2012.1.14

Why the Death Penalty Is Slowly Dying

/ideas.time.com  Adam Cohen  January 3rd, 2012/

Introduction

Every time the Minister of Justice changes in the election, most of people’s attention is paid to a question: Is he or she going to sign on the approval paper for the death penalty? The recent Ministers continue against that, and then another question arises: How many suspects are convicted and sentenced to death in recent years? I cannot remember the latest case which sentenced to death, which means the death penalty is disappearing also in Japan. 

Briefing  

• Why the death penalty is dying in the U.S.?

    There are several reasons for that, but a major one is that many people were found out waiting for the execution even though they were innocent. Confronted such a situation, local politicians, prosecutors, and provate sector activist groups are taking action against the existing judgement system. 

• What is wrong with the implementation of justice?

    According to the article, the role of eyewitness in the system is pointed out as a main problem which often causes misjudgment cases, citing the Troy Davis case. In the case, the reliability of witnesses involved in the murder scene was doubted and he turned out innocent after his execution. This shameful experience calls for the reform of eyewitness identification. 

• How should it be improved?

    Unreliability of eyewitnesses is not a fault of themselves. Chatting between witnesses, pressure from the police, and the process of making a testimony; all these factors stimulate witness’ imagination and twist the true experience of them. In the suggestion of a prosecutor, the new investigation method in which such noises is removed is introduced.

Opinion

Reliability of eyewitness is always controversy in the court, especially when the case is severe and crucial. The problem in the present method about how to treat witnesses has definitely pull the trigger of unti-death-penalty movement. However, it is not the direct reason for why the movement is going on. If the innocent under the sentence of death disappears, the death penalty will keep dying. In my personal opinion, this is partly because the people’s value about life has changed and they no longer support the death penalty. In other words, they do not want it any more as a public spectacle, a topic of conversation, or a social revenge to the criminal.