Capital punishment is the infliction of death by an authorized public authority as punishment for a crime.

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Chetak Barot 10A        English        Capital Punishment

Capital punishment is the infliction of death by an authorized public authority as punishment for a crime. In most jurisdictions where it remains, its use is limited to those who have been convicted of murder, although in some countries where its use is more frequent it is imposed as a penalty for other offences such as armed robbery (in certain African countries), large-scale embezzlement of state property (the former Soviet Union), rape and gang-fighting (China), and drug-trafficking (Thailand). A UN survey in 1990 revealed that forty-three countries had abolished the death penalty entirely, seventeen had retained it but only for exceptional crimes such as treason, twenty-four had retained it but not used it for at least ten years, and ninety-seven were still using it. The abolitionist countries were widely scattered, including, for example, the Philippines and Namibia, but were mostly to be found in Europe and Latin America. Although the number of abolitionist states had doubled since the previous survey in 1967, the UN found unwavering official support for capital punishment in many countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Islamic law (the sharia) imposes capital punishment for certain offences, and capital punishment is enforced in those countries where the sharia forms the legal code, and in many countries where the sharia is drawn on as the basis for the legal code. Capital punishment has long been the subject of dispute. While proponents argue that it is a necessary deterrent to the most serious crime, more so than the alternative of life imprisonment, opponents argue either that it is in violation of the human right to life or that inevitable miscarriages of justice will lead to the execution of innocent people. Furthermore, a careful review of the research evidence suggests that capital punishment has no greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. (See also extra-judicial execution.)

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Bible, The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) said a great deal about the death penalty. The Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) required this punishment for many transgressions, both civil and religious. Death was usually by stoning, although one crime required that women be executed by being burned alive. Few executions were actually performed. The court procedures required overwhelming evidence of guilt before a person could be executed. For example, there had to be two eye-witnesses before the accused could be given the death penalty. There were also instances where God murdered individuals for various activities: Onan avoided getting his former sister-in-law pregnant by practicing birth control. Lot's wife looked back at her city when it was being destroyed, etc.

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The Bible requires the death penalty for a wide variety of crimes, including sex before marriage, adultery, homosexual behavior, doing work on Saturday and murder. It even calls for some criminals (e.g. prostitutes who are the daughters of priests) to be tortured to death by being burned alive. Most  Christians, with the exception of those in the Reconstructionist movement, feel that many of these grounds for the death penalty no longer apply to Christian societies. U.S. However, Bible passages are still used to promote the retention of capital punishment for murderers; some advocate that homosexuals also be executed.        

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