Death penalty has been long unused in Hong Kong. Death penalty has not been used since 1966, and was officially banned in 1993(Johnson, 2010). However, there are still some countries practising death penalties in the world, especially Asian countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Japan, Pakistan, and most noticeably, China(Johnson, 2010). This essay is going to discuss whether death penalty should be restored in Hong Kong. I would talk about the pros and cons of death penalty, and the need for Hong Kong to restore death penalty. Thus, ultimately suggesting why Hong Kong should not re-practise death penalty.

Death penalty has always been highly praised as one of the most suitable and effective tools to put down the crime rate, especially violent crime such as murder, arson, blackmail, rape, etc.(Amnesty International, 2007). In fact, China claims that death penalty is playing a major role on controlling worsening crime issues(Johnson, 2010). Whilst in actual practice, no significant differences is observed in the homicide trends of Singapore, a city that practises death penalty, and Hong Kong, a city that does not practise death penalty. Death penalty is far from effective on reducing homicide cases. Also, Hong Kong has a low violent crime rate, about 169-179 per 100000 population in 2012 and 2013(Hong Kong Police Force, 2014). Death penalty might not be essential and useful in Hong Kong.

Instead of practising death penalty, most countries prefer doing more