Title: Violation of the human rights of convicts of capital punishment

Authors: Samriti Arora; Lakshmi Priya Vinjamuri

Addresses: Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, 248007, Uttarakhand, India ' Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, 248007, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid out the right to life as well as the option to be liberated from brutality, fierce, and corrupt treatment. Thus, the death penalty is opposed because it violates these two fundamental rights. It is the intentional death of a prisoner for the purpose of punishment and as a deterrent - a goal that can easily be achieved through other means in many cases. Regardless of the seriousness of the offence for which the prisoner has been sentenced, such cruelty cannot be condoned. Furthermore, if we believe that Right to Life is a fundamental right endorsed in the Constitution as a provision under Article 21 along with the freedom under Article 19, death sentence is an affront to our most basic human right. This research paper examines the death penalty from a human rights jurisprudence standpoint and provides a brief overview of the subject. In addition, the international context of the death penalty is discussed. The decisions which were proven to be arbitrary and unfair in the eyes of human rights law are highlighted to assert the analysis.

Keywords: death; penalty; fundamental; punishment; deterrent.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2023.133759

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2023 Vol.10 No.4, pp.390 - 398

Received: 09 Jun 2022
Accepted: 13 Jun 2022
Published online: 03 Oct 2023 *

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