Image Courtesy- blog.foreignpolicy.com The recent abhorrent incident of rape and murder of two girls near Azara, on their way from airport in a taxi, has certainly ashamed every right thinking citizen. The heinous episode has not only shaken the conscience of the city dwellers, but perhaps has brought various aspects, ranging from security cover of the city to deceasing humanity, under scrutiny. However, one vexatious aspect of this is even after people clogging the streets to protest against rape and after numerous rape convicts being sentenced to death, why sexual atrocities, predominantly rape hasn't deterred. The million dollar question that pops out in the present scenario is, is mere death penalty enough?
It’s evident enough that death penalty perhaps can never be justified in the form of justice or can’t bring justice to anybody. Any civilized society can never have any place for death penalty. Whatever may the crime be, killing someone is synonymously a form of violence. For the innumerable form of violent and heinous crimes taking place in the society, we ourselves say that violence in any form is unacceptable, then how can we justify death penalty and support the right to take life of others.
Even, according to Amnesty International, there are thousands of people in this country who believe that the use of death penalty is arbitrary, flawed and biased. Death penalty is merely short term revenge. Speaking in the context of rape, there’s no doubt that it’s one of the most heinous crime prevalent in the society and stringent punishment must be ensured, however though we presume that the survivors of rape and other women centric violence might want the killing or physical harm of the convict, but through studies and research by women based activists procured that even the women folk who are the worst sufferers of violence and abhorrent acts doesn’t stand for physical harm of the convicts. According to the victims, what has been done to them, they never want that to happen with others. What they sought is justice, not revenge and death in any form can’t bring justice to anyone. Moreover, death and a few minutes of fear before it is not what can be termed as punishment.
Very often we feel that death penalty might work as an asset towards bringing down the crime rate or creating a fear towards committing it. However, there’s no any evidence or research to suggest that death penalty succeeded in deterring the crime rate or creating a fearing. Rather a shocking survey reveals that, in American countries where death penalty is still prevalent the crime rate is higher than, the countries which has abolished capital punishment.
Putting light on the Saudi-Arabian and some middle east countries, punishment like public hanging, chopping of limbs or stoning to death are quit prevalent. Though such punishments might create a degree of fear or deterrence of crimes but, again we need to question ourselves, do we want to transit to a society of that sort where merely in a week or more judgment is being delivered and death penalty is handed over, where there’s even doubt in the credibility of the judgment. There might even be chances of false fabrication of the accused.
Lastly, this again brings us to the question; can death penalty transform a society? However, the fact remains that killing can never transform a society. It neither can serve nor justify a community or society in any form. There’s a lot more to do other than killing, to make the society grow and improve its stature. To uplift the society in terms of aesthetic and moral grounds focus should be on creating a space for education, acuity, equal access to justice and legal opportunity and eradication of poverty.
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It’s evident enough that death penalty perhaps can never be justified in the form of justice or can’t bring justice to anybody. Any civilized society can never have any place for death penalty. Whatever may the crime be, killing someone is synonymously a form of violence. For the innumerable form of violent and heinous crimes taking place in the society, we ourselves say that violence in any form is unacceptable, then how can we justify death penalty and support the right to take life of others.
Even, according to Amnesty International, there are thousands of people in this country who believe that the use of death penalty is arbitrary, flawed and biased. Death penalty is merely short term revenge. Speaking in the context of rape, there’s no doubt that it’s one of the most heinous crime prevalent in the society and stringent punishment must be ensured, however though we presume that the survivors of rape and other women centric violence might want the killing or physical harm of the convict, but through studies and research by women based activists procured that even the women folk who are the worst sufferers of violence and abhorrent acts doesn’t stand for physical harm of the convicts. According to the victims, what has been done to them, they never want that to happen with others. What they sought is justice, not revenge and death in any form can’t bring justice to anyone. Moreover, death and a few minutes of fear before it is not what can be termed as punishment.
Very often we feel that death penalty might work as an asset towards bringing down the crime rate or creating a fear towards committing it. However, there’s no any evidence or research to suggest that death penalty succeeded in deterring the crime rate or creating a fearing. Rather a shocking survey reveals that, in American countries where death penalty is still prevalent the crime rate is higher than, the countries which has abolished capital punishment.
Putting light on the Saudi-Arabian and some middle east countries, punishment like public hanging, chopping of limbs or stoning to death are quit prevalent. Though such punishments might create a degree of fear or deterrence of crimes but, again we need to question ourselves, do we want to transit to a society of that sort where merely in a week or more judgment is being delivered and death penalty is handed over, where there’s even doubt in the credibility of the judgment. There might even be chances of false fabrication of the accused.
Lastly, this again brings us to the question; can death penalty transform a society? However, the fact remains that killing can never transform a society. It neither can serve nor justify a community or society in any form. There’s a lot more to do other than killing, to make the society grow and improve its stature. To uplift the society in terms of aesthetic and moral grounds focus should be on creating a space for education, acuity, equal access to justice and legal opportunity and eradication of poverty.
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