Capital punishment: South Asia - Revision history

Jyoti: /* 2014: Death sentence */

2017-05-18T14:28:31Z

‎2014: Death sentence

Pdewan: /* 2000-12: statewise comparisons */

2015-10-07T14:02:13Z

‎2000-12: statewise comparisons

Pdewan: /* Death penalty and government */

2015-09-16T16:13:29Z

‎Death penalty and government

Pdewan: /* Mercy petitions */

2015-09-12T14:31:37Z

‎Mercy petitions

Pdewan: /* 2008: SC bench split on Swamy Shraddhanand */

2015-09-11T17:36:54Z

‎2008: SC bench split on Swamy Shraddhanand

Pdewan: /* First 6 presidents rejected only 1 of 263 mercy pleas */

2015-09-04T18:11:58Z

‎First 6 presidents rejected only 1 of 263 mercy pleas

Pdewan: /* Death penalty and government */

2015-09-04T18:10:33Z

‎Death penalty and government

Pdewan at 11:12, 22 August 2015

2015-08-22T11:12:52Z

Pdewan: /* Convicts can not be hanged secretly and hurriedly: SC */

2015-08-22T10:26:33Z

‎Convicts can not be hanged secretly and hurriedly: SC

Pdewan: /* Death penalty and government */

2015-08-11T19:31:30Z

‎Death penalty and government

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:28, 18 May 2017
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	A recently released report of Amnesty International on death sentences and executions in 2014 says that capital punishment is being used at an alarming rate because of perceived threats to states' safety because of terrorist activities and internal instability. For instance, Pakistan lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty after the Peshawar school attack. The organization estimates that at least 2,466 death sentences were awarded in 2014, 28% more than in 2013. In India, at least 64 were awarded the death sentence in 2014, but no executions were carried out Source: Amnesty International, reliable data not availabe for China, North Korea and South Sudan		A recently released report of Amnesty International on death sentences and executions in 2014 says that capital punishment is being used at an alarming rate because of perceived threats to states' safety because of terrorist activities and internal instability. For instance, Pakistan lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty after the Peshawar school attack. The organization estimates that at least 2,466 death sentences were awarded in 2014, 28% more than in 2013. In India, at least 64 were awarded the death sentence in 2014, but no executions were carried out Source: Amnesty International, reliable data not availabe for China, North Korea and South Sudan
		+
		+	=Declining trend in 2015, 2016=
		+	'''See graphic.'''
		+
		+	[[File: Declining trend in awarding capital punishment, 2015-16.jpg\|Declining trend in awarding capital punishment, 2015-16; [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=MORE-PUT-ON-DEATH-ROW-FEWER-EXECUTED-THAN-11042017015024 The Times of India], April 11, 2017\|frame\|500px]]

	=Convicts can not be hanged secretly and hurriedly: SC =		=Convicts can not be hanged secretly and hurriedly: SC =

