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Abolitionism: Unterschied zwischen den Versionen
→Reasons for Abolition
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====Reasons for Abolition==== | ====Reasons for Abolition==== | ||
*State has no Right (Social Contract) | *State has no Right (Social Contract). The death penalty (capital punishment) can be seen as a violation of human rights. To deny the right to life is a serious challenge to the very idea of rights belonging to a human being. | ||
*Uselessness and Counterproductivity (Beccaria ... ) | *Uselessness and Counterproductivity (Beccaria ... ) | ||
*Irreversibility of wrongful executions. | *Irreversibility of wrongful executions. | ||
Protagonists and their Arguments: | |||
*One of the first Quakers by the name of John Bellers (1654-1775) was critical of the death penalty, as was Cesare Beccaria (/1764), even if Beccaria allowed for the death penalty to persist in cases of high treason in the penal code of Lombardy at the late 18th century in the development of which he was involved. Beccaria founded his argument upon the social contract: nobody would agree to his losing his life in such a contract. German philosopher Immanuel Kant saw it quite differently, though. | |||
====Situation Today==== | |||
Despite pressure for the abolition of the death penalty, many countries in the world still maintain the death penalty in their criminal codes and in practice. | Despite pressure for the abolition of the death penalty, many countries in the world still maintain the death penalty in their criminal codes and in practice. | ||
Capital punishment has, in the past, been practised by most societies; currently 58 nations actively practise it, and 97 countries have abolished it (the remainder have not used it for 10 years or allow it only in exceptional circumstances such as wartime). | Capital punishment has, in the past, been practised by most societies; currently 58 nations actively practise it, and 97 countries have abolished it (the remainder have not used it for 10 years or allow it only in exceptional circumstances such as wartime). | ||
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Although many nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the world's population live in countries where executions take place, such as the People's Republic of China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia, the four most-populous countries in the world, which continue to apply the death penalty (although in India, Indonesia and in many US states it is rarely employed). Each of these four nations voted against the General Assembly resolutions. (from. capital punishment, in: en.wikipedia). | Although many nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the world's population live in countries where executions take place, such as the People's Republic of China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia, the four most-populous countries in the world, which continue to apply the death penalty (although in India, Indonesia and in many US states it is rarely employed). Each of these four nations voted against the General Assembly resolutions. (from. capital punishment, in: en.wikipedia). | ||
==== Where and why does capital punishment persist? ==== | |||
David Garland attributes the persistence of capital punishment to the relatively undeveloped nature of the American state and to the country’s low levels of social solidarity. Governments that are secure in their power and legitimacy are confident enough to banish the executioner. These tend to be countries that have professional criminal justice systems insulated from the public’s passion for revenge and that are able to maintain low levels of interpersonal violence. Not so surprisingly, then, the death penalty is most entrenched in the South, which has had the nation’s highest homicide rates and where the police have tended to be relatively under-funded and less professiona. | David Garland attributes the persistence of capital punishment to the relatively undeveloped nature of the American state and to the country’s low levels of social solidarity. Governments that are secure in their power and legitimacy are confident enough to banish the executioner. These tend to be countries that have professional criminal justice systems insulated from the public’s passion for revenge and that are able to maintain low levels of interpersonal violence. Not so surprisingly, then, the death penalty is most entrenched in the South, which has had the nation’s highest homicide rates and where the police have tended to be relatively under-funded and less professiona. | ||