Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a state-

sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime.

As of 2022, 54 countries retain capital punishment, 108 countries

have completely abolished it for all crimes, 7 have abolished it for
ordinary crimes, and 26 are abolitionist in practice. Although most
nations have abolished capital punishment, over 60% of the world's
population live in countries where the death penalty is retained,
such as China, India, parts of the United States, Singapore,
Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Japan, and Taiwan.

In developed countries, the death penalty is always preceded by a

lengthy trial at different levels, the defendant is given opportunities
to appeal. Often this leads to the fact that years or even decades
pass between the sentencing and its execution (or pardon, as well as
the death of the convicted person from other causes). For example, in
the United States (Georgia), Jack Alderman was sentenced to death
for the murder of his wife at the age of 24, and was executed more
than 33 years later. Execution can only be carried out by an authorized
representative of the state at the appointed time, otherwise this action is
considered murder and is punishable by law. In most modern states, the
death penalty is carried out non-publicly, that is, only persons specified
by law have the right to attend.

In some cases, the death penalty can be commuted to life imprisonment

or a long term of imprisonment by a court decision. A person sentenced
to death by a court may also be pardoned by the highest official of the
state.

List of methods of capital punishment

- Hanging (повешание)
One of the two most prevalent (превелент) methods, in use in most
countries still retaining capital punishment, usually with a calculated
drop to cause neck fracture and instant loss of consciousness. Notably
used by India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Iran.

- Shooting
The other most prevalent (превелент) method. Can be applied:
o By a single shot (such as a shot to the back of a head, as in
China, Belarus and by various means in Russia before
Russia put a moratorium on capital punishment.
 o By a single machine gun
o By firing squad

- Lethal injection
First used in the United States in 1982

- Electrocution
Only the United States and Philippines have ever used this method.

- Gas inhalation
Now only legal in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Missouri
as a secondary method.

- Decapitation (обезглавливание)
Has been used at various points in history in many countries. One of the
most famous performances was the guillotine. Now only used in
Saudi Arabia with a sword.

- Stoning (забивание камнями)

The condemned pummeled by stones thrown by a group of people
leading to death. It is used in Somalia, Afghanistan, tribal parts of
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia...

Reasons for supporting the death penalty

The death penalty serves three objectives: general deterrence

(детеренс), specific deterrence, and retribution.

- The first, general deterrence (сдерживание), is the message

that gets sent to people who are thinking about committing
crimes that they shouldn’t do it or else they might up being
sentenced to death.

- The second, specific deterrence, is specific to the defendant. It

simply means that the person who is subjected to the death
penalty won’t be alive to kill other people.

- The third goal, retribution, is an expression of society’s right to

make a moral judgment by imposing a punishment on a wrongdoer
befitting the crime he has committed. (punishment of the offender)
But in the fact, the death penalty has no deterrent effect. Claims that
each execution deters a certain number of murders have been
thoroughly discredited by social science research

In 2012 the National Research Council concluded that the studies

claiming it is a deterrence were fundamentally flawed. Additionally,
a 2009 study of criminologists concluded that 88 percent of
criminologists did not believe in the death penalties deterrence.
Perhaps the most consistent and interesting data that the death penalty
is not a deterrence is to look at the murder rates of states that do not
have the death penalty in comparison to those that do. In states that
have recently abolished the death penalty, there has been no increase in
murder rates. In fact, since 1990 states without the death penalty
have consistently had lower murder rates than states that have it.

People commit murders largely in the heat of passion, under the

influence of alcohol or drugs, or because they are mentally ill,
giving little or no thought to the possible consequences of their
acts. The few murderers who plan their crimes beforehand — for
example, professional executioners — intend and expect to avoid
punishment altogether by not getting caught. Some self-destructive
individuals may even hope they will be caught and executed.

So, if the death penalty is not only inhumane, discriminatory, and

arbitrary, but it often claims innocent lives and doesn’t even
prevent crime, then why should it still exist?