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:02, 7 October 2015
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	In absolute numbers, UP sentences most number of persons to death row. But in terms of the proportion of death sentences to murder convictions, it is almost at par with the national average. In Karnataka, the second largest contributor to death row sentencing, the death sentence rate was 3.2 times the national average. Citing this disparity, the Law Commission headed by Justice (retired) A P Shah has recommended gradual abolition of death penalty with the exception of terror cases.		In absolute numbers, UP sentences most number of persons to death row. But in terms of the proportion of death sentences to murder convictions, it is almost at par with the national average. In Karnataka, the second largest contributor to death row sentencing, the death sentence rate was 3.2 times the national average. Citing this disparity, the Law Commission headed by Justice (retired) A P Shah has recommended gradual abolition of death penalty with the exception of terror cases.
		+
		+	=2000-13: Legal aid for economically backward persons sentenced to death=
		+	[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=33-of-69-who-were-awarded-death-by-05102015012022 ''The Times of India''], Oct 05 2015
		+
		+	Himanshi Dhawan
		+
		+	'''33% of 69 who were awarded death by SC got amicus aid'''
		+
		+	''Report urges caution on their `overuse'''
		+
		+	Over a third of the 69 people sentenced to death by the Supreme Cour between 2000 and 2013 had amicus representation (where the court appoints an advocate for an unrepresented accused).
		+
		+	*The SC had, in three re cent cases (Santosh Kumar Bariyar vs State of Maha rashtra, Sangeet vs State o Haryana and Shanker Kisan Rao Khade vs Maharashtra) acknowledged error in grant ing death penalty in 16 cases involving 20 individuals. Dis turbingly, in over half these cases, the accused were rep resented by amici curiae.
		+
		+	These instances have been cited in a report on death penalty to strike a note of caution regarding “over representation“ by amici curiae, indicating that effective legal aid continues to be a concern for the socially and economically backward.
		+
		+	Earlier, TOI had frontpaged an article on how the law was loaded against the poor and minorities. Data from interviews with 373 death row convicts over a 15year period revealed that three-fourths of those sentenced to death belonged to backward classes and religious minorities, while 75% were from economically weaker sections.
		+
		+	Another study cited by the Law Commission in its report on death penalty , `Hanging in Balance: Arbitrariness in Death Penalty Adjudication in India', reaffirms this bias against the socially-economically disadvantaged. The study shows that out of 281 people awarded the death penalty between 2000 and 2013, 128 received it at the hands of trial courts alone.Both the high court and the SC either commuted the sentence or acquitted the person in these cases. Of these, 7.03% were represented by amici curiae.
		+
		+	In the same period, 79 convicts sentenced to death by both the trial court and the high court were either acquitted or had their sentences commuted by the SC. Amicus representation among them stood at 22.8%. Finally, of the 69 people given death penalty by the SC itself, 36.2% had amicus representation.
		+
		+	“The over-representation of amici curiae in cases relating to error and to the imposition of death penalty is a cause for caution, not least because it may signal the impact of structural and systemic biases on the imposition of death penalty ,“ the Law Commission report said.
		+
		+	“Merely because a person is represented by amicus before the SC does not imply that the person did not get good legal representation. However, the fact that an accused is represented by amicus does indicate the person's economic circumstances, the ability to hire quality legal representation before trial courts, and to ensure that a robust record is created at the trial stage level, is likely to be compromised in such instances,“ it added.
		+
		+	“The impact of the lack of access to quality legal representation particularly at the trial stage is also likely to be compounded by the existence of inconsistencies in the death penalty jurisprudence, which result in ill-trained lawyers having to argue before inadequately guided judges on an incoherent area of law,“ the report added.

	=2014: Death sentence=		=2014: Death sentence=

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:13, 16 September 2015
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	Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?		Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?
		+
		+	=The Mahabharata on vengeance=
		+	[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=MEN-MORALS-Death-penalty-Life-can-be-far-13092015016043 ''The Times of India''], Sep 13 2015
		+
		+	Gurcharan Das
		+
		+	'''Death penalty: Life can be far worse, says the Mahabharata'''
		+
		+	Crime and punishment is the central theme of Ashwatthama's story in the Mahabharata. By all accounts, Ashwatthama was a fine young man --confident, modest and fair-minded. The son of the great teacher, Drona, he grew up in the privileged company of princes. When war is declared, he finds himself on the wrong side. He fights with integrity and in the end accepts the defeat of the Kauravas. He is outraged at the deceitful death of his father, however, and vows revenge. He sets fire to the victorious, sleeping armies of the Pandavas. His night-time massacre is a deed so repulsive that it turns the mood of the epic from martial triumphalism to dark, stoic resignation.
		+
		+	When Draupadi, Pandavas' queen, learns that all her children died in the night massacre, she cries for vengeance. When Ashwatthama is finally captured, the Pandavas debate over the right punishment for his horrendous crime.Death would be too kind, they agree. Krishna ultimately pronounces the sentence: `For three thousand years you will wander on this earth, alone, and invisible, stinking of blood and pus.' Indians have long felt ambivalent about the death penalty; hence, very few executions have taken place since Independence (57 in 68 years).Most of the world has abolished it -only 36 have not and this includes India and the US. The UN resolution says that it `undermines human dignity'. But I am not convinced. I would argue that retaining the death penalty, in fact, enhances human dignity . The most serious argument for its abolition is that it is almost impossible to implement it fairly; why have we not used it, for instance, against the ghastly crimes of the Naxalites? Whether Krishna's sentence meets the test of proportionality , the Mahabharata has the right idea -keeping a person alive, brooding and suffering over his deed, is a far greater punishment than death.

