Abolishing the Death Penalty in the Commonwealth: Legal, Moral, and Political Dimensions

Abstract

Capital punishment is a controversial discourse in the legal and political arena of most Commonwealth countries. Where some member states have already established capital punishment and harmonized their legal systems with the expectations of international human rights, others are still exercising and using it with reason being homeland security, public opinion or culture. This paper will assess the progression of the legal, moral, and political aspect of death penalty in the Commonwealth. It discusses the role of the legacies of colonial law systems, different constitutional frameworks and the understanding of justice in general; all of these lead to the enforcement or discontinuation of the death penalty. The human dignity, retribution, and the sanctity of life moral arguments are analyzed, and political factors, including populism, institutional cogency, and external press opposing tendencies are also assessed as well in the paper. With guidance on how different jurisdictions such as United Kingdom, South Africa, India and Pakistan compare, the study shows that there has been an uneven but steady movement towards abolition. It claims that the journey to ending death penalty by Commonwealth nations is determined less by law as it is by an intricate balance between judicial desire, political authority and a changing popular mind. The paper ends with a suggestion on unified legal reforms that will acknowledge international commitments, but at the same time take into account the domestic rights and moral systems.