Different forms of capital punishment

This presentation tries to explain why does state punish and capital punishment in India and the world, explaining the steps involved to ensure death penalty to the guilty. There is also comparison of sentiments of people across regions regarding capital punishment.

1. By:By:
Vipul GuptaVipul Gupta
IIM KozhikodeIIM Kozhikode

2. Purpose of Punishment
Incapacitation
A felon in prison cannot
commit crimes while
imprisoned. An executed
felon cannot commit a
crime ever again.
Deterrence
The threat of punishment
deters people from
engaging in illegal acts.
Restitution
The felon is required to
take some action to at
least partially return the
victim to the status quo
ante.
Retribution
The felon harmed society;
therefore society (or the
direct victims) is entitled
to inflict harm in return.
Rehabilitation
The punishment changes
the felon in order to make
him a better citizen
afterwards. (The
punishment can include
mandatory vocational
training, counseling, drug
treatment, etc.)

3. Incapacitation
•Effect of a sentence in terms of positively preventing (rather than merely
deterring) future offending
•Imprisonment incapacitates the prisoner by physically removing them
from the society against which they are deemed to have offended
•Quite simply, those incarcerated can not commit further crimes against
society
•Cutting off a hand of a thief is also an example; this acts to prevent further
thefts in a drastic manner, in addition to it having a perceived deterrent
effect on others

4. Restitution
•The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery.
•In the context of Criminal Law, state programs under which an offender is
required, as a condition of his or her sentence, to repay money or donate
services to the victim or society; with respect to maritime law, the
restoration of articles lost by jettison, done when the remainder of the
cargo has been saved, at the general charge of the owners of the cargo; in
the law of TORTS, or civil wrongs, a measure of damages; in regard to
contract law, the restoration of a party injured by a breach of contract to
the position that party occupied before she or he entered the contract
•The general term restitution describes the act of restoration. The term is
used in different areas of the law but carries the same meaning
throughout
•When a court orders restitution it orders the defendant to give up his/her
gains to the claimant

5. Deterrence
•A theory that criminal laws are passed with well-defined punishments to
discourage individual criminal defendants from becoming repeat offenders
and to discourage others in society from engaging in similar criminal
activity
•Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from
offending
•The concept of deterrence has two key assumptions:
–Specific punishments imposed on offenders will "deter" or prevent them from
committing further crimes
–Fear of punishment will prevent others from committing similar crimes

6. Retribution
•Theory of justice that considers punishment, if proportionate, to be the
best response to crime
•Punishment is justified by the moral requirement that the guilty make
amends for the harm they have caused to society
•When an offender breaks the law, justice requires that they forfeit
something in return
•In ethics and law, the aphorism "Let the punishment fit the crime" is a
principle that means that the severity of penalty for a misdeed or
wrongdoing should be reasonable and proportionate to the severity of the
infraction
•Its presence in the ancient Jewish culture is shown by its inclusion in the
law of Moseslaw of Moses[Deuteronomy 19:17-21 and Exodus 21:23-21:27], which
includes the punishments of "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,
hand for hand, foot for foot.“
•Depending on the retributivist, the crime's level of severity might be
determined by the amount of harm, unfair advantage or moral imbalance
the crime caused

7. Rehabilitation
•An idea that the purpose of punishment is to apply treatment and training
to the offender so that he is made capable of returning to society and
functioning as a law-abiding member of the community
•Established in legal practice in the 19th century, rehabilitation was viewed
as a humane alternative to retribution and deterrence, though it did not
necessarily result in an offender receiving a more lenient penalty than he
would have received under a retributive or deterrent philosophy
•an offender would be released on probation under some condition; in
other cases it meant that he would serve a relatively longer period in
custody to undergo treatment or training
•One widely used instrument of rehabilitation in the United States was the
indeterminate sentence, under which the length of detention was
governed by the degree of reform the offender exhibited while
incarcerated.