	=See also=		=See also=

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:31, 12 September 2015
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	Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?		Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?
−
−	~~=Mercy petitions=~~
−	~~==First 6 presidents rejected only 1 of 263 mercy pleas==~~
−	~~[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=First-6-presidents-rejected-just-1-of-263-02092015034105 ''The Times of India''], Sep 02 2015~~
−	[[File: Mercy petitions, some facts.jpg\|Mercy petitions, some facts; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=First-6-presidents-rejected-just-1-of-263-02092015034105 ''The Times of India''], Sep 02 2015\|frame\|500px]]
−
−	[[File: Presidents, their tenures, mercy petitions rejected and pleas accepted.jpg\|Presidents, their tenures, mercy petitions rejected and pleas accepted; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=First-6-presidents-rejected-just-1-of-263-02092015034105 ''The Times of India''], Sep 02 2015\|frame\|500px]]
−
−	~~Pradeep Thakur~~
−
−	~~'''First 6 presidents rejected just 1 of 263 mercy pleas'''~~
−
−	~~''At 45, Most Pleas Denied By Venkataraman''~~
−
−	~~The first six presidents of independent India received 263 mercy petitions from those who were on death row, of which only one was rejected and the rest commuted to life imprisonment.~~
−	The only rejection of a mercy petition was by Dr Rajendra Prasad during the tenure of the first six presidents from 1950 to 1982. Prasad commuted the death sentence in 180 of the 181 mercy petitions that he received.
−
−	S Radhakrishnan, Zakir Husain and V V Giri received 57, 22 and 3 mercy petitions, respectively , and all were commuted to life. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy didn't have to deal with any mercy petition during their tenure (1974-82).
−
−	This was not the case though with many of their successors. Zail Singh and his successors, R Venkataraman and S D Sharma, had between them received 100 mercy petitions of which they rejected 93. Venkataraman rejected the maximum number of mercy petitions (45), followed by incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee, who rejected 31 of the 33 petitions he has so far received from death row convicts. Mukherjee has an other nearly two years left of his presidency .
−
−	~~Since Independence, 437 mercy petitions have been filed with successive Presidents. Of these 306 cases were commuted to life.~~
−
−	All this was compiled by the Law Commission and forms part of its report on death penalty released on Monday. The panel analysed the figures to suggest that “a death-row convict's fate in matters of life and death may not only depend on the ideology and views of the government of the day but also on the personal views and belief systems of the President“.
−
−	Between 1997 and 2007, two Presidents -K R Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam -kept pending almost all the mercy petitions they received. While Narayanan did not take decision on any of the mercy petitions before him, Kalam acted only twice, rejecting one and commuting the other to life.“During their combined tenure of 10 years, they put the brakes on the disposal of mercy petitions,“ the report said.
−
−	~~Pratibha Patil (2007-12) commuted death sentence to life in 34 cases while rejecting five mercy petitions.~~

