Intro:- Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the practice of putting a person to

death as a punishment for a crime they have committed. While it is still used in some countries, many
have abolished it in recent years. Arguments in favor of capital punishment include deterrence,
retribution, and public safety. Supporters of the death penalty argue that it can act as a deterrent to
potential criminals, that it provides a sense of closure for victims' families, and that it ensures that
dangerous criminals are removed from society. Ultimately, whether or not capital punishment should
be banned is a complex ethical and political question that depends on various factors such as cultural,
legal, and social contexts. It is up to each individual society and government to determine their stance
on this issue.

3. It is not proven that killing murderers stops other people committing similar crimes.

3. Crime can never be stopped in a state or country irrespective of it being a democracy or monarchy .
It’s the ideal condition which is merely hypothetical and theoretical only, at this point of time. Crime
rates can definitely be curbed but it can’t be zero.

There are, in fact, some crimes that are so heinous that they demand strict penalties – up to and
including life sentences/death.

4. Mistakes are sometimes made in the law – what if someone is killed who is actually innocent? You
can’t compensate the victim

4. Not in india

4. People argue that unless you take drastic action, especially in the case of rape, murder and terror
attacks, the situation will not improve.

5. Retribution and the innocent – execution of innocent persons is also a problem for the retribution
argument – if there is a serious risk of executing the innocent then one of the key principles of
retribution – that people should get what they deserve (and therefore only what they deserve) – is
violated by the current implementation of capital punishment in any other country where errors have
taken place.

In the last 15 years, only four people were hanged to death in India. The death penalty is sentenced in
rarest of the rare crime, which means it is handed over after much deliberation and only if judges
consider the crime to be extremely grievous. For instance : recent executions in India took place in
March 2020, when four of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder perpetrators were executed.

6. The uniqueness of the death penalty – It’s argued that retribution is used in a unique way in the case
of the death penalty. Crimes other than murder do not receive a punishment that mimics the crime – for
example, nowhere rapists are punished by sexual assault, and people guilty of assault are not
ceremonially beaten up.

Society should support those practices, that will bring about the greatest balance of good over evil, and
capital punishment is one such practice. The case against capital punishment is often made on the basis
that society has a moral obligation to protect human life, not take it. Given the value we place on life
and to minimize suffering and pain whenever possible, if a less severe alternative to the death penalty
exists which would accomplish the same goal, we are obliged to reject death penalty in favour of the
less severe alternative.

*Arguments for the death penalty*

*7. No one can blame victims and their families for wanting revenge, including through the death
penalty. In their pain and loss, they are entitled to that desire.*

*8. In the last 15 years, only four people were hanged to death in India. The death penalty is sentenced
in rarest of the rare crime, which means it is handed over after much deliberation and only if judges
consider the crime to be extremely grievous. In addition, a mercy petition can be sent to the president*

*Arguments against the death penalty*

*7. Many criminals are kept ‘waiting’ on death row for a very long time (example – Rajiv Gandhi’s
killers). It is a very serious degree of mental torture.*

*8. In many countries(for example the USA), only a small minority of murderers are actually executed,
and that imposition of capital punishment on a “mercurially selected random handful” of offenders does
not amount to a consistent programme of retribution. Since capital punishment is not operated
retributive, it is inappropriate to use retribution to justify capital punishment.*

9. Brutalizing the state – Capital punishment may brutalize society in a different and even more
fundamental way, one that has implications for a state’s relationship with all its citizens.

We kill an enemy at the border because we know that it is in the best interest of our country so why not
sentence someone to death, if he has committed a heinous crime against the citizen of this country or
worked against the country (Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab).

10. Many countries have executed people proven to be insane. They are the people who might not
even know that they have committed a crime.

In the last 15 years, only four people were hanged to death in India. The death penalty is sentenced in
rarest of the rare crime, which means it is handed over after much deliberation and only if judges
consider the crime to be extremely grievous. In addition, a mercy petition can be sent to the president.

11. Sometimes there is lots of pressure on judges (media trial & public opinion) and based on just
circumstantial evidence judges sentence the person death penalty which may not be a judicious
judgement. Because any accused is “guilty if proven” and not the other way round.

Not so : if there was any kind of pressure on such a judge death penalty is sentenced in rarest of rare
crime such as a rape murder .every criminal would have got capital punishment today’s time .... So it is
not so death penalty is given only to those who have committed very High level of crime.......