The exonerations of Glenn Ford in the US and Iwao Hakamada in Japan, shed light on a long debated question: has capital punishment got a place in a modern justice system?
Even most of those, ferociously campaigning against death penalty argue that the worst of the worst do deserve to die. Murdering a murderer sounds like a contradiction? Your emotions may advise you otherwise, but logic indicates paradox.
For better understanding, let we leave our emotions behind and consider the issue purely through logic:
In a justice system where the most fundamental right of all human beings – the right to live – is taken away from the criminally accused, governments in fact do advocate murder, even if only in specific cases.
Such systems paint a rather alarming picture of a future, where a small minority of people decide over essential rights, and where ethics and human rights deserve limited consideration. The existence of capital punishment, in fact indicates major problems with how the concept of human rights is handled by certain present day governments.
Is capital punishment effective?
One of the most cited arguments for the employment of the death penalty is its potential to reduce homicides. The question, whether countries employing capital punishment experience fewer number of crimes is inevitable. Reports by various independent researchers indicate no difference in the number of crimes between American states that do, and those that do not employ the death penalty. While data does slightly differ, most studies agree that capital punishment does not produce fewer homicides.
Interior of Cellblock Housing Death Row – Eastern State Penitentiary – Philadelphia – Pennsylvania. Image credit: Adam Jones, Ph.D.
Further controversies
One hundred and forty-four people facing capital punishment have been exonerated in the last forty years in the US alone, indicating serious problems in how the most severe court cases are being dealt with. Certain ethnic and minority groups tend to end up being accused more often than others, while busy courts aim to end cases as quickly as possible, leading to very serious potential mistakes. Such mistakes include mistreatment of evidence and flawed witness reports, such as in the case of Glenn Ford.
These famous mistakes draw attention to the most prominent and dangerous aspect of capital punishment: its irreversibility. It is only imaginable how many people were and still are wrongly accused, mistreated and murdered worldwide. Of course, capital punishment’s eye for eye approach is not only outdated and strongly questionable in the case of the wrongly accused, it breaches the right of every human being, guilty or not.
Potential misconduct
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in a dissent unheard of in the history of the US justice system, allowed a stay from execution to an inmate, so the court could decide whether to hear his appeal regarding his method of death. The decision came shortly after serious concerns were raised regarding some newly applied methods of execution.
Drugs previously used became unavailable due to funding, thus prison staff often use new, poorly supervised drugs that regularly cause unnecessary suffering. Several dying inmates’ last words described insufferable burns and pain which often lasted minutes.
Those that could professionally supervise executions are unable to do so, due to medical codes of ethics and untrained staff are often incapable to effectively and humanely do so. Such conditions are ideal for potential unethical behaviour and deliberate misconduct.
In Japan, the situation is even worse: the custom is to deny inmates and their families information regarding the execution`s date or method, as officials argue such knowledge would unsettle the inmate, thus causing unnecessary trouble. Such method allowed Iwao Hakamada to spend every hour of every day of the last forty years waiting for his death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67b9ySJJzTs
Today less and less governments employ capital punishment, as they slowly realize that not only it is a breach of the most essential of human rights but it is ineffective, and court mistakes and mistreatment occur so often that the potential loss is far greater than the uncertain gain.
It is most arguable that its many pitfalls should prepare this medieval practice for a ban all over the world.
Alternatives
Some judges call on quicker and more humane methods of execution, but they effectively miss the most important point: the inherent unethical nature of the practice. Inmates in an effective society, that is led by logical decisions, rather than emotional judgements can and do contribute to society. Some initiatives in the area involve inmates in factory production, maintenance of prison facilities and educating other inmates.
The most important distinctive feature of a successful society is its effective justice system. A system that protects first, and then punishes. In an effective modern justice system, capital punishment does not have a place.
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