Crime and Punishment
Should our democracy ban the death penalty?
Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the lawful execution of a convicted criminal by the government. Sixty-two countries, including India, Pakistan, Cuba, Japan, Iran, Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, retain the death penalty. In a democracy, there are limits on how the government can punish persons convicted of crimes. Almost all democracies, for example, forbid torture or cruel punishments for prisoners. There are dramatic differences, however, regarding capital punishment—both within and among democracies.
Lessons
Resources
Articles and Papers
- Amnesty International, “Country Report: Russian Federation,” Amnesty International Report 2008
- Angus Reid Global Monitor, “Lukewarm Support for Death Penalty in Britain”
- Angus Reid Global Monitor, “Czechs Argue for Return of Capital Punishment”
- Angus Reid Global Monitor, “Italians Opposed to Death Penalty”
- Angus Reid Global Monitor, “Support for Capital Punishment High in Russia”
- “Chapter III, Section 5: The Death Penalty,” Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China
- Congressional Research Service, “Eighth Amendment: Annotations, Capital Punishment,” The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation
- Constitutional Rights Foundation, “The Death Penalty: Is the U.S. Out of Step?” Bill of Rights in Action
- Council of Europe, “The Death Penalty”
- European Union, “Article 2: Right to Life,” Charter of Fundamental Rights
- Holy See, “Declaration of The Holy See to the First World Congress on the Death Penalty”
- Westcott, Kathryn, “Who Stands Where on the Death Penalty?” BBC News
Activities and Websites
- Death Penalty Information Center
- Death Penalty Information Center - Map of Abolitionist and Retentionist Countries
- ProCon.org, “Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed?”
Audio Articles
- "Death Penalty Under Review" National Public Radio (May 30, 2008)
- "Does Death Penalty Deter Crime" National Public Radio (November 20, 2007)
- Vaughan, David, “Milada Horáková: Dignity in the Face of Fanaticism,” Radio Praha (October 9, 2008)
