Friday, September 10, 2010

Is Deterrence A Good Solution?

The etymological meaning of the word deterrence is “A communication that makes you afraid to try something”. This practice has been the core of Criminal Justice mechanism for many a years due to the fact that it generates fear in the heart of the people and forbids them from committing an offence. The author in this short note would like to raise his concerns over death penalty as a form of deterrence.

The recent Iranian Court dictum in which Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani – a 43 year old mother of two children, was convicted of adultery and was sentenced to death by stoning has grabbed the attention of international community. The lawyer of Iranian lady reports that with the end of a moratorium on death sentences for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the woman would be executed any moment. In various jurisdictions around the globe including India, a death sentence is pronounced in rarest of the rare case. When I review the above sentence of Iranian woman in the light of above Penal codes, then this sentence seems to be most improper and inhuman one. We take pride in the fact that we live in an era of modern civilization marked by 21st century, however it is humiliating to note the ongoing existence of penal provisions which are despotic in nature. One such example is Article 102 of Chapter 2 of Islamic Penal Code of Iran. This provision reminds us of the horrible history of England wherein every other offence ended with capital punishment.
Article 102: The stoning of an adulterer or adulteress shall be carried out while each is placed in a hole and covered with soil, he up to his waist and she up to a line above her breasts. 
The verbatim of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran quoted above reveals the identical treatment which was given to witches nearly a century back in England. The theories in criminology speak that the pain during the period of punishment should be same as the pleasure been derived during the commencement of the act, but the theory seems to being inapplicable to such a cold-blooded and insensitive mode of punishment. Another recent realization which is more horrific and shakes the conscience of humanity is honour killings. A contemporary research done by journalist Robert Fisk concludes that the UN figure of 5,000 honour killings per year worldwide is now crossed its precursor numerical to reach the figure of 20,000. The offenders of this heinous offence are not generally from any religion, though the majority view is pointed at Islamic countries. Now the praxis of Honour Killing can also be noted in the Hindu and Christian community. The author is of view that we survive in the 21st century but the aforesaid instances are symptoms of the worst dream of humanity coming true in near future.
 
--
Aishvary Vikram

B.Sc.LL.B. 2nd Year

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