Death penalty

"Capital punishment," "Death sentence," and "Execution" redirect here.

Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is the killing of a person by the state as punishment for a crime. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offenses. Historically, the execution of criminals and political opponents was used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. Among countries around the world, almost all European and many Pacific Area states (including Australia, New Zealand and Timor Leste), and Canada have abolished capital punishment. In Latin America, most states have completely abolished the use of capital punishment, while some countries, however, like Brazil, allow for capital punishment only in exceptional situations, such as treason committed during wartime. The United States (the federal government and 36 of its states), Guatemala, most of the Caribbean and the majority of democracies in Asia (e.g. Japan and India) and Africa (e.g. Botswana and Zambia) retain it.

In most places that practice capital punishment today, the death penalty is reserved as punishment for premeditated murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries sexual crimes, such as rape, adultery and sodomy, carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy (the formal renunciation of one's religion). In many retentionist countries (countries that use the death penalty), drug trafficking is also a capital offense. In China human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are also punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offenses such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny.

Capital punishment is a very contentious issue in some cultures. Supporters of capital punishment argue that it deters crime, prevents recidivism, and is an appropriate form of punishment for the crime of murder. Opponents of capital punishment argue that it does not deter criminals more than life imprisonment, violates human rights, leads to executions of some who are wrongfully convicted, and discriminates against minorities and the poor.

The latest country looking to abolish the death penalty for all crimes was Gabon which announced on September 14, 2007 that they would no longer apply capital punishment. The latest to have effectively done so was Uzbekistan on January 1, 2008.


The death penalty worldwide

Fore more information see...
Capital punishment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Global distribution of death penalty

Death Penalty World Map

Death Penalty World Map [see also the attached file "Death_Penalty_World_Map" below]

Colour scheme:
Blue: Abolished for all crimes
Green: Abolished for crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war)
Orange: Abolished in practice
Red: Legal form of punishment for certain offenses


Other related links

Capital Punishment Statistics - Statistical information and publications about capital punishment in the United States.

Abolish the Death Penalty - Death penalty action and resources from AIUSA, including information on the use of the death penalty in the USA.

Pro-death penalty.com - A resource for pro-death penalty information and resources. Includes case info on upcoming executions, a collection of death penalty links, current news, etc.

NCADP - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Death Penalty Links - Information and links to websites on the death penalty.




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[WSJ_law_blog]

A shift appears underway in how Ohio administers the death penalty.

As we noted here, capital punishment came under the microscope last month following the botched execution of Ohio inmate Romell Broom, who was convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl. Those attempting to administer the lethal IV failed to find a suitable vein in Broom’s arm.

Eventually, Ohio governor Ted Strickland called off the execution, granting Broom a two-week reprieve.

The governor has since extended the Broom delay and also suspended two more planned executions, while the state conducts a more detailed review of its execution method: a three-drug combination, which is similar to the one used by a majority of states.

The Strickland administration is all but certain to revise its protocols, WaPost
reports today. “Everything’s on the table at this point,” said Julie Walburn, spokeswoman for the Ohio corrections department.

Mark Dershwitz, a Massachusetts anesthesiologist who advises authorities in Ohio told the Post that by changing its lethal-injection drug dosages the state could ensure that “there’s no chance [defendants] could be made uncomfortable.”

Not all, of course, see the need for reform.

“It is ironic to hear a 53-year-old man and his attorney whine about being pricked with a needle when he is being executed for brutally raping and murdering a 14-year-old child by plunging a knife seven times into her chest,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason. “I am absolutely certain that it was Tryna Middleton that suffered from cruel and unusual punishment.”

Whatever happens in Ohio, “other states will be watching,” Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told the Post. Several states, he said, including Maryland, are working on lethal injection protocols.

[WSJ_law_blog]

We’ll continue on the death-penalty beat, shifting our attention to Texas, where Governor Rick Perry faces questions about the state’s investigation into the Cameron Willingham execution.

To recap, Willingham was convicted of setting a fire to Texas home back in 1991 and killing his three children. Various arson experts questioned the accuracy of the evidence used to convict, but Gov. Perry declined to spare Willingham’s life in 2004. Here’s a recent New Yorker piece on the case.

Now, Gov. Perry faces accusations that some of his aides tried to pressure the chairman of a panel investigating the state’s handling of the case.

As we noted here, the governor recently replaced the head of the Texas Forensic Science Commission and two other members, just 48 hours before the commission was to hear testimony from an arson expert who believes that Willingham was convicted on bad evidence.

Today, the Chicago Tribune reports that top aides to Perry tried to pressure Samuel Bassett, chairman of the panel, over the direction of the inquiry.

Bassett told the Trib that he twice was called to meetings with Perry’s top attorneys. At one of those meetings, Bassett said he was told they were unhappy with the course of the commission’s investigation.

“I was surprised that they were involving themselves in the commission’s decision-making,” Bassett said. “I did feel some pressure from them, yes.” The commission was created by the Texas Legislature in 2005 to improve forensics in Texas as well as investigate specific complaints. The Willingham case was among the panel’s first complaints.

According to Bassett, the Trib reports, the governor’s attorneys questioned the cost of the inquiry and asked why a fire scientist from Texas could not be hired to examine the case instead of the expert from Maryland that the panel settled on. Bassett also said that the governor’s deputy general counsel told Bassett that the Willingham investigation should be a lower priority.

Perry has denied that he has tried to quash the investigation. Still, his handling of the commission’s work has become a political issue, as he faces spirited opposition from US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in the 2010 race for governor.