Worldwide View on the Death Penalty Research Paper

Worldwide View on the Death Penalty - Research Paper Example Moreover, criminal activities that may result in a death penalty are referred to capital offences or capital crimes. The phrase capital stems from a Latin word meaning execution that is undertaken through beheading (Hood 8). In previous times, capital punishment has been put into practice by a large number of societies. Presently, 58 countries aggressively put it into practice, and 97 nations have abolished it. The remaining nations have not employed death penalty for almost 10 years or only practice it in isolated occasions, for example, during war time. In addition, the death penalty is a subject of dynamic controversy in a number of states and countries, and opinions may differ within a sole cultural religion or political ideology. Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union proscribes the employment of capital punishment. Presently, Amnesty International deems a large number of countries as abolitionist. In 2007, 2008, and 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted non-binding declarations requiring a global moratorium on executions, with an aim to ultimate abolition. Even though numerous countries have abolished the death penalty, more than 60% of the population of the world resides in nations where executions occur, for example, the United States of America, China, and Iran. Also, the United States of America and China voted against the resolutions of the General Assembly (Hood 54). This paper will analyze the worldwide view on the death penalty while looking at the trends that have affected obliteration of the death sentence in states that have abolished it, the movement towards global abolition of the death penalty, some of the major countries who practice the death penalty, trends between pro death penalty countries. It will also analyze the potential of abolition in these countries, the role of international organizations in the search for a worldwide abolition, and the differences that might exist in public opinion reg arding the death penalty around the world. The global death penalty trends are obviously in the direction of abolition. The practice of the death penalty globally has continued to reduce in size, and use of the death penalty has also been gradually more restrained in international law. Since 1990, approximately 3 nations have abolished the death penalty, and currently, 141 countries and almost two-thirds of the globe have abolished the death penalty or have terminated capital punishment in practice or law (Mandery 36). The Hungarian Constitutional Court asserted that the death penalty abuses human dignity and the inherent right to life as highlighted in article 54 of the constitution, on October 24th, 1990. This had the impact of abolishing the death penalty for all criminal activities in the country. The South African Constitutional Court affirmed the death penalty for murder as illustrated by the laws to be contrary with the exclusion of punishment, cruel, degrading or inhuman tre atment, or punishment under the nation’s acting constitution, on 6th June 1995. On 9th December 1998 the Republic of Lithuania’s Constitutional Court judged the death penalty for murder in the Criminal Code conflicts with the Constitution on protecting the right to life. The Ukrainian Constitutional Court asserted that the death penalty was not constitutional and the laws permitting it invalid on 29th December 1999. The constitution prohibits torture and inhuman behavior that abuses human dignity. On 11th November 1999 the Republic of Albania’s Constitutional Court declared the death penalty in peace time as conflicting with the constitution, which gives the