Death penalty abolition, USA, capital punishment, legal process, criminal proceeding, judicial system, democracy, indictment, grand jury, aggravating circumstances, federal appeal court, pardon procedure
As far back as the Old Testament, the death penalty has been established to punish offenses. Nowadays the death penalty, also called capital punishement, defines the execution of an offender who has committed an infringment.This sanction is applied by a recognized instituion after a trial. Capital punishment should be distinguished from extrajudicial executions which designate the killing of a person without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process. Because, in the absence of a trial, or if the latter is not carried out by a recognized institution, we talk about "summary execution" or act of revenge. The death penalty was introduced in order to stop all forms of private justice.
[...] This allows the investigating judge to be aware of the charges against the alleged offender, which are gathered in a summary document established by the police. Using this documents and the suspect's statements, the judge is then able to evaluate if there are enough proofs to pursue the case. At this stage, it is recommended to be assisted by a lawyer. To start with, the lawyer can guide the suspect in his statements, because if the current version of the latter doesn't correspond to the proofs presented in the file, the judge will think he is a liar and will consequently be more sever. [...]
[...] Since then, many countries of the world have ceased to use the death penalty. In the 21st century, half of the countries of the world has abolished the death penalty ; but it persists in many other countries and continues to receive a lot of support. Use of the death penalty Global overview To this day, over two thirds of the world's countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. We can observe a downward trend in the number of death sentences and executions worldwide. [...]
[...] Indeed, it is the Court before which the request for an appeal is brought which has to rule on the request, this is not automatic. If a mistake appears in the manner the appeal is introduced - for example, if it's beyond the deadline, if there is a mistake on the form or a mistake in the content - the Court will refuse to hear the appeal. This is why it is recommended to ask a lawyer for advice (specialized in legal remedies). [...]
[...] Thus, it is possible to end up with a jury composed of twelve white men who will have to judge a black defendant, accused of murdering a white woman. It is discriminatory In America, the death penalty is inflicted "not to the worst murderers, but to those with the worst lawyers," according to the criminal lawyer Stephen Bright. In other words, the most abominable criminals, when represented by the best lawyers, can escape the death penalty. Conversely, a person accused of a crime he didn't commit can be sentenced to death when the case is defended by an inexperienced lawyer. [...]
[...] The Pharisees of Jerusalem considered him to be heretic and thus wished him dead. But in Judea (placed under Roman Jurisdiction), this accusation wasn't considered as crime punishable by the death penalty. Also, the high priest of the temple accused the Christ of having proclaimed himself king of the Jews, and whoever made himself king is against Caesar and commits the crime of lese- majesty2. Thus, the Pharisees succeeded in condemning Jesus of Nazareth. In the Middle Ages, the death penalty is excessively applied, in order to intimidate the offenders. [...]
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