SHOULD WE BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY?

The death penalty is one of the oldest punishment types out there and it is usually
associated with the middle ages. However, nowadays, it is a topic that is discussed often in
Turkey. Especially, after we hear about big crimes such as rape, terrorism, and child abuse.
Therefore, this makes people ask the question of ‘’Should we bring back the death penalty?’’
The death penalty is not a punishment that we should bring back because existing evidence
shows that it does not deter criminals and it also brings international struggle for Turkey.
Moreover, there will always be a risk of wrongful executions of innocent people.
One of the main arguments of the death penalty supporters is that it helps deter people
from committing criminal offenses. However, study results show that this is not the case.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center’s (DPIC) study, the majority of death
penalty states have higher murder rates than non-death penalty states in the USA. Another study
done by John Lamperti investigates the pros evidence and cons evidence regarding the death
penalty in the USA. In his paper, Lamberti concludes that existing evidence shows that the death
sentence does not deter criminals. An additional study from the DPIC reveals consistent data
with the USA evidence. It was found that ten out of 11 countries that have ended the death
penalty had experienced a decline in murder rates.
Another argument in regards to the death penalty that it is easy to bring back and it only
requires just one law change on the constitution. However, this is more complicated than that.
Turkey has two international treaties regarding the death penalty. One of them is the 13th
protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) signed by the members of the
Council of Europe. To this date, no country has withdrawn from this protocol. The other treaty is
the Number 2 protocol of the International Covenant on Personal and Political Rights, signed by
the United Nations (UN) member countries. And there is no mechanism to withdraw from this
protocol. Therefore, there is no legal way to bring back the death penalty. However, in theory,
Turkey can ignore the Number 2 protocol and bring back the death penalty. This can terminate
Turkey’s membership in European Council and European Union membership process too.
One more issue with the death penalty is that people assume it is only applied to the
people who are proved guilty. However, there is not any country with a perfect legal system in
the world so there will be always a risk of wrongful conviction. Both life imprisonment and the
death penalty are sentences that cannot be ‘fully’ reversible but there are still some ways to help
wrongly given jail sentences, yet, with the death penalty, this is not possible. For instance, a
study from DPIC reveals the wrongly executed convicts in the USA. In the case of Larry
Swearingen, a sample mistake from the laboratory led to his execution in 2019.
To conclude, at the first sight the death penalty seems like the perfect solution to the big
criminal offenses, however, studies around the world show that it does not deter criminals or
brings immediate justice, and in Turkey’s case the death penalty brings more trouble with
international treaties. People want the death penalty on our constitution again because they fear
that these criminal offenses may affect them or their loved ones or they want it to get revenge.
The death penalty will not be a permanent solution but a short interruption for criminal offenses.
Therefore, we should not bring it back.
 References

Murder Rate of Death Penalty States Compared to Non-Death Penalty States. (2021). Retrieved
1 February 2021, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/murder-rates/murder-rate-
of-death-penalty-states-compared-to-non-death-penalty-states

Does Capital Punishment Deter Murder? A brief look at the evidence (2021). Retrieved 1
February 2021, from
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/teaching_aids/books_articles/JLpaper.pdf

Study: International Data Shows Declining Murder Rates After Abolition of Death Penalty.
(2021). Retrieved 1 February 2021, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/study-international-
data-shows-declining-murder-rates-after-abolition-of-death-penalty

Executed But Possibly Innocent. (2021). Retrieved 1 February 2021, from

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence/executed-but-possibly-innocent

Ölüm Cezası Üzerine Düşünceler ve Anayasa Değişikliği ile 4771 Sayılı Kanun’un Getirdiği
Yeni Düzenlemeler – Feyzioğlu Avukatlık Ortaklığı. (2021). Retrieved 1 February 2021, from
http://www.feyzioglu.av.tr/olum-cezasi-uzerine-dusunceler-ve-anayasa-degisikligi-ile-4771-
sayili-kanunun-getirdigi-yeni-duzenlemeler/