Essay on Capital Punishment: Death sentence in legal terms means the execution of a criminal owing to the intensity of his crime. Capital punishment is enforced after the court produces judgement of the highest order of punishment against the criminal. Capital punishment sets the stage for a more civilised society and discourages criminals from committing heinous crimes and offences in the country.
Essay on Capital Punishment 500 Words in English
Below we have provided Capital Punishment Essay in English, suitable for class 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10.
For justice to prevail, it is essential to incorporate capital punishment. An eye for an eye is one of the oldest forms of justice. Capital punishment is the legal death penalty given to a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offence. It is named capital punishment because capita means the head, hence a punishment involving head loss. Methods of execution are electrocution, hanging, shooting, lethal gas or injections.
Origin of Capital Punishment
Going back to the eighteen century. B.C. in the code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for twenty-five different crimes. The death sentence was carried out by drowning, crucifixion, beating to death, burning alive, impalement etc. The Jews also adopted techniques including stoning, hanging and beheading.
The Greek philosopher Socrates was told to drink poison for heresy and corruption of youth. The Romans has a unique way of punishing the person who killed their parents. The suspect was submersed in water in a sack which also contained a dog, a viper or an ape.
Types of Capital Punishments
Types of Capital Punishment in different countries from ancient to modern times are as follows:
- Slicing – In this form of execution, the person who has committed crime is killed by using a knife to remove portions of the body over a period of time. It was a kind of torture, and the condemned were sometimes given opium to prevent from fainting or as an act of mercy.
- Suffocating – Ancient Persia method of execution included suffocating the person in the tower or room filled with ash. Wheels were constantly turned, making the ash whirl around, and the person dies by gradual suffocation due to the intake of ash through inhalation.
- Decapitation – It was a common form of punishment in Japan. Samurai was appointed to decapitate the offenders. Once the victim’s abdomen was cut open, another warrior would strike his head off from behind to reduce the suffering.
- Stoning – Stoning is the most common and widespread method which is prevalent even today. It was used for adultery.
- Crushing – Crushing through elephants or by placing heavy stones on the chest was another gruesome death punishment which was carried out for over four thousand years in Southeast Asia.
- Hanging – The person is hanged till death through a noose. Also, the criminal’s eyes are covered, and the hands are tied behind the back. In India, all capital punishment is implemented by hanging.
- Electrocution – The United States is the country who exercise capital punishment through electrocution in 2013. A person is tied to an electric chair and is subjected to heavy electric charge.
Capital Punishment Laws in India
As stated above, this punishment is reserved for the rarest of rare cases. It is only awarded under one of the following conditions:*
- In case of committing or abetting a capital offence(such as treason or murder)
- Declaring war against the Indian Government
- Abetting or engaging in a mutiny within the armed forces
- Giving or fabricating false evidence with an intent to procure the conviction of a capital offence
- Murder
- Abetting the suicide of a minor
- Aiding or abetting an act of Sati
- Kidnapping
- Drug trafficking (repeat offenders)
- Rape of a child under 12 years of age
- Dacoity with murder
- Rape which leads to the incapacitation of the victim, their death or
- Sale of poisoned alcohol (for Gujarat only)
Thus, India has the given laws for awarding death penalty. However, the proceedings which lead to this sentence are not rushed or fast. The time taken to award this sentence seems everlasting and aeonian. Justice delayed is justice denied. This is the frequent complaint of the people against the Indian Judicial system.
President’s Power
The President of India, borrowing from the Government of India Act 1935, has the power to reprieve and grant pardon in cases where the convict who has been sentenced to death by the apex court appeals against the verdict. This is the convict’s last straw. If the President does not grant a pardon or commute the sentence, the sentence shall be followed through, and no mercy shall be shown to the convict.
This, however, is a tricky power. The President of India cannot decide their opinion in a day. The President deliberates with the Council Of Ministers and considers their advice before he/she can conclude. Also, there is no fixed time to deliver the verdict on a mercy petition.