	=See also=		=See also=

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:36, 11 September 2015
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	In the Swamy Shraddhanand verdict, the SC had observed that where the judges “may feel somewhat reluctant in endorsing the death penalty... the court would take recourse to the expand ed option“. The expanded option being jail for the rest of life without remission. Making a case for abolition of death penalty , a paper of the Law Commission had observed the SC had in the past admitted its own death penalty jurisprudence was arbitrary .It quoted the Bacchan Singh vs State of Punjab case of 1980, which established the `rarest of rare' doctrine, where the SC had admitted that death penalty was awarded arbitrarily .		In the Swamy Shraddhanand verdict, the SC had observed that where the judges “may feel somewhat reluctant in endorsing the death penalty... the court would take recourse to the expand ed option“. The expanded option being jail for the rest of life without remission. Making a case for abolition of death penalty , a paper of the Law Commission had observed the SC had in the past admitted its own death penalty jurisprudence was arbitrary .It quoted the Bacchan Singh vs State of Punjab case of 1980, which established the `rarest of rare' doctrine, where the SC had admitted that death penalty was awarded arbitrarily .
		+
		+
		+	=2000-12: statewise comparisons=
		+	[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Death-sentence-rate-highest-in-Delhi-JK-09092015001040 ''The Times of India''], Sep 09 2015
		+	[[File: Likelihood of death sentence for murder, state-wise.jpg\|Likelihood of death sentence for murder, state-wise; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Death-sentence-rate-highest-in-Delhi-JK-09092015001040 ''The Times of India''], Sep 09 2015\|frame\|500px]]
		+
		+	Himanshi Dhawan
		+
		+	'''Death sentence rate highest in Delhi, J&K'''
		+
		+	A person convicted of murder in Delhi or Jammu & Kashmir has a higher probability of being handed the death penalty than anywhere else in India. In J&K, the likelihood is 6.8 times higher than the national average and in Delhi a convict is six times more likely to be put on death row.
		+
		+	These stark differences in sentencing, based on NCRB data, were revealed in a study called `Hanging in Balance: Arbitrariness in Death Penalty Adjudication in India', cited by the Law Commission as “another axis of disparity in death penalty jurisprudence“. A man convicted of murder in Jharkhand is 2.4 times more likely to get the death sentence than the national average while the possibility increases to 2.5 times in Gujarat, three times in West Bengal and 3.2 times in Karnataka, according to a study that looked at the rate of imposition of death sentences for murder convictions in various states.
		+
		+	The differences among many neighbouring states were found to be high. A mur der convict in Karnataka is 5.8 times as likely to get the death sentence compared to TN. A convict in Gujarat is again 5.8 times more likely to get death than one in Rajasthan. Similarly, Maharashtra sends murder convicts to death row 2.9 times more frequently than MP.
		+
		+	In absolute numbers, UP sentences most number of persons to death row. But in terms of the proportion of death sentences to murder convictions, it is almost at par with the national average. In Karnataka, the second largest contributor to death row sentencing, the death sentence rate was 3.2 times the national average. Citing this disparity, the Law Commission headed by Justice (retired) A P Shah has recommended gradual abolition of death penalty with the exception of terror cases.

