Rape in #India: Is the death sentence right for the #Delhi rapists?

19.9.13

Is the death sentence right for the Delhi rapists?: [dailylife.com.au] Sadly, directing the outpouring of public outrage to the perpetrators does little to deter other violent crimes. The death penalty is an ineffective punishment in this regard. Many criminologists have argued that when crimes are perpetrated in the context of social marginalisation, poverty, intoxication, provocation, passion, or mental incapacity, the abstract possibility of being sentenced to death does not deter much...The death penalty then becomes less about criminal deterrence or justice for the victim, and more of a political act aimed at satisfying the public’s sense of outrage or injustice. If anything, legally desiring the death of the perpetrators deters (or at least distracts) us from confronting the broader institutional and cultural violence.