Realities of the death penalty

A recent article examines the widespread belief that the death penalty brings justice to the families of victims. The article considers that the death penalty, does not in fact lead to justice for various reasons.

Sister Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun and human rights defender who has been advocating for the abolition of the death penalty for more than 30 years in the United States says that the average waiting time for a death sentence to be carried out, is 17 years from sentencing to execution. It is highlighted that this is a long wait for justice to be done.

Andrés Pérez, death penalty focal point with the Rule of Law and Democracy Section in UN Human Rights gives another perspective in that in many cases, the families of victims feel retraumatised by another killing related to their case.

The UN human rights and the UN system advocate for the universal abolition of the death penalty for three main reasons:

1.        It is difficult to reconcile with human rights, especially the right to life;

2.       It is prone to bias and error; and

3.       There is little to no evidence that the death penalty is a significant deterrent to crime in general. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights shows that all human beings have an innate, essential right to life and should not be subjected to cruel, degrading punishment or torture as highlighted by Sister Helen as she describes witnessing an execution held in the execution chambers.

You can read more here.