"More than half of the countries of the world no longer...

"More than half of the countries of the world no longer authorise the death penalty for any crime. This trend is indicative of the acceptance that capital punishment has no utilitarian benefits and has no place in modern penology," wrote Peter Mwaura in an editorial in the Kenyan daily 'The Nation'. "In criminal law, the death penalty is used for retribution - punishment imposed as payment or revenge for the offence committed - comparable to the "an eye for an eye" principle. It's also used as a way of permanently incapacitating the criminal - ridding society of evil. Further, it's considered a deterrent. Thus retribution and revenge are the hallmarks of the death penalty. But these are dying theories of punishment. Modern penal theories are based on correction and rehabilitation, not on revenge and retribution. The death penalty is not a punishment at all. Supporters of capital punishment ... believe people who take human life deserve to lose theirs. They also argue the threat of death discourages crime - more effectively than the threat of imprisonment. This is the most often heard argument for the retention of the death penalty. It's fallacious. Numerous studies have shown the death penalty has no deterrence value. It's not necessary to inflict death to control crime or punish offenders. There are plenty of alternative punishments, such as imprisonment, that could effectively isolate criminals and deter potential offenders. It's the certainty of punishment, rather than its severity, which is a deterrent. A 1988 UN study, updated in 1996, found there's no scientific evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other forms of punishment. Countries that had abolished it did not experience an increased number of homicides ... The death sentence cannot be justified if it has no deterrence value. Moreover, it violates the fundamental right to life, a cardinal principle of the UN Human Rights Charter that affirms the right of life to everyone. It's oppressive, cruel, inhuman, degrading and barbaric. The death penalty is irrevocable and there's always the risk of executing an innocent person. In our jurisdiction, where there's incompetence, corruption, or ignorance of the law (leave alone poverty and inability to afford a lawyer), the risk is real and frightening."