	=2014: Death sentence=		=2014: Death sentence=

@@ Line 113: / Line 113: @@
 ==First 6 presidents rejected only 1 of 263 mercy pleas==
 [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=First-6-presidents-rejected-just-1-of-263-02092015034105 ''The Times of India''], Sep 02 2015
 [[File: Presidents, their tenures, mercy petitions rejected and pleas accepted.jpg|Presidents, their tenures, mercy petitions rejected and pleas accepted; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=First-6-presidents-rejected-just-1-of-263-02092015034105 ''The Times of India''], Sep 02 2015|frame|500px]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:10, 4 September 2015
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	Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?		Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?
		+
		+	=Mercy petitions=
		+	==First 6 presidents rejected only 1 of 263 mercy pleas==
		+	[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=First-6-presidents-rejected-just-1-of-263-02092015034105 ''The Times of India''], Sep 02 2015
		+	[[File: Presidents, their tenures, mercy petitions rejected and pleas accepted.jpg\|Presidents, their tenures, mercy petitions rejected and pleas accepted; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=First-6-presidents-rejected-just-1-of-263-02092015034105 ''The Times of India''], Sep 02 2015\|frame\|500px]]
		+
		+	Pradeep Thakur
		+
		+	'''First 6 presidents rejected just 1 of 263 mercy pleas'''
		+
		+	''At 45, Most Pleas Denied By Venkataraman''
		+
		+	The first six presidents of independent India received 263 mercy petitions from those who were on death row, of which only one was rejected and the rest commuted to life imprisonment.
		+	The only rejection of a mercy petition was by Dr Rajendra Prasad during the tenure of the first six presidents from 1950 to 1982. Prasad commuted the death sentence in 180 of the 181 mercy petitions that he received.
		+
		+	S Radhakrishnan, Zakir Husain and V V Giri received 57, 22 and 3 mercy petitions, respectively , and all were commuted to life. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy didn't have to deal with any mercy petition during their tenure (1974-82).
		+
		+	This was not the case though with many of their successors. Zail Singh and his successors, R Venkataraman and S D Sharma, had between them received 100 mercy petitions of which they rejected 93. Venkataraman rejected the maximum number of mercy petitions (45), followed by incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee, who rejected 31 of the 33 petitions he has so far received from death row convicts. Mukherjee has an other nearly two years left of his presidency .
		+
		+	Since Independence, 437 mercy petitions have been filed with successive Presidents. Of these 306 cases were commuted to life.
		+
		+	All this was compiled by the Law Commission and forms part of its report on death penalty released on Monday. The panel analysed the figures to suggest that “a death-row convict's fate in matters of life and death may not only depend on the ideology and views of the government of the day but also on the personal views and belief systems of the President“.
		+
		+	Between 1997 and 2007, two Presidents -K R Narayanan and APJ Abdul Kalam -kept pending almost all the mercy petitions they received. While Narayanan did not take decision on any of the mercy petitions before him, Kalam acted only twice, rejecting one and commuting the other to life.“During their combined tenure of 10 years, they put the brakes on the disposal of mercy petitions,“ the report said.
		+
		+	Pratibha Patil (2007-12) commuted death sentence to life in 34 cases while rejecting five mercy petitions.

	=See also=		=See also=

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File: capital punishment india.jpg|Capital punishment, India and the world: 2014; Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Gallery.aspx?id=03_05_2015_017_067_002&type=P&artUrl=PUTTING-INDIA-ON-THE-MAP-03052015017067&eid=31808 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
-[[File: death sentence 2014.jpg|Death sentence, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the world: 2014, Graphic curtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=STATOISTICS-MARKED-FOR-DEATH-10042015009011 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
+[[File: death sentence 2014.jpg|Death sentence, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the world: 2014, Graphic courtesy: [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=STATOISTICS-MARKED-FOR-DEATH-10042015009011 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
 {| Class="wikitable"

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 A recently released report of Amnesty International on death sentences and executions in 2014 says that capital punishment is being used at an alarming rate because of perceived threats to states' safety because of terrorist activities and internal instability. For instance, Pakistan lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty after the Peshawar school attack. The organization estimates that at least 2,466 death sentences were awarded in 2014, 28% more than in 2013. In India, at least 64 were awarded the death sentence in 2014, but no executions were carried out Source: Amnesty International, reliable data not availabe for China, North Korea and South Sudan
-= Convicts can not be hanged secretly and hurriedly: SC =
+=Convicts can not be hanged secretly and hurriedly: SC =
 [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Convicts-cant-be-hanged-secretly-and-hurriedly-SC-28052015007014 ''India Today'']
 May 28 2015
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 The apex court said the sessions court issued the warrant without waiting for the mandatory 30 days to allow death row convicts to avail judicial remedy of filing petitions for a review.
 =Death penalty and government=

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:31, 11 August 2015
Line 95:		Line 95:

	Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?		Terrorism and bomb blasts have posed a grave new challenge to criminal law administrators — the government and the courts. The courts appear to be on course correction mode by applying deterrence jurisprudence. Will the governments follow suit?
		+
		+	=See also=
		+	[[ Death penalty: India ]]
		+
		+	[[Mercy petitions: India]]