(College/Institute)
Introduction
In the opinion of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the death penalty must be removed from the operations of the international community in the 21st century. Moreover, Ban called for all the states to implement steps designed to abolish capital punishment from their respective legal systems. Nonetheless, The UN head proffered concern on laws in a number of countries that allows the death penalty to be imposed on juvenile offenders and on large groups of people (UN News Center, 2014). Many of the countries in a recent summit for the abolition of the death penalty who do implement capital punishment have been acquiescing to literature that advocates the “certainty of punishment” as a far better deterrent policy compared to the imposition of the death penalty (Yaxley).
Sengupta (2016) reports that the frequency of the meting out of the death penalty is steadily declining, with fewer than two dozen nations still meting this sentence out on convicted offenders; however, there is a growing number of countries looking to mete out the death penalty even on “non-lethal” crimes, and there is a parallel rise in the number of countries that are looking to turn back on their previous commitments to discontinue their earlier policies imposing the same on criminals, particularly in cases being regarded as acts of extremism. In 2014, more than 2,400 people were executed, marking an increase from 2013 figures recorded by human rights group Amnesty International.
Among the countries that have the highest rates of imposing the death penalty on criminals are the rival powers in the Middle East, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The destructive effects of the imposition of the death penalty on international relations can be seen in the execution of an Iranian Shiite cleric by Saudi authorities. This resulted in a strain in the diplomatic relations between the two regional superpowers. However, it is another regional superpower, China, which has outstripped all states in the number of executions, withal; there are no official figures to justify such a claim as execution rates are considered as classified data. The United States and Iraq fill out the last five slots among countries that still practice the imposition of the death penalty (Sengupta, 2016).
Saudi Arabia
The legal and criminal structure of Saudi Arabia is distinct in a number of ways in that it is one of the few nations that are based on the tenets of Islamic law. Aside from the Department of Public Safety, the country also employs a “morals force,” the mutaween, who are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring strict obedience to the Koran. For individuals who commit heinous crimes in Islamic states, the punishments for these offenses is derived from the tenets of the Koran and are often extremely acerbic, with an emphasis on the infliction of corporal retribution as well as capital punishment. In the operation of Shari ’a law, incarceration is not the first option; it is the last. However, this must not be seen as the displacement of other forms of punishment for offenders for lesser crimes.
The country has little by way of laws and policies that specifically deals with juvenile offenders. Nonetheless, the country does operate courts that exclusively address cases involving juveniles. In addition, the Saudi government operates several “social observation facilities” to hold juvenile offenders, both expatriate and local, who will either being tried or investigated by the authorities. In relation to the death penalty, the dominant Sharia legal structure allows for the imposition of the death penalty for crimes ranging from adultery and sodomy to rebellion and armed robbery. Decapitations are the common forms of executions, though there are times that the felon will be stoned to death such as in cases of adultery (Newman, 2010, pp. 358-360).
Libya
In comparison to the support for the meting out of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, another Islamic country, Libya, has supported calls for the abolition of the punishment. Libyan leader Mu’ ammar Qadhafi’s assumption into office began a period of a complete revamp of the country’s legal structure. Compared to the sweeping inclusions of Saudi law with regards to religious and moral laws amalgamating with secular laws, amendments to the country’s laws separated legal applications for issues that exclusively apply to religious matters to completely legal matters. For example, the government announced that floggings and imprisonment for philanderers and homosexuals and beatings for those who infringe on the Ramadan are in connection to following Islamic tenets.
With regards to the imposition of capital punishment, Qadhafi had long called for the removal of the practice from the country’s legal system. However, when in private, the Libyan strongman was not categorical in this initiative. The 1988 “Green Book” amendments aver that the objective of the Libyan government as well as its society is the abolition of the death penalty. Withal, the government has not acted in a concrete manner to bring about this change. In addition, there are reports that political opposition is not tolerated; critics and opponents are summarily detained, beaten, and even at times just shot on a whim (Newman, 2010, pp. 330-332). Though there is a degree of resistance and even support for the continued use of the death penalty, it is hoped for that the practice will be universally abolished in the coming future (Fitzgerald, 2016).
References
Fitzgerald, D. (2016) “The United Nations and the death penalty” Retrieved 30 June 2016 from <http://untribune.com/the-united-nations-and-the-death-penalty/
Newman, G. (2010) Crime and punishment around the world. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO
Sengupta, S (2016, January 4) Death sentences surge, even as more countries drop capital punishment. The New York Times Middle East
United Nations News Center (2014) “’Death penalty has no place in 21st century,’ declares UN chief” Retrieved 30 June 2016 from <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48192#.V3WIIDXqWfA
Yaxley, L “World Congress against the death penalty calls for global moratorium on executions, Australia joins call” Retrieved 30 June 2016 from <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-27/australia-calls-for-moratorium-on-the-death-penalty/7547312
