Amnesty International Death Penalty Analysis

1. Introduction

Sentencing systems and incarceration traditionally have a variety of goals, which include incapacitation, punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation. In recent decades, sentencing law initiatives have often been enacted with the goal of enhancing the deterrent effect of the criminal justice system. Death penalty or capital punishment is the legal imposition of a sentence of death upon a convicted offender.

Over the time, it was until in year 1979 when Carl Lidbom , pioneered a report concerning the abolition of the death penalty explained to the Assembly that due to the punishment failing to show for deterrent effects and that the punishment brutalises society , it has no place in the modern era. Mr Ruperez Rubio of Spain

Amnesty International considers most countries abolitionist; overall, the organisation considers 140 countries to be abolitionist in law or practice. About 90% of all executions in the world take place in Asia.

In Malaysia, these voices are gaining momentum through efforts by the likes of SUARAM, they are in certain extent accorded recognition in international law via the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, due to the provisions on the death penalty, only a limited number of countries have become signatories to the Covenant.

Well, on the question arises is if the death penalty should be abolished permanently or continued to be regarded as an option in the judiciary. There are several angles in which we must perceive in regards to the positives and negatives of the death penalty as discussed in above. The sole purpose of the death penalty is to invoke retribution and provide for as deterrence to the crimes associated with

Hence a comprehensive study has to be carried out.

8. Conclusion

The abolition of the death penalty cannot be a immediate. It is not like putting an end to one human rights abuse. When the death penalty is abolished, a substitute penalty has to be found for the crime. Considering the criminological arguments for the retention of the death penalty in Malaysia, it is obvious that there is some resistance to alternative sanctions to the death penalty. Generally, members of the public are ignorant of the availability and feasibility of alternative sanctions. Life imprisonment, for example, can also serve as a deterrent, and as a preventative, retributive and rehabilitative measure.

Effectiveness or setbacks of the death penalty does not necessarily outweigh other overwhelming considerations. The needs and concerns of the society at large and interest of the human kind in its wider perspective should never be ignored.

Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances in this country, and in the absence of any comprehensive study, the time has NOT come for the death sentence in Malaysia to be