Since 25 January 1994, when the interim Constitution came into operation, South Africa's criminal justice system became subject to constitutional provisions, especially the Bill of Rights. All forms of punishment and treatment are subject to the provisions of the Constitution. The first casualties were the death penalty and corporal punishment, which were found to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Since our criminal justice jurisprudence is still in the developing stage, a comparative analysis with the Canadian and American penal systems forms part of this thesis. Provisions of the Constitution, which will have an indirect influence on punishment include, access to information, just administrative action and state institutions supporting democracy. The following provisions of the Bill of Rights are expected to have a significant impact on punishment in all its facets, equality; human dignity; life; freedom and security of the person; freedom from slavery, servitude and forced labour; and the rights of children. Judgments of the Constitutional Court, which abolished the death penalty and corporal punishment are examined since they were the first indication the Court gave on aspects of punishment. The Constitution also deals specifically with the rights of arrested, detained and accused persons. It is within this provision that 2 the rights of prisoners are spelt out. Imprisonment as a form of punishment, has to conform to the provisions of the Constitution, and the Correctional Services Act is an attempt to render imprisonment compliant. With the abolition of the death penalty and corporal punishment, the effect of constitutional provisions on conventional forms of punishment and the overpopulation of prisons, the establishment of alternative forms of punishment, which would pass constitutional muster, is imperative. The Child Justice Bill is an attempt to establish a unique system for juveniles who commit offences / Penology / D. Lit. et Phil. (Penology)

This thesis deals with one of the instruments of criminal law, specifically with the death penalty. The death penalty is already for many years a controversial topic and discussed it around the world. Even if this penalty many states have several years or decades canceled or not applied it, greatly debating whether they should be re-imposed. After an introductory explanation of why I chose the death penalty as a topic of my thesis, followed by a treatise about punishment, its kinds, purpose together with theories that look at this, and more specifically about what exactly is meant by the term death penalty and how the purpose of already listed, relates specifically to it. In the next part of my work we find general historical development of this institute, development of capital punishment in the Czech Republic and international documents concerning human rights and also my theme. In the context of the general historical development we look at how the death penalty looked like in antiquity, the Middle Ages, the period of absolutism gradually until we get to the present. Within Czech countries will focus on the developments till 1918, during the first republic, the Protectorate period, the postwar development and the development until 1990, when the death penalty was abolished in our country....

Death Penalty - Summary In my thesis I focused on one of the most discussed and one of the oldest institutes of criminal law - the death penalty. Despite the fact that the death penalty was abolished in most of countries (as a result of the abolitionist movement), some countries still continue to apply it. Also public opinion on this issue is not constant. The purpose of this research is not just to explore all aspects of capital punishment in the modern world, but also to reach a subjective opinion on this issue. This thesis is composed of five chapters. Each deals with the different aspects of the capital punishment. In the first chapter, I focused on the history of capital punishment in the world, from ancient world to the early 20th century. Chapter describes the application of the death penalty in different times and different cultures. I analyze the laws of different nations and countries and describe the methods of executions. I also pay attention to the opinion of well known authors (philosophers and politicians). The second chapter describes the history of the death penalty in Czech Republic, from the early beginning until abolition of death penalty in 1990. The third chapter is devoted to analysis of the current situation in the world. It describes laws and methods of executions in the countries...

Contemporary American capital punishment contains many processual elements, such as the prisoner's last meal and the cleansing of his body immediately before death, that serve no concrete, practical purpose but share a nature with ritual practices. In this project, I utilize a hermeneutic phenomenological lens to identify and list these ritual elements. I also use concepts drawn from the structural functionalist tradition to both analyze the specific purposes the elements serve within individual parts of the death penalty and to discuss the overarching result of the inclusion of these elements within the process as a whole. Ultimately, I find that the ritual elements present in the capital punishment process serve a social control purpose, insulating and reinforcing the death penalty as a whole. Ritual works to do this by controlling the behavior and image of the prisoner and emotionally soothing both participants of the process and the public at large.

"The study, considering international law and comparable case law on the subject in Africa, argues that Uganda does not comply with international standards in the use of the death penalty for countries that retain it. It h penalty in Uganda can be challenged. It is argued that it may not be easy to challenge the death penalty in Uganda as unconstitutional, but it can certainly be confronted based on the failure to comply with procedural safeguards for those on death row at the domestic, regional and international level. The death penalty is currently a subject of debate in Uganda by both the public and the Constitutional Court. The fact that Uganda retains the death penalty and that the recent executions were caried out in the most horrendous manner is worrying. There is concern that this might be an emerging trend, which warrants an analysis of the legality of the punishment and its operation in Uganda. Furthermore, the death penalty is still carried out in most parts of Africe, yet there is not much written on the subject. Most of the writings on the subject of the death penalty focus on the USA. This study will contribute to the sparse research on the sujbect in Africa. The value of this research is that it indicates ways that can be used to confront the death penalty that may work not only in Uganda, but also in ohter parts of Africa." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The death penalty has had many regulations placed since its first use in America to make the process more equitable, but people are still being wrongfully sentenced to die. Using a data set of 139 exonerations over a period from 1980 to 2021, the current study examined some prominent factors in wrongful death penalty convictions and how these factors have changed or endured over time. The major findings revealed that racial disparity still exists in the legal process, but it is declining. Exonerees are more likely to have three or more contributing factors (perjury or false accusation, official misconduct, false or misleading forensic evidence, et cetera) in their wrongful death penalty convictions. Official misconduct and perjury or false accusation are by far the most common reasons for a wrongful conviction. The current study also found that often, DNA is not available to test or is simply not being tested, and there is a downward trend overall in the amount of DNA testing being done. Recommendations for further improvements are discussed.

No description available.

This thesis attempts to identify and explain what influences the length of time an inmate spends on Florida's death row. A systematic random sample of 33 Florida death row inmates was drawn from the Florida Department of Corrections death row roster and the Florida Commission on Capital Cases inmate roster. Documented for each death row inmate was how long he spent on Florida's death row navigating the various stages and steps in Florida's post-conviction capital punishment process. The data show that petitions to the state trial courts and appeals to the Florida Supreme Court take the longest time in Florida's post-conviction capital punishment process. It also shows a considerable amount of "dead time," which refers to any additional time that an inmate spends on death row with no legal actions pending. A theory of "benign neglect" is proposed as the most likely explanation for the excessive delays.

No description available.

Uni,, Diss.--München, 2002.