Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"

The number of countries to abolish capital punishment has increased remarkably since the end of 1988. A "new dynamic" has emerged that recognizes capital punishment as a denial of the universal human rights to life and to freedom from tortuous, cruel, and inhuman punishment, and internatio...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hood, R, Hoyle, C
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2009
_version_ 1797102427548155904
author Hood, R
Hoyle, C
author_facet Hood, R
Hoyle, C
author_sort Hood, R
collection OXFORD
description The number of countries to abolish capital punishment has increased remarkably since the end of 1988. A "new dynamic" has emerged that recognizes capital punishment as a denial of the universal human rights to life and to freedom from tortuous, cruel, and inhuman punishment, and international human rights treaties and institutions that embody the abolition of capital punishment as a universal goal have developed. We pay attention to the political forces important in generating the new dynamic: the emergence of countries from totalitarian and colonial repression, the development of democratic constitutions, and the emergence of European political institutions wedded to the spread of human rights. Where abolition has not been formally achieved in law, we discuss the extent to which capital punishment has been bridled and by what means. Finally, we examine the prospects for further reduction and final abolition in those countries that hang on to the death penalty. More and more of these countries are accepting that capital punishment must be used sparingly, judiciously, and with every safeguard necessary to protect the accused from abuse and wrongful conviction. From there, it is not a long step to the final elimination of the death penalty worldwide. © 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T06:05:53Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:edd31918-175c-49f8-8e07-d47f4ba7f535
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T06:05:53Z
publishDate 2009
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:edd31918-175c-49f8-8e07-d47f4ba7f5352022-03-27T11:28:00ZAbolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:edd31918-175c-49f8-8e07-d47f4ba7f535EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009Hood, RHoyle, CThe number of countries to abolish capital punishment has increased remarkably since the end of 1988. A "new dynamic" has emerged that recognizes capital punishment as a denial of the universal human rights to life and to freedom from tortuous, cruel, and inhuman punishment, and international human rights treaties and institutions that embody the abolition of capital punishment as a universal goal have developed. We pay attention to the political forces important in generating the new dynamic: the emergence of countries from totalitarian and colonial repression, the development of democratic constitutions, and the emergence of European political institutions wedded to the spread of human rights. Where abolition has not been formally achieved in law, we discuss the extent to which capital punishment has been bridled and by what means. Finally, we examine the prospects for further reduction and final abolition in those countries that hang on to the death penalty. More and more of these countries are accepting that capital punishment must be used sparingly, judiciously, and with every safeguard necessary to protect the accused from abuse and wrongful conviction. From there, it is not a long step to the final elimination of the death penalty worldwide. © 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
spellingShingle Hood, R
Hoyle, C
Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"
title Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"
title_full Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"
title_fullStr Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"
title_full_unstemmed Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"
title_short Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a "New Dynamic"
title_sort abolishing the death penalty worldwide the impact of a new dynamic
work_keys_str_mv AT hoodr abolishingthedeathpenaltyworldwidetheimpactofanewdynamic
AT hoylec abolishingthedeathpenaltyworldwidetheimpactofanewdynamic