8. SUMMARY

9. Definition of Capital Punishment
•Capital punishment, Death Penalty, or
execution is the infliction of death upon a
person by judicial process as a punishment for
an offence
•Crimes that can result in a death penalty are
known as capital crimes or capital offences

10. Different Forms

11. Different Forms Cont.

12. Different Forms Cont.

13. 1. Hanging
•Until the 1890s, hanging was the primary method of execution used in the United States.
Hanging is still used in Delaware and Washington
•Steps:
1.The inmate may be weighed the day before the execution, and a rehearsal is done using a sandbag
of the same weight as the prisoner. This is to determine the length of 'drop' necessary to ensure a
quick death
2.If the rope is too long, the inmate could be decapitated, and if it is too short, the strangulation could
take as long as 45 minutes.
3.The rope, which should be 3/4-inch to 1 1/4-inch in diameter, must be boiled and stretched to
eliminate spring or coiling
4.The knot should be lubricated with wax or soap "to ensure a smooth sliding action," according to the
1969 U.S. Army manual
5.Immediately before the execution, the prisoner's hands and legs are secured, he or she is
blindfolded, and the noose is placed around the neck, with the knot behind the left ear.
6.The execution takes place when a trap-door is opened and the prisoner falls through.
7.The prisoner's weight should cause a rapid fracture-dislocation of the neck. However, instantaneous
death rarely occurs. (Weisberg, 1991)
8.If the inmate has strong neck muscles, is very light, if the 'drop' is too short, or the noose has been
wrongly positioned, the fracture-dislocation is not rapid and death results from slow asphyxiation.
1.If this occurs the face becomes engorged, the tongue protrudes, the eyes pop, the body defecates, and violent
movements of the limbs occur. (The Corrections Professional, 1996 and Weisberg, 1991)

14. Hanging(In India)
•The Code of Criminal Procedure (1898) called for the method of execution
to be hanging.
•The same method was adopted in the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973).
•Section 354(5) of the above procedure reads as
"When any person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall direct that
he be hanged by the neck till he is dead.“

15. 2. Electrocution
•Seeking a more humane method of execution than hanging, New York built the first electric
chair in 1888 and executed William Kemmler in 1890. Soon, other states adopted this
execution method.
•Electrocution was the sole method in Nebraska until the State Supreme Court ruled the
method unconstitutional in February 2008
•Steps:
1.the person is usually shaved and strapped to a chair with belts that cross his chest, groin, legs, and arms.
2.A metal skullcap-shaped electrode is attached to the scalp and forehead over a sponge moistened with saline. The
sponge must not be too wet or the saline short-circuits the electric current, and not too dry, as it would then have a
very high resistance.
3.An additional electrode is moistened with conductive jelly (Electro-Creme) and attached to a portion of the
prisoner's leg that has been shaved to reduce resistance to electricity.
4.The prisoner is then blindfolded. (Hillman, 1992 and Weisberg, 1991)
5.After the execution team has withdrawn to the observation room, the warden signals the executioner, who pulls a
handle to connect the power supply.
6.A jolt of between 500 and 2000 volts, which lasts for about 30 seconds, is given. The current surges and is then
turned off, at which time the body is seen to relax.
7.The doctors wait a few seconds for the body to cool down and then check to see if the inmate's heart is still beating.
If it is, another jolt is applied. This process continues until the prisoner is dead.
8.The prisoner's hands often grip the chair and there may be violent movement of the limbs which can result in
dislocation or fractures. The tissues swell. Defecation occurs. Steam or smoke rises and there is a smell of burning.
9....the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on [his] cheeks. The prisoner often defecates, urinates, and
vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells and his
skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire....Witnesses hear a loud and sustained
sound like bacon frying, and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber. (Ecenbarger, 1994)
“The brain appears cooked in most cases”

