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In the early 1800s an Englishman could be hanged for stealing a shirt. By the end of the 1900s, growing concern for individual rights had caused the death penalty to disappear from the United Kingdom and nearly everywhere else in the Western world. Two exceptions are Belarus and the United States, although this year New Mexico became the 15th state to outlaw capital punishment. Death-penalty opponents cite the exoneration of 131 people on death row since 1973 as well as the high cost of capital cases.
DEATH ROWS In 2008 there were official reports of 2,390 executions in 25 countries. Click to expand graphic (below).
Defenders argue that the
penalty offers justice and cite
some studies that show it’s
a deterrent. The practice is
strong in culturally conservative
areas—Japan, Saudi Arabia,
Texas—and totalitarian regimes.
Elsewhere, opposition is
mounting. Indian activists
believe capital punishment is
a violation of the right to life. In most countries where
the penalty is still on the books, it is used less and less, notes Piers
Bannister of Amnesty International’s London office. He believes
global opinion will eventually bring an end to executions. “Not in my
lifetime,” says Bannister, 47, “but in my children’s.” —Karen E. Lange
NGM Maps. Source: Amnesty International
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Comments
Aug 17, 2009 12AM #
Being forced to spend your life in service with death by natural causes as your only relief. That is the accountability society needs to make the primary goal of punishment. Death is a cop out in comparision.
Humane treatment of criminals is simple nutrients, and shelter.
Labouring from sun up til sun down everyday til death.
The way to repay the world for the labour lost due to criminal circumstance is to be subjected to maximum labor for life.
Not playing sports, lifting weighs, sitting in solitaire, interacting with others (tv, phones, computers).
Labourer til death.
Killing only condemns the human spirit thus killing is not an option for redemption for anyone.
Labor. Being made to be productive and producing til death with no reward or relief.
Not turture in any way, however no rewards that are available to normal labouring individual.
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