[[Picture: Todesstrafe2.png|thumb|300px|Weltkarte of the death penalty. Color key: Blue: For all criminal offences abolished. Light blue: For usual criminal offences abolished (however not in times of war). Green: Since at least 10 years no application orange: Application approximately adult-red: Application also against young people.]]

The death penalty is the legally planned killing of humans as punishment for a crime, whose it was found guilty. You usually precede one legal proceedings, which end with a death sentence. This is then executed by the execution.

For thousands of years as particularly heavily defined criminality with the execution of the authors one punishes. Thus historically always an aspect of the retaliation and power safety device was connected. Only since the age of the clearing-up in Europe human questioned the right of the ruling powers to executing increasingly. Today the death penalty is internationally extremely disputed in the criminal law. She raises various ethical, legal and practical questions, above all after her compatibility with the human rights. A multiplicity of Nichtregierungsorganisationen and the UN-Menschenrechtskommission uses itself for its world-wide proscription, non-application and complete abolishment.

Since that 18. Some states did to century without the death penalty; since the experiences of the world wars, again strengthened since 1970 and 1990, ever more states after their abolishment gave way to the demands. According to the article 102 of the Basic Law the death penalty is abolished in Germany.

Definition

A death penalty can be after today's, by European right nationalness coined/shaped legal concept only result of a legally exactly defined legal procedure. It presupposes laws, which define criminal offence existence, for which death penalties are intended, as well as the according-to-law arrest, transfer and condemnation of the author. The entire procedure can be carried out, if it is to be considered as legal, only through in addition authorized representatives of a state.

In state laws embodied and according to it carried out death penalties presuppose thus a functioning juridical system valid within the range of this state. This is coupled to the formation of order structures and the structure of rule systems, which have a force monopoly or aim at this. This requires a somehow constituted authentication of its legislation and executive, which most states - independent of their actual implementation of democracy - give themselves by the reference to the people will.

From killing as punishment the public law differentiates usually killings for the defense of dangers, about self-defence and state of emergency actions like the so-called final rescue shot. These targeted killings of humans, who were not condemned in a previous legal procedure to death, are legally permitted in most states under certain circumstances. Same applies to according to international law sanctioned killing in the war. Extra-legal executions, approximately by Lynchjustiz, apply for death penalty in constitutional states as murder and therefore not are called, also not if they take place due to the actual or assumed participation of the killing in a crime.

The reality knows however both death sentences and executions by groups and instances, in addition is not nationally legitimized - also where they take this up -, and executions by state representatives, whose legal bases and authentication are questionably or missing. Missing ones or unstable governments place the legality of executions in many community in question, which states call themselves. In addition, states, in which the death penalty is forbidden by law and which signed the UN-Charter, seize perhaps to specially-legal killings and leave alleged or actual regime opponents, terrorist or criminal one without legal proceedings and law judgement to execute. Military, police or secret service representatives act thereby often arbitrarily, approximately with reference to an alleged self-defence situation. This can take place with national covering or arrangement or because existing laws of a government are not interspersable. Such measures are pretty often nationally abgesegnet later and are then like judicial murders to be rated.

These difficulties to differentiate legal and illegal death sentences with respect to the reality are part of the ethical and legal total problem of the death penalty.

As death with dignity valid criminal offence existence

In most states, which embodied the death penalty as law and to use, are them for crimes such as murder, Landesverrat or espionage intended, particularly in the martial law. In addition some states punish kidnapping, rape, drug trade and/or drug possession starting from a certain quantity with death: e.g. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand.

In some states, which continue old colonial right from Europe or as public law have a form of the Scharia, sexual behaviors are punished with death, which in western states not when punishable apply. In addition above all adultery and practiced male belong. This applies in 22 states with predominantly Islamic population for religious reasons as heavy criminal offence; sieve of it impose according to data of amnesty internationally (ai) when repeated testifying in extreme cases the death penalty, which is then usually executed as beheading or Steinigung: Iran, Afghanistan up to the fall of the Taliban, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the Sudan, Mauritania and Chechnya. In Iran alone about 4,000 male homosexual ones are to have been executed since 1979. In Afghanistan also today still women are executed because of adultery.

The death penalty for at the act time eighteen-year old not yet is rejected today by nearly all states and is forbidden after international right. In the convention over the rights of the child (child right convention) it means in article 37:

For criminal offences, which were committed by persons before completion of the eight tenth Lebensjahrs, neither the death penalty nor lifelong imprisonment without the possibility of premature dismissal may be imposed.

All UN-states ratified this convention except the USA; since death sentences are approximately forbidden to the judgement of the highest Court of Justice from March 2005 at the act time person under age however also there generally. Ai nevertheless some UN-states let offenders under age loud execute: People's Republic of China, the democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia. In Somalia young people are executed by non-governmental Schariagerichte.

Spreading

Current total situation

According to constantly updated reliable data of amnesty internationally () 123 states abolished the death penalty at present legally or actually, of it 86 completely. In 73 states it is located still in the law, however only by few of it each year is actually executed. Eleven states do not have it for exceptional cases such as war crimes in the law, 26 further do not only use the still existing law since at least ten years.

1976 had completely abolished only 16 States of the death penalty. Since then on the average annually three countries were added, which abolished it de jure or in fact. Since 1990 this number increased clearly; since then over 40 states the death penalty from their law painted. 2005 Mexico and Liberia were added last. The president of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo, does not want to let anybody execute more and the death penalty abolish. That must agree however the parliament. - Since 1985 three states introduced the death penalty after abolishment again to use so far without it again: The Gambia, the Philippines and Papua new Guinea. There 2002 a child murderer were condemned to death, but were not executed yet. The total trend is unbroken: In the last 20 years well 50 per cent of all states, which still used the death penalty, of it distance took.

2005 was executed world-wide at least 2,148 (see 2004:3.797) humans in 22 countries, further 5,186 (2004: 7.395) was condemned in 53 (before 64) countries to death. The dark number is however higher around a multiple. Altogether wait around 20,000 humans in death cells for their execution. 94 per cent (before 97) all admits become Exekutionen (on the average about 3,000 per year) escaped only four states:

• the People's Republic of China with at least 1,770 (3.400); Right experts count here however on up to 8.000 further executions concealed by the authorities.
• Iran with 94 (159).
• Saudi Arabia with 86 (in the previous year Viet Nam with 64 was on "the third place ").
• the USA with 60 (59). There between 50 and 100 executions per year are executed on the average.

Articles in category "Death penalty"

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