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Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
An analysis of capital punishment in the justice system: Is it effective in curbing crime?
Literature Review
Student’s Name
Institution
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LITERATURE REVIEW
An analysis of capital punishment in the justice system: Is it effective in curbing crime?
Literature Review
Introduction
First, it is important to understand what exactly capital punishment is. Neacsu, &
Rotaru 2020 argue that capital punishment is any consequential punishment delivered as a
result of any crime through the due process of the law. The verdict must be given by the court
rather than a decision by an influential powerful leader in which case that is an extrajudicial
killing (Donohue, 2016). The term capital punishment can be used interchangeably with the
Death Penalty. In present-day laws in many countries, the penalty is not executed immediately
but rather given an amount of time for the due legal process to be completed. Such a process
comprises of possible appeals for the case and any possible change of judgment in the process.
Such a process is there to protect possible innocent victims of capital punishment from being
killed unfairly (Wilson & Rule, 2016). For example, in the case of The State of Texas vs Larry
Swearingen, the accused was judged and executed in 2019 with evident flaws in the forensics
of his case which later show that he was possibly innocent. As a result, inmates are normally
placed on death row for a given period awaiting any possible outcomes in their cases. Death
row durations sometimes stretch to many years. Capital punishment has however come under
criticism and has evolved over the ages to what it is right now and seems to be headed even
further down the road in the next few years.
History and development
The first death penalty documented in formal law is dated back to the 18th century
B.C in the code of King Hammurabi of Babylon who instituted death sentences for twenty-
five different crimes. However, it goes further back in undocumented laws to the Fifth Century
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LITERATURE REVIEW
in Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets and the Seventh Century in the Draconian Code of
Athens. It is also seen in the Fourteenth Century in the Hittite Code. Through this age, the
death sentences were done by ways of crucifixion, stoning, or beating to death, hanging,
burning, drowning, Beheading, and impalement among a few others (Bohm, 2016). Methods
like electrocution and lethal injection only came to appear long later in recent history.
In the very beginning, like in the Roman empire, the death penalty was the punishment
for every crime. The number of crimes viable for the consideration has been revised over time
through the ages. In ancient Greece, it was used on murder, rape, treason, and arson. Among
Romans, citizens were exempted from the death penalty for a short while in the duration of
the republic. However, it may not be clear how prevalent the death penalty was in those times
but studies show that it used to be avoided and some alternatives like banishment considered
like in the Japanese empire. The emperor referred to switching the death penalty with
deportation to remote areas like inhabited islands. There were times in the middle ages when
it was common for offenders to escape capital punishment through the benefit of the clergy
and this pardoning was done through juries (Wilson & Rule, 2016). It was not easy to prove
ordainment hence the best way to escape was to prove literacy by reading and writing.
Through the ages, the execution was public events attended sometimes even as
entertainment and as lessons to the general public. They could be brutal sometimes with some
of the worst being hurling of offenders of the Tarpeian Rock and being forced to gladiator
compart to the death in front of spectators in the arena. Romans also crucified and drowned
offenders in sealed bags. In China, inhumane ways like sawing in half and boiling were used.
In Europe, breaking on the wheel, burning at the stake, boiling in oil, decapitating the offender
with an ax or the famous guillotine, hanging, and drowning were the cruel ways used (Bohm,
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LITERATURE REVIEW
2016). The removal of the cruel ways has been gradual with the introduction of lethal
injection, electrocution, and gas in the 20th century. The topic of publication of executions
remains debated with recent public executions in some countries being condemned by the
united nations.
Critique of Capital Punishment
Plato is the first documented critic of capital punishment arguing in the 7th Century
that it should be reserve for only offenses that are incorrigible. In 1767, Cesare Beccaria also
opposed the death penalty through his essay, On Crimes and Punishment, theoretically
claiming that the state did not have the right to take a person’s life. The US abolitionist
movement then begins in the late 1700s and Pennsylvania became the first American state to
restrict crime subject to the death penalty in 1794. Venezuela became the first country to
abolish capital punishment for all crimes in 1863 with many states having reduced capital
crimes and built state penitentiaries for such criminals. The united nations general assembly
made it a necessity for members and prospecting members to fully guarantee the right to life
provided for in the universal declaration of human rights with a view of abolishing it altogether
and it was confirmed in 1977(Donohue, 2016). The same was later done by other trade unions
and international organizations with the European Union requiring its members to have
suspended all execution in 1998. Today, capital punishment has been abolished in many
countries across all continents and restricted to a small number of crimes which are also facing
possible abolition shortly. All these are done based on the fact that the whole idea of executing
violates human rights and that through execution, states, and countries engage in the very act
they are punishing hence that beats the cause.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Religious laws were originally proponents of the capital punishments with Christians
and Hindus referring to Genesis 9:6 (Whosoever sheddeth man’s blood, by man, shall his
blood be shed) and the content of the law of Moses in exodus which fronted the idea of an eye
for an eye. Islamic law, on the other hand, plays an important role too with the Quran
condoning capital punishment with specific crimes such as robbery, adultery, and apostasy.
Murder is however covered in the law of retaliation where the family of the victim decides of
the offender should be executed. However, in recent times, there have been differentiations
across religions with some opposing capital punishment since no human has the power to
judge and take the life of another (Bohm, 2016). Pope Francis also abolished and spoke
against capital punishment representation Christianity in the abolition.
