“Hate the sin, not the sinner” is the famous quote of the great Indian leader

Mahatma Gandhi. He expressed this at his book named “The experiment with truth”.
I believe that a human being is not criminal by born. Society, environment, social
pressure, lack of basic needs and poverty are behind the scene of a sinner.
A statistic showed that in Bangladesh from 2010 to 2017 total 1422, death penalty
was given. And the highest in 2017 that was 303. In 2010 that was 76. Another report
showed that “Bangladesh was ranked as the third among all countries for imposing
death sentences in the year 2015.”
Death penalty is the highest punishment of our land. Our believe that if any criminal
got the death penalty, that penalty will be set as a precedent for our society and no
one will commit that types of crime in future because everyone has fear of his own
life. Fact is the number of criminal offences are not decreasing but the death penalty
is increasing day by day. That’s mean this theory don’t work at all. So, death penalty
is not the solution for reducing crimes.
Death penalty violet human rights. It breaches two essential human rights. Those
are, right to life and the right to live free from torture. And both of these rights are
protected the universal declaration of the human rights adopted by United Nations
in 1948.
42 countries have prohibited the death penalty in their constitutions. Almost all of
these prohibitions are on human rights grounds.
 On 24 October 1990 the Hungarian Constitutional Court declared that the
death penalty violates the "inherent right to life and human dignity" as
provided under Article 54 of the country's constitution. The judgment had the
effect of abolishing the death penalty for all crimes in Hungary.
 On 6 June 1995 the South African Constitutional Court declared the death
penalty for murder as provided under the country’s laws to be incompatible
with the prohibition of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment" under the country's interim constitution. Eight of the 11 judges
also found that the death penalty violates the right to life. The ruling had the
effect of abolishing the death penalty for murder.
 On 9 December 1998 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania
declared that the death penalty for murder as provided under the Lithuanian
Criminal Code contradicts provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania stating that the right to life shall be protected by the law and
 prohibiting torture, injury, degradation and maltreatment and the
establishment of such punishments.
 On 29 December 1999 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine declared the death
penalty under the country’s laws unconstitutional and the laws providing for
it void. The court stated that the death penalty is incompatible with articles
of the Constitution of Ukraine which provide for the right to life and prohibit
torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that violates
a person’s dignity. It noted that unlike the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the Ukrainian Constitution does not explicitly allow for
the death penalty as an exception to the right to life.
 On 11 November 1999 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania
abrogated the death penalty in peacetime as incompatible with the
Constitution of the Republic of Albania, Article 21 of which states: The life
of a person is protected by law. The court stated that the death penalty is a
denial of the right to life and constitutes an inhuman and cruel punishment.
The court noted that unlike previous constitutional provisions, Article 21 of
the Constitution of 1998 does not explicitly allow for the death penalty as an
exception to the right to life.

 In a general comment on Article 6 of the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee has stated
that Article 6 "refers generally to abolition [of the death penalty] in
terms which strongly suggest... that abolition is desirable. The
Committee concludes that all measures of abolition should be
considered as progress in the enjoyment of the right to life... " The UN
Human Rights Committee has expressed concern over the retention of
the death penalty in states parties to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and has encouraged states parties to abolish it in
law. The UN Committee against Torture has welcomed the abolition
of the death penalty and moves towards abolition in several countries.
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, states
in its preamble that "abolition of the death penalty contributes to
enhancement of human dignity and progressive development of human
rights" and that all measures of abolition of the death penalty should
be considered as progress in the enjoyment of the right to life. In
resolution 2005/59, adopted on 20 April 2005, the UN Commission on
 Human Rights stated that "the abolition of the death penalty
contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and to the
progressive development of human rights" and that "the abolition of
the death penalty is essential for the protection of [the right to life]".
The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions has emphasized that the abolition of capital punishment is
most desirable in order fully to respect the right to life".
Now a day, 104 countries had completely abolished the death penalty by the end of
2016. 19 states of USA abolished the death penalty. The first one is Alaska in 1957
and the last one is Delaware in 2016.
“The death penalty does not act as a deterrent any better than other punishments. If
it did, death penalty states would have lower rates of murder than non-death penalty
states. The death penalty satisfies the need some people have for retribution -an eye
for an eye. We don't exact this kind of retribution for other crimes. Rapists aren't
thrown helpless to people who will rape them; drunk drivers who injure or kill others
in accidents aren't made to stand in front of speeding cars.”- Tim Dees
Everyone has a right to live. So, court can send a criminal to the reformation center.
Where the criminal will get the proper treat and study of life. As a result, they can
change themselves and after the end of the punishment they can led a meaningful
life with their family. If there is a death penalty there is no chance for getting new
life.
If the 104 countries of the world can abolish the death penalty then why we not!
Because “the death penalty is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to
it.”-Shetty.

References: Forbess, Amnesty International, Odhikar.org, Amnesty index ACT 50/001/2006 and
Wikipedia
 Assignment: No More Taking Life
Course Name: Law of Crimes

Submitted By:
Name: Kalyan Chakroborty
ID: 1621457011
Section: Law213.1

Submitted To: Nasmin Jabin Noor (NJN)