The death penalty, also known as capital punishment or, to some, judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a human being as punishment for murder, treason, or in some countries even drug dealing. A person condemned to death by a court of law is normally referred to as being on “death row.” There are many methods of execution such as hanging, shooting, electrocution, lethal injection, stoning or gassing. Crimes that are punishable by death are known as capital crimes, capital offences, or capital felonies, and vary depending on the jurisdiction, but commonly include serious crimes against a person. The death penalty has been abolished in many countries of the world, but many others still have this punishment.
The highest number of executions in 2023 were in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the USA. China is the world’s leading executioner, followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia. There is now a huge campaign worldwide to abolish the death penalty and Amnesty International is at the forefront of this campaign. Proponents of the abolitionist campaign believe that the death penalty violates the most fundamental human right – the right to life. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
The death penalty is discriminatory. It is often used against the most vulnerable in society, including the poor, ethnic and religious minorities, and people with mental disabilities. Some governments use it to silence their opponents. Where justice systems are flawed and unfair trials rife, the risk of executing an innocent person is ever present. When the death penalty is carried out, it is final. Mistakes cannot be undone. An innocent person may be released from prison for a crime they did not commit, but an execution can never be reversed.
Revenge is not the answer. The answer lies in reducing violence, not causing more death.
Over the past decade, an average of at least three countries a year have abolished the death penalty, affirming respect for human life and dignity
There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than a prison term. In fact, crime figures from countries which have banned the death penalty have not risen. In some cases they have actually gone down. In Canada, the murder rate in 2008 was less than half that in 1976 - the year when the death penalty was abolished there. Execution is the ultimate, irrevocable punishment: the risk of executing an innocent person can never be eliminated. Since 1973, for example, more than 197 people sent to death row in the USA have later been exonerated or released from death row on grounds of innocence. Others have been executed despite serious doubts about their guilt. Countries who execute commonly cite the death penalty as a way to deter people from committing crimes. This claim has been repeatedly discredited, and there is no evidence that the death penalty is any more effective in reducing crime than, for instance, life imprisonment.
The system of the death penalty in Pakistan is debated, with many people being for it while others oppose this form of punishment. Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) has recently published its report with the findings that Pakistan must think twice about this punishment in our legal system.
Today, in this country, there are over 6,000 prisoners waiting for their ultimate fate on death row. The continued use of the death penalty has not made any difference in the crime rate. In fact, crime rates continue to rise in all the major cities of the country, so it is about time that we abolish this cruel and outdated form of punishment. The JPP report points out that nobody has been executed since 2019, but the number of people receiving the death sentence is rising steadily every year. The increase in the number of people on death row is a huge question mark on our judicial system, which is both inefficient and a hallmark of justice delayed.
Prisoners on death row awaiting execution are victims of great anxiety and psychological suffering, and instead of serving the cause of justice, the death penalty results in a cycle of despair.
Regional disparities pointed out in this report are a cause for concern. Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa account for the overwhelming majority of death row inmates, with 2,505 and 2,311 prisoners respectively. In contrast, Sindh has 557 and Baluchistan has 398 death row prisoners.
The time has come to abolish the death penalty worldwide. The case for abolition becomes more compelling with each passing year. Everywhere, experience shows that executions brutalise those involved in the process. Nowhere has it been shown that the death penalty has any special power to reduce crime or political violence. In country after country, it is used disproportionately against the poor or against racial or ethnic minorities. It is also used as a tool of political repression. It is imposed in an arbitrary manner and is an irrevocable punishment, resulting inevitably in the execution of people innocent of any crime. It is a violation of fundamental human rights.
Over the past decade, an average of at least three countries a year have abolished the death penalty, affirming respect for human life and dignity. Yet, too many governments still believe that they can solve urgent social or political problems by executing a few or even hundreds of their prisoners. Too many citizens in too many countries are still unaware that the death penalty offers society not further protection but further brutalisation. Abolition is gaining ground, but not fast enough.
The state can exercise no greater power over a person than that of deliberately depriving him or her of life. At the heart of the case for abolition, therefore, is the question of whether the state has the right to do so. The death penalty, however, is not an act of self-defense against an immediate threat to life. It is the premeditated killing of a prisoner who could be dealt with equally well by less harsh means.