trials (Jacobs & Daniel, 2007). Capital punishment fails to be a punishment that can be imposed on individuals. This form of punishment is not only barbaric, but it also does not compare with the contemporary standards of humanity and civilization. Mainly, the abolition of this practice forms the backbone of development f international human rights law. Application of this punishment of the death penalty cannot be separated from matters of human rights. Central to this aspect, the punishment possesses a threat to the basic human rights. In addition, it remains to be impassionate and divisive human rights across the world. Currently, many states abolished the punishment already except a few nations spread across the continents (Jacobs & Daniel, 2007). The United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) expresses that abolition of capital offences enhances the dignity of humans and also ensures the development of human rights. The implementation of this form of prosecution remains to be irreversible in the event of erroneous judgment. This could lead to punishment if the innocent and the act were not reversed. In California, nine hundred individuals have been sentenced to death since the enation of the law in death penalty. In Georgia, death by hanging existed in the eighteenth century whereby, a Turkish woman, Alice Ryley, became the first victim. Death by electrocution came in since 1924. In 1972, the Supreme Court suspended the punishments. However, the Supreme Court retracted its decision in 1976 and passed the death penalty in its Constitution. Since 2001, executions by lethal injection became the legal method for executing the death penalty. Since 1924 to the year 2009, four hundred and sixty-six executions were carried out. In 2009, the state carried out three executions (Whitman, 2003). Nature of the problem Factors that control probabilities of execution portray substantial disparities following in-depth analysis of the data available. The duration of the process towards execution largely varies following in-depth study. This occurs due to variances in willingness to conduct the execution. A study to determine the survivors of the execution reveals hidden patterns. These studies conducted on the court trials reveals that offenders that kill tend to be more susceptible compared to the counterparts that kill a black individual. In order to establish execution probabilities outcomes of criminal justice, numerous studies use on trial court sentencing use individual data while other use aggregate data (Jacobs & Daniel, 2007). In as much as researchers maintain that race affects politics of the United States immensely, so does racial politics influences administration of the death penalty. Findings depict two paths that could be plausible. In the great majority of cases of homicide, the media tend to focus on those which happen between interracial individuals. The focus intensifies a white falls victim of interracial murder. In a study conducted from 1990 – 2008, in East Barton Rouge Louisiana, racial characteristics feature in the execution of death penalty reverberate. According to Homicide Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), one thousand, four hundred and fifty-four homicides occurred. Of these, murders among blacks accounted for eight hundred and eighty-four. On the other hand, the event of the murder of a black citizen by a white made up twenty-seven of the cases. Of these, three hundred and forty cases feel under the capital cases with two hundred black convictions and seven whites’ prosecution. Also, gender plays a big role in the punishments. In the non-capital sentencing, the female offenders receive less harsh punitive sentences as compared to the male counterparts. In addition, blacks on death row face lenient punishments for killing nonwhites (Jacobs & Daniel, 2007). Claims that political ideology shape the penalties issued influences the practice of democracy on the offenders seem to be observed in the findings of many studies. Punishment needs to ensure that unwanted vices are abolished from the society. Capital punishment fails to provide a second chance for personal reforms. The ultimate execution of the death penalty as a deterrent seems to be falling off course as exhibited on the statistics of criminal offenses. Often, murders occur in the event of temporary mental instability (Whitman, 2003). Human Rights as the Root for Abolition of Death Penalty Many countries abolished the execution of the death penalty for many reasons. For some, the comprehension of basic human rights such as Spain explained that the deprivation of life led to degradation of the same. Switzerland also abolished the penalty claiming that it diminished dignity of human life. As stated above, the death penalty among other erroneous judgments cannot be resolved. Its execution removes the chances of reconsideration. As a result, innocent individuals faced the punishment and the participant jury in their execution maintains a forefront campaign in the abolition of the punishment (Donohue & Justin, 2005). Many European countries, Canada, South Africa and Mexico remain adamant about extraditing offenders unless an assurance is given. This assurance to refrain from the death penalty always determines the decision of these countries. Conversely, the United States purports to uphold basic human rights. Despite this devotion, the concept of human rights barely arises in discussions. This happens regardless of the consideration that the founding of the United States considered recognition of particular unalienable rights. Paradoxically, the U.S expresses concerns over violations of human rights in countries like Cuba and China. In the United States, constitutional rights or civil rights tend to be the most applicable terms. The civil rights mainly focus on ensuring lawful equality for minority groups such as those of racial communities (Jacobs & Daniel, 2007). Groups of people demanding fair treatment from the U.S government base their complaints on constitutional or civil rights and less of their human rights. This paradox may be attributed to the assumption or perception that the U.S ensures human rights. Therefore, the development of the death penalty for capital offenders may not be considered a violation of human rights. Also, the concept being the violation of human rights in death penalties does not reverberate among many Americans (Donohue & Justin, 2005). Comparison of Concept between the Courts of Nigeria and the United States Capital punishment needs to be repudiated concerning its violation of the human divinity. On what values, philosophical or religious, would any man consider themselves worthy of depriving another man the right to life? In religion, God exhibits mercy so should individuals who believe in religion. Justice can only be upheld by other men as an advocacy for individuals who need the representation. The duty to uphold divine mercy and justice befall every human being which needs to take up the role of being an agent for the same (Donohue & Justin, 2005). The federal courts of America consider the death penalty as a more of a constitutional outcome and less as a cruel punishment. The founding fathers of America passed the Eighth Amendment of 1791 which included the death penalty as legal punishment. This demonstrates the approval of these founders towards deprivation of life and execution of human life. There is need to amend the constitution so as to abolish the capital punishment as an outcome of the constitutional right. This would only happen following redefinition of “alienable right”. However, individual state may take individual consideration in relation to the death penalty. As at 2002, twelve states and the District of Columbia retracted the death penalty from its constitution (Jacobs & Daniel, 2007). However, the majority of the States expressed an unwavering intention to uphold the death penalty. Consequently, the death penalty focuses on procedural defects. These defects include the right to a lawyer on the expense of the government for the defendant, application of the penalty on arbitrary grounds, selection of the jury participant. Many protocols of the Supreme Court create the undeterred oversight in the death penalty. The court rejects the concept of cruelty in the punishment of taking away human life. On the other hand, over the history of capital punishment in the United States, implementation only affected a narrower class of offenses and excluded a wider cluster of defendants (Western, 2006). On a more provident opinion, the Supreme Court lifted the death penalty from a selection of crimes. First, the offenses of rape and robbery that did not involve murder of the rape victim; and secondly, the resultant murder in which the defendant expressed self-defense and did not express reckless insignificance to human life. On a critical analysis, the Court founded these decisions on the concept of “difference of death” for a punitive cause. In addition, The Supreme Court carved out the exceptions to this punishment gradually. In 1988, the minimum age for execution would not be raised to eighteen years of age from that of fifteen. However, several amendments of the constitution have been executed since then (Whitman, 2003). References Donohue, John J. and Justin Wolfers. 2005. “Uses and Abuses of Empirical Evidence in the Death Penalty Debate.” Stanford Law Review 58:791–845 Jacobs, David and Daniel B. Tope. 2007. “The Politics of Resentment in the Post-Civil-Rights Era: Minority Threat, Homicide, and Ideological Voting in Congress.” American Journal of Sociology 113:1458–94. Western, Bruce. 2006. Punishment and Inequality in America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Whitman, James Q. 2003. Harsh Justice: Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide Between America and Europe. New York: Oxford Read More