Research question 1: What are the key concerns and issues related to the use of capital
punishment in the justice system?
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, capital punishment violates the
constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment and hinders the guarantee of due legal
processes. The shortcomings include:
The application is vulnerable to injustice and unfairness with possible discrimination
over social class, race, and other forms of corrupt tendencies.
It does not have any effect on the deterrence of violent crime hence turns to be a waste
of public funds and even time. According to the FBI, states with capital punishment tend to
have even higher rates of murder crimes.
The possibility of innocent people being executed has been seen in many cases is
another loophole in the administration of capital punishment. People are sentenced to death
and executed only to be discovered to have been innocent later.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
The cons of capital punishment
Capital punishment is cruel and unusual. This is because it is a borrowing from
uncivilized times in history when many and all forms of inhumane treatment of people like
slavery and maltreatment of prisoners of war among other vices were tolerable and normal
(Garland, 2017). Civilization has given the world a ride toward regard and reason hence that
should be among the things brushed back with history. It does not belong to this age. It is
unusual because most of the world has opened their eyes and completely abolished this vice
which should be abolished in the whole world.
It denies and hinders the due process of the law. The law changes over time and in any
case, evidence and even confessions can come up long later after completion of the case. Since
it is an irrevocable and irreversible sentence, it denies the offenders who are human and are
protected by that very law the chance to take advantage of any developments in their cases.
It violates equal protection which is a constitutional guarantee. The constitution is an
equal protector of every citizen free or incarcerated. The instances that have been experienced
with capital punishment have proved that it is given disproportionately hence denies
underprivileged populations their equal rights (Donohue, 2016).
It hasn’t proved to be effective and viable as a form of crime control. Researchers have
found out that even among police chiefs, capital punishment is ranked among the least
effective ways of curbing violent crime. Some scholar even argues that sometimes it gives
criminal pride since they tend to go down ceremoniously unlike being shot by rivals and such
instances. It is only political but not effective.
It is therefore definitely a waste of government resources. Considering the finding that
it is not as effective as a crime control method, it is a waste of precious resources for countries.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
These resources include time and funds that could otherwise be spent making society better
and freeing up the justice system. The essence of the justice system is to reduce crime through
rehabilitating offenders and not killing them (Wilson & Rule, 2016).
It indicates a lack of respect for human life both for the victim and the offenders.
Statistically, many families of victims of murder are not usually in support of capital
punishment hence it beats the purpose of who is meant to please and to what end. The reforms
that have been done to the whole idea including inventing nonpainful deaths are all cosmetics
meant to propel political ideologies rather than solve problems faced in society (Garland,
2017). In short, a society that respects human life does not deliberately end it no matter the
circumstances.
Research Question 2: How effective is the use of capital punishment in reducing the
crime rates in the community?
According to research, the death penalty has is not a deterrent to capital crimes. It does
not meet the threshold of what an effective punishment towards the prevention of crime should
be. It is neither consistent nor prompt. Relatively, the number of first-degree murders who are
sentenced to death is significantly few compared to the total number of offenders that
eventually face death row (Mori, 2020). From Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, the
mandatory death penalty was regraded unconstitutional in 1976. It is also considered that
persons that commit murder and other capital crimes often do not premeditate on doing that.
Most of such crimes happen in the heat of the moment with offenders under considerable
stress and the influence of drugs when logical thinking is not applied. In planned cases, the
attention to evasion is more hence the harshest punishment is not a deterrence (Bohm, 2016).
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LITERATURE REVIEW
On the other hand, the punishment f life imprisonment is harsh enough to deter any
right-thinking human being from proceeding with the crime (Mori, 2020). Prison sentences
are not the best experiences even for the toughest criminals in the world. The life
imprisonment sentences have overtime proved to be effective as they have reduced crime rates
compared to capital punishment (Katz et al., 2003). In short, capital punishment is not
effective in the handling of capital crimes.
Proponents of capital punishment
Supporters of a capital punishment state that it is a better cost-saver since offenders
and criminals do not end up in prisons spending more state tax money on food, security, and
health for the rest of their lives (Wilson & Rule, 2016). They state that it is a good scare threat
from capital crimes. It is more of vengeance toward the life of the victim which presents a
situation for the invoking of the ancient legal principle Lex talionis (an eye for an eye). It
reduces prison populations and reduces unnecessary addition to the correction and justice
system. It is finally a deterrence from the possibility of escape when life imprisonment is given
to an offender detained in prisons.
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References
Donohue, J. J. (2016). Empirical analysis and the fate of capital punishment. Duke J. Const.
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Wilson, J. P., & Rule, N. O. (2016). Hypothetical sentencing decisions are associated with
actual capital punishment outcomes: The role of facial trustworthiness. Social
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Bohm, R. M. (2016). Deathquest: An introduction to the theory and practice of capital
punishment in the United States. Taylor & Francis.
Stein, R. A. (2017). The History and Future of Capital Punishment in the United States. San
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Neacsu, A. C., & Rotaru, I. (2020). Capital Punishment. Between History and
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Thinley, T., & Ziegler Jr, A. H. (2020). Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment in America: An
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The case against the death penalty. (n.d.). American Civil Liberties
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Goel, R. K., & Mazhar, U. (2019). Does capital punishment deter white‐collar crimes?. The
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