Capital punishment is the killing of a person as a punishment for committing a particular offence, after proper trial by the court of law. It is usually given for serious offences such as murder, mutiny, etc. a death penalty may be administered by a lethal injection, electrocution, shooting, and decapitation of the head, however, almost all the countries now prefer death by hanging.
Reasons for the alternatives to the death penalty-
In the case of Bachan Singh v State of Punjab (1980), it was held by the Supreme Court that taking a life through the administration of law is a huge concern for the dignity of human life.
Death penalty should be abolished for the following reasons based on the factors mentioned by the Project 39A-
Crime-centric focus
Inordinately long duration
Discrimination with the weaker sections of the society
Punishment from older times
Alternatives to capital punishment-
No human being should be considered beyond improvement and, as a result, should always have the possibility of being released"- Dirk Van Zyl Smit
The main reason to opt for an alternative to the death penalty is the penalty to reform. Often offenders, who are not hard core criminals or history sheeters, repent after committing the crime. It may not be advisable to completely ignore the possibility of an alternative to the death penalty-
Life Imprisonment- one of the most effective alternative to the death penalty is life imprisonment. It means the imprisonment of the wrongdoer till his natural death, without any possibility of release.
However, life imprisonment is not necessarily a sure shot of the death penalty, specifically in the case of non-voilent crimes which does not satisfy the principle of proportionality.
Long-term Imprisonment- another option other than the life imprisonment is the long term sentence for a fixed number of years as is followed in the country of Croatia, after the fixed number of years have passed, the prisoner could be released with or without restrictions such as reporting to the police at regular intervals.
For an indeterminate term of imprisonment- another alternative to the death penalty could be sending the offender to imprisonment until they are considered safe to be released. Thus, it involves the discretion of the authorities, which may lead to negative consequences.
Prolonged detention without any hope of being released may result in de-socialisation, an identity crisis or other psychological defects such as depression or suicidal tendencies.
Release with few restrictions-in case offender is released, he could also be subjected to supervision for a limited period of time or for lifelong period, failing to comply by which, he could again be subjected to life imprisonment
Preventive Detention: It means detaining a person from committing a crime. Norway provides for an imprisonment for a period of 21 years, however the sentence could be extended in case the authorities have reason to believe that the offender could commit a crime and is a high risk to the public peace.
Conclusion
It could be inferred from the above discussion that the reason behind finding an alternative to the death penalty is to improve the working of the criminal justice system. The focus of the judicial system should be on reforming the offender. It should be the focus of the authorities on identifying the underlying causes to commit a crime.
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