16. Electrocution(In India)
There is NO provision of death by
electrocution in India!

17. 3. Lapidation (Stoning)
•Lapidation or Stoning, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a
person until death ensues
•Stoning is called Rajm in Islamic literature
•It remains a legal form of judicial punishment in United Arab
Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen,
Northern Nigeria, Aceh in Indonesia, Brunei and Pakistan
•Steps:
The 2008 version of Islamic Penal Code of Iran detailed how stoning punishments are to be carried out
for adultery, and even hints in some contexts that the punishment may allow for its victims to avoid
death: (Amnesty International (2008), Iran - End executions by Stoning)
–Article 102 – An adulterous man shall be buried in a ditch up to near his waist and an adulterous
woman up to near her chest and then stoned to death
–Article 103 – In case the person sentenced to stoning escapes the ditch in which they are buried, then if
the adultery is proven by testimony then they will be returned for the punishment but if it is proven by
their own confession then they will not be returned
–Article 104 – The size of the stone used in stoning shall not be too large to kill the convict by one or two
throws and at the same time shall not be too small to be called a stone
–Depending upon the details of the case, the stoning may be initiated by the judge overseeing the
matter or by one of the original witnesses to the adultery

18. Lapidation (In India)
There is NO provision of death by
stoning in India!

19. 4. Lethal Injection
•In 1977, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection as a means of execution,
though it would be five more years until Charles Brooks would become the first person
executed by lethal injection in Texas on December 2, 1982.
•Today, all of the 32 states that have the death penalty use this method
•Steps:
1.The condemned person is usually bound to a gurney and a member of the execution team positions several heart
monitors on this skin.
2.Two needles (one is a back-up) are then inserted into usable veins, usually in the inmates arms
3.Long tubes connect the needle through a hole in a cement block wall to several intravenous drips
4.The first is a harmless saline solution that is started immediately
5.Then, at the warden's signal, a curtain is raised exposing the inmate to the witnesses in an adjoining room
6.Then, the inmate is injected with sodium thiopental - an anesthetic, which puts the inmate to sleep.
7.Next flows pavulon or pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the entire muscle system and stops the inmate's
breathing
8.Finally, the flow of potassium chloride stops the heart
9.Death results from anesthetic overdose and respiratory and cardiac arrest while the condemned person is
unconscious. (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991)
10.Medical ethics preclude doctors from participating in executions. However, a doctor will certify the inmate is dead.
11.This lack of medical participation can be problematic because often injections are performed by inexperienced
technicians or orderlies. If a member of the execution team injects the drugs into a muscle instead of a vein, or if the
needle becomes clogged, extreme pain can result. Many prisoners have damaged veins resulting from intravenous
drug use and it is sometimes difficult to find a usable vein, resulting in long delays while the inmate remains strapped
to the gurney. (Ecenbarger, 1994 and Weisberg, 1991)

20. Lethal Injection(In India)
There is NO provision of death by
lethal injection in India!

21. 5. Gas Chamber
•In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was introduced as Nevada sought a more humane way of
executing its inmates. Gee Jon was the first person executed by lethal gas. The state tried to
pump cyanide gas into Jon's cell while he slept. This proved impossible because the gas
leaked from his cell, so the gas chamber was constructed. (Bohm, 1999)
•Steps:
–the condemned person is strapped to a chair in an airtight chamber.
–Below the chair rests a pail of sulfuric acid.
–A long stethoscope is typically affixed to the inmate so that a doctor outside the chamber can pronounce death
–Once everyone has left the chamber, the room is sealed.
–The warden then gives a signal to the executioner who flicks a lever that releases crystals of sodium cyanide into the
pail.
–This causes a chemical reaction that releases hydrogen cyanide gas. (Weisberg, 1991) The prisoner is instructed to
breathe deeply to speed up the process.
–Most prisoners, however, try to hold their breath, and some struggle. The inmate does not lose consciousness
immediately.
–The inmate dies from hypoxia, the cutting-off of oxygen to the brain. (Weisberg, 1991) At postmortem, an exhaust
fan sucks the poison air out of the chamber, and the corpse is sprayed with ammonia to neutralize any remaining
traces of cyanide.
“At first there is evidence of extreme horror, pain, and strangling. The eyes pop. The skin turns purple and the victim
begins to drool." - Clifton Duffy, Former San Quenton, California, Penitentiary warden

