While developed nations with high literacy rates and embedded social and moral value systems may choose not to ever impose the death penalty, there is growing logic for supporting capital punishment in nations where there is a significant poor and/or illiterate population that is not sociologically mature enough to understand that killing people is wrong. The IIPM Think Tank scrutinizes this radical, yet damningly convincing ideology
Since the last few years, the debate over abolishment or assumption of capital punishment seems to have simply yo-yo’d between the for and against camps, without any convincing closure or resolution in sight. Yet, in recent haste, the debate has been jump-started out of its reverie in the light of the recent Oslo shoot-out in Norway where Anders Behring Breivik took 77 lives at random. For the uninitiated, Norway abolished capital punishment decades ago – as have all other EU states – and thus, Anders may end up merely serving a prison sentence of 30 years or less for the cold-blooded mass murders. And that too may be reduced once and if Berivik applies for clemency after a few years. In other words, the 32 year old murderer may be out of prison jostling with weekend shoppers and children even before he turns 50. And what if he again grabs a gun and shoots dead a few hundred children more to enstrengthen his schizophrenic ‘apolitical’ cause?
Globally, around 95 countries have abolished capital punishment while around 58 nations are still practicing it. According to the Law Commission of India, India has executed around 4,300 criminals since Independence. However, since August 2004, after Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed, many other convicts were sentenced to death but their execution is still pending. Since 1976, the US has seen 1265 executions (46 executed in 2010), with 3092 inmates currently on death row.
Looking at this thematically and sociologically, does it mean that in countries like Norway where capital punishment has been abolished, there is a greater propensity for people to commit murders as finally, one never loses one’s life after committing the murder? And vice versa in countries which practice capital punishment? To answer that question, one has to first understand the legacy of the capital punishment debate.
History is testimony to the fact that poverty and illiteracy have had a direct correlation with incidence of crime. Poor and illiterate people are likelier to commit a crime – and eventually get convicted. According to the Hrabowski and Robbi report, published in 1992, there were over 1.5 million Americans imprisoned in adult correctional facilities. Interestingly, out of all 1.5 million imprisoned Americans, around 49% had not completed their high school education. A study by the Arizona Department of Adult Probation in 1997 proved that “the re-arrest rate of probationers who received literacy training was 35%, whereas those who had not received the training were re-arrested at a rate of 46%.” The same research went on to prove that the re-arrest rate of an ‘educated’ prisoner, who cleared GED (General Educational Development) test, is merely 24% while it was found to be 46% for the not-so-educated ones (those who didn’t clear the GED test).
Since the last few years, the debate over abolishment or assumption of capital punishment seems to have simply yo-yo’d between the for and against camps, without any convincing closure or resolution in sight. Yet, in recent haste, the debate has been jump-started out of its reverie in the light of the recent Oslo shoot-out in Norway where Anders Behring Breivik took 77 lives at random. For the uninitiated, Norway abolished capital punishment decades ago – as have all other EU states – and thus, Anders may end up merely serving a prison sentence of 30 years or less for the cold-blooded mass murders. And that too may be reduced once and if Berivik applies for clemency after a few years. In other words, the 32 year old murderer may be out of prison jostling with weekend shoppers and children even before he turns 50. And what if he again grabs a gun and shoots dead a few hundred children more to enstrengthen his schizophrenic ‘apolitical’ cause?
Globally, around 95 countries have abolished capital punishment while around 58 nations are still practicing it. According to the Law Commission of India, India has executed around 4,300 criminals since Independence. However, since August 2004, after Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed, many other convicts were sentenced to death but their execution is still pending. Since 1976, the US has seen 1265 executions (46 executed in 2010), with 3092 inmates currently on death row.
Looking at this thematically and sociologically, does it mean that in countries like Norway where capital punishment has been abolished, there is a greater propensity for people to commit murders as finally, one never loses one’s life after committing the murder? And vice versa in countries which practice capital punishment? To answer that question, one has to first understand the legacy of the capital punishment debate.
History is testimony to the fact that poverty and illiteracy have had a direct correlation with incidence of crime. Poor and illiterate people are likelier to commit a crime – and eventually get convicted. According to the Hrabowski and Robbi report, published in 1992, there were over 1.5 million Americans imprisoned in adult correctional facilities. Interestingly, out of all 1.5 million imprisoned Americans, around 49% had not completed their high school education. A study by the Arizona Department of Adult Probation in 1997 proved that “the re-arrest rate of probationers who received literacy training was 35%, whereas those who had not received the training were re-arrested at a rate of 46%.” The same research went on to prove that the re-arrest rate of an ‘educated’ prisoner, who cleared GED (General Educational Development) test, is merely 24% while it was found to be 46% for the not-so-educated ones (those who didn’t clear the GED test).
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
