The intentional homicide rate in Southern African countries including Botswana (poverty rate 31%), Lesotho (43% poor), Namibia (49% poor) and Swaziland (63% poor) is around 37.3 per 100,000 population — much higher as compared to the world average of just 7.6 per 100,000! On an average, the homicide rate in Africa was 20 per 100,000 while it was only 5 per 100,000 in USA, where the poverty rate is relatively lower at 13% and the literacy rate is 99%. Compare the South African and global figure to the intentional homicide rate of Norway, which is a puny 0.60 homicides per 100,000 population. Norway again has a literacy rate of 99% and poverty rate at a stunningly low figure of 0% as per international standards (and 4.4% as per Norway’s own very high definitions of poverty). In the same way, Cuba’s intentional homicide rate is 5.5 per 100,000; literacy rate is 99.8% and poverty rate is close to negligible. Austria, similarly, with literacy rate of 99% has only 6,915 prisoners. It encounters 2 murders, 7 rapes and 3115 thefts per 100,000 population, on an average. Germany and France (with substantially high literacy rates), have homicide rates of 0.84 and 1.7 per 100,000 population respectively. Interestingly, they all abolished capital punishment years back. Countries like Iran (poverty rate of less than 2%) and Pakistan (22.6% poverty rate), have corresponding homicide rates of 2.9 and 6.8 per 100,000 people respectively.
It’s widely seen that criminal activities increase in a nation when capital punishment is abolished. According to data published by the UK Home Office, the homicide rate has doubled since 1965, after UK abolished capital punishment. The total unlawful killings in UK were 300 in 1964 which increased to 565 in 1994 and to 833 in 2004. Murders and assaults saw an increase of 125% during 1965 to 1969 – the same period when Britain abolished death sentence for murder.
Putting things into the right perspective, nations that are still struggling to provide basic amenities like education, health care, employment to their people should use capital punishment as a means to create a sense of fear, which is a deterrent to commit heinous crimes – more because in societies where a significant mass has not evolved sociologically and culturally, and which suffers illiteracy and poverty, the propensity to commit a heinous crime increases when there is no fear of death in return. Thus, while the propensity to commit a murder will not increase in Norway even if the mass murderer Breivik were to be pardoned – as the exquisitely literate society has over decades imbibed deeply embedded moral values and have advanced on the social scale – the reverse is true for poor, illiterate and underdeveloped/developing societies.
The United Nations General Assembly appealed to every country to abolish capital punishment by adopting non-binding resolutions in 2007. Thankfully, developing and underdeveloped nations did not follow this unsolicited piece of advice. Controversial this may be, but it may even help these nations in allowing general public the choice of attending these executions, which should anyway be held quite regularly. The advice may also hold true for India, with a 2.8 intentional homicide rate. Death for death, life for life; the new fundamental.
It’s widely seen that criminal activities increase in a nation when capital punishment is abolished. According to data published by the UK Home Office, the homicide rate has doubled since 1965, after UK abolished capital punishment. The total unlawful killings in UK were 300 in 1964 which increased to 565 in 1994 and to 833 in 2004. Murders and assaults saw an increase of 125% during 1965 to 1969 – the same period when Britain abolished death sentence for murder.
Putting things into the right perspective, nations that are still struggling to provide basic amenities like education, health care, employment to their people should use capital punishment as a means to create a sense of fear, which is a deterrent to commit heinous crimes – more because in societies where a significant mass has not evolved sociologically and culturally, and which suffers illiteracy and poverty, the propensity to commit a heinous crime increases when there is no fear of death in return. Thus, while the propensity to commit a murder will not increase in Norway even if the mass murderer Breivik were to be pardoned – as the exquisitely literate society has over decades imbibed deeply embedded moral values and have advanced on the social scale – the reverse is true for poor, illiterate and underdeveloped/developing societies.
The United Nations General Assembly appealed to every country to abolish capital punishment by adopting non-binding resolutions in 2007. Thankfully, developing and underdeveloped nations did not follow this unsolicited piece of advice. Controversial this may be, but it may even help these nations in allowing general public the choice of attending these executions, which should anyway be held quite regularly. The advice may also hold true for India, with a 2.8 intentional homicide rate. Death for death, life for life; the new fundamental.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
