CAPITAL PUNISHMENT-will it deter sexual crimes?

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: is it a deterrent to sexual harassment?

To talk about an issue like this it is important to understand the meaning of key terms being used. So, what is CAPITAL PUNISHMENT? it is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state for a crime. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are called capital crimes. Capita punishment traces its origin from a Latin word ‘capitalis’ meaning beheading. In most places of the world today capital punishments are reserved for crimes like murder, espionage, treason, and in some countries for sexual crimes like rape, adultery, incest and sodomy. Today 58 nations practice this form of punishment and 97 have abolished them.

After the Delhi gang rape case that took place on the eve of December 23^rd 2012 , a very common question that emerged  amidst the outburst of people is “should capital punishment be made lawful for rape accused? “. But according to me the bigger question that should be posed is that “Will it deter sexual crimes?”. The law in most countries uses capital punishment as a deterrent and as the ultimate punishment for heinous crimes. It's human nature to fear death and that’s forms the notion of death penalty, that, it is prevents crime to penetrate into societies.

Rape, child pornography, forced prostitution, sexual harassment, molestation and even leching are crimes where the perpetrators do not deserve an easy life or an EASY DEATH as well.  In older times there were various other capital punishments that were given to criminals. These included breaking wheel, boiling to death, disembowelment, and even scaphism which is the worst form of inflicting pain and misery on people. These were used in different kingdoms and regions to punish criminals of sexual offenses.  
Now the question that arises is how effective will compulsion of capital punishment be for sexual offenses. Over years of statistical data collected has proved theoretically that inflicting capital punishment will not deter crime. For a woman or even a man for that matter who has undergone sexual harassment, life is scarier than death itself. I strongly and vindictively state that perpetrators of sexual crimes must be punished in a stringent mannerism for committing a ghoulish crime like rape or child molestation etc. But capital punishment is not the solution.

Most crimes are committed at the heat of the moment, In moments of emotional stress, passion or maybe under the effect of alcohol and drugs where logical thinking on the part of the criminal and its consequences are not present. How can capital punishment deter sexual crimes in such a situation?. These crimes are unplanned but in cases where such crimes are well chalked out, there should be no mercy shown towards the rapist for his act. I really done think capital punishment will deter rapes, on the contrary the rapist might actually kill the victim in an attempt to leave no clues.

Available data shows that there is low rate of conviction in rape cases and a strong possibility that the death penalty would lower the conviction rate even further as it is awarded only under the “rarest of rare” case. But then again the question that comes up is, how much is too much? What exactly is rare for the law makers? A rape is a rape and is done against the will of a person and must be punishable.  Countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, U.A.E etc are the most conservative countries in the world especially in regard to the status of women. Laws there require women of their society to wear a 'burkha'. offenders in these conservative nations are given capital punishment the moment he is proven guilty of this crime. Now knowing all this I had assumed that women there would be very safe, but I assumed incorrectly. Saudi Arabia is a conservative country, but has one of the the highest rape scales in the world. There can be various reasons to it like-  

      1)      A secular society

      2)      Insufficient laws

      3)      Taboos against reporting rape

      4)      Ineffective judicial system which is partial on the basis on gender.

This striking example shows that imposing capital punishment in cases of sexual crimes is not a deterrent. It makes it very difficult to assert with certainty that capital punishment would really bring about changes that would drop crime rates in the world. It is also important to notice that countries like these where there is imposition of capital punishment for rapes, on the other hand there is a mindset prevailing which considers homosexuality as a mental sickness and a criminal offense and also shockingly considers rape to be a natural response of men towards an attractive woman.that spells a lot of irony!. 

The debates for and against capital punishment have been on since decades.

It is quintessential to get the root cause of such crimes which lies in unsupported societal attitudes of people towards victims. According to statistical data by the N.C.R.B, a woman is raped every 20 min in India. Last year only 20% rapists were convicted where as 80% got away with it. The need for the hour is the requirement of greater dignity, equality, and rights for women and girls from a society that should stop questioning their actions indefinitely. There should be proper provision of legal, medical and financial and even psychological help for survivors of sexual assaults. Better infrastructure to ensure security for women, self defense courses must be made compulsory in schools till a certain level that makes them self sufficient to retort against any form of violence they face, Government servants like the police should be more sensitive towards women and in the process of registering cases, fast track courts must be established to get over with such cases ASAP, cases of custodial violence must be dealt with immediate effect and perpetrators must be punished in the strictest manner possible.

In the end i would just say that imposing capital punishment is no big deal, it needs an hour for a law like this to be passed but in my view will not deter sexual crimes. Root causes of such crimes must be looked at. Rapists must be punished and pained in a manner worse than what they inflict on their "prey". These perpetrators must be made to undergo physical castration or must be stoned in public so that they experience the pain that they inflicted. The notion of patriarchy must be eradicated and women should be given equal status in every aspect of life.

 Hence capital punishment is not the only solution. An eye for an eye would turn the world blind so it’s advisable to act smart and combat the problem from where it starts!