22. Gas Chamber(In India)
There is NO provision of death by
using gas chambers in India!

23. 6. Firing Squad
•Firing squad still remains a method of execution in Utah if chosen by an inmate before lethal
injection became the sole means of execution.
•Steps:
1.For execution by this method, the inmate is typically bound to a chair with leather straps across his waist and head,
in front of an oval-shaped canvas wall.
2.The chair is surrounded by sandbags to absorb the inmate's blood.
3.A black hood is pulled over the inmate's head
4.A doctor locates the inmate's heart with a stethoscope and pins a circular white cloth target over it.
5.Standing in an enclosure 20 feet away, five shooters are armed with .30 caliber rifles loaded with single rounds.
6.One of the shooters is given blank rounds. Each of the shooters aims his rifle through a slot in the canvas and fires at
the inmate. (Weisberg, 1991)
7.The prisoner dies as a result of blood loss caused by rupture of the heart or a large blood vessel, or tearing of the
lungs
8.The person shot loses consciousness when shock causes a fall in the supply of blood to the brain.
9. If the shooters miss the heart, by accident or intention, the prisoner bleeds to death slowly. (Hillman, 1992 and
Weisberg, 1991)

24. Shooting(In India)
•The Army Act and Air Force Act provide for the execution of the death sentence.
•Section 34 of the Air Force Act, 1950 empowers the court martial to impose the death
sentence for the offences mentioned in section 34(a) to (o) of The Air Force Act, 1950.
•Section 163 of the Act provides for the form of the sentence of death as
"In awarding a sentence of death, a court-martial shall, in its discretion, direct that the
offender shall suffer death by being hanged by the neck until he be dead or shall suffer death
by being shot to death".
•This provides for the discretion of the Court Martial to either provide for the execution of the
death sentence by hanging or by being shot to death. The Army Act, 1950, and the Navy Act,
1957 also provide for the similar provisions as in The Air Force Act, 1950.

25. 7. Beheading
•Public beheading is used in Saudi Arabia as the punishment for murder, rape, drug
trafficking, sodomy, armed robbery, apostasy, sorcery and certain other offences
•Executions of offenders are not performed privately in prisons, but publicly in central Riyadh,
and have been called the "only form of public entertainment" in Saudi Arabia "apart from
football matches”
•It is one of the last four (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and Yemen) countries to still carry out
public executions and the only country to carry them on regularly
•Steps:
1.The condemned of both sexes are typically given tranquillisers and then taken by police van to a public square or a
car park after midday prayers. Their eyes are covered and they are blindfolded.
2.The police clear the square of traffic and a sheet of plastic sheet about 16 feet square is laid out on the ground.
3.Dressed in either a white robe or their own clothes, barefoot, with shackled feet and hands cuffed behind their back,
the prisoner is led by a police officer to the centre of the sheet where they are made to kneel facing Mecca.
4.An Interior Ministry official reads out the prisoner's name and crime to the crowd.
5.Saudi Arabia uses a traditional Arab scimitar which is 1100-1200 mm long.
6.The executioner is handed the sword by a policeman and raises the gleaming scimitar, often swinging it two or three
times in the air to warm up his arm muscles.
7.Executioner approaches the prisoner from behind and jab him in the back with the tip of the blade, causing the
person to raise their head. Then with a single swing of the sword the prisoner is decapitated.

26. Beheading (In India)
There is NO provision of death by
Beheading in India!

27. Capital Punishment In US

28. Capital Punishment in India

29. Capital Punishment in the World

30. US VIEW ON DEATH PENALTY

31. INDIA’S VIEW ON DEATH PENALTY

32. Other economies view on death
penalty