Table of contentsIntroductionDefinition of the death penaltyCommon methods of the death penaltyHistory of the death penalty in South AfricaCrime statistics on rape and murders in South Africa and other countriesThe case of Karabo MokoenaConclusionIntroductionThere is no avoiding the current focus on crime in South Africa. The number of heinous crimes has sparked interest, with both ordinary members and famous figures of South African communities facing brutal crimes and violent deaths. The news is filled with reports of rape and murder, which is why the public is calling for the reinstatement of capital punishment (Solomon, 2015). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay According to Amnesty International (2016) and Webb, Christodoulou and Rogers (2018), the death penalty is still practiced in 52 countries, Punishment methods include lethal injection, hanging, beheading, electrocution and shooting. In 2017, Amnesty International revealed that 993 executions took place in 23 different countries, which is a decrease compared to other recent years (1,634 executions in 2015 and 1,032 in 2016). This essay aims to discuss the arguments for the death penalty as an appropriate option in sentencing and punishment in South Africa for serious crimes. Key definitions will be defined and a brief history of the death penalty in South Africa will be provided. Definition of Death Penalty The death penalty, also called capital punishment or death sentence, is a state-sanctioned exercise by which a convicted individual is executed as punishment. by the government for the crimes of which they were tried and convicted. Only serious crimes are punishable by death; however, each country has its own law and the law is enforced based on the constitution of the country in question. Generally, serious crimes punishable by death include murder, rape, aggravated assault, terrorism, drug trafficking, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against the country. Common Methods of Death PenaltyHangingGorvett (2018) reveals that until today, beheading is still a norm. , particularly in Saudi Arabia, where 146 offenders were executed in this manner in 2017. Regardless, by far the dominant method of execution today is hanging. There are two different ways to perform this operation: the “long fall” and the “short fall”. The short fall involves plunging the offender from a low height, resulting in death by asphyxiation. It is generally considered the more unpleasant of the two. Although the “long fall” is considered the humane option, things could go wrong. Ideally, the rope would break the axis bone of the offender's neck. The axis bone is the second bone that separates the head from the spinal cord, which causes their blood pressure to drop to zero in less than a second, at which point the victim is unconscious, but stops heart rate can take up to 15 minutes. the executioners were generally trained police officers. The executioners position themselves behind a dark curtain or brick wall (which usually has holes for a gun port), the officers stand about 7 meters from the detainee and fire shots, but one of their weapons would be loaded with blanks so that no one would know. who fired the fatal shot.Electric ChairThe electric chair was created to replace hanging. Like lethal injection, the electric chair is consideredscientific and more human. The process involves strapping the convicted offender to a chair specially designed for this procedure and then electrocuting him using electrodes attached to his head and legs. Lethal injection Lethal injection is the preferred technique for the death penalty used in China, the United States, Thailand, Guatemala and Vietnam. The infusion is injected into the inmate's body, which puts him to sleep before euthanizing him. The United States has determined that this method is the most accommodating for carrying out the death penalty. Regardless, there are problems. There are many cases where the injection did not have the ideal result and the inmates endured pain and suffering before dying.History of the death penalty in South AfricaIn June 1995, the Constitutional Court adopted an important resolution by abolishing the death penalty in South Africa. . The court recognized that the death penalty under the Code of Criminal Procedure was contrary to South Africa's new constitution adopted in 1994. However, the decision excluded treason committed during wartime. The Court quickly also ruled that the State and all its structures are prohibited from executing people on death row. This decision followed the Constitutional Court hearing on capital punishment which took place in February 1995. Until the use of capital punishment was postponed in February 1990, South Africa may have experienced the largest number of executions in the world. There are few authentic investigations into the death. penalty in South Africa. Our understanding of the inner workings of the period of politically sanctioned racial segregation, commonly referred to as apartheid-era penitentiaries or the government's organization of judicial executions, is hardly considered part of apartheid's significance. The insufficient assortment of literature on the death penalty in South Africa often tends to cling to specific topics, which include issues of race and the death penalty as well as the mental impacts of the death penalty. Madeleine Fullard and Robert Turrell are the only historians. who studied the death penalty in South Africa. Literature on the death penalty in South Africa, including that of the TRC, officially known as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which declared that executions for politically motivated crimes were a gross violation of human rights , is concerned that somehow with talk about human rights and the cruelty of the death penalty.Crime statistics on rapes and murders in South Africa South and other countries According to McCafferty (2003), rape was an offense punishable by death, but trends are increasingly difficult to distinguish because rape is no longer classified individually. Since 2007, it has been classified among other “sex crimes”, the frequency of which has now decreased. However, after increasing for a few years, sexual offenses against children and women reported to police have declined since 2010, although it is too early to say whether this is a steady decreasing trend. the homicide rate fell from 67 per 100,000 inhabitants in 1994/1995 to 33 in 2014/2015. Additionally, the average number of homicides committed each day also decreased, from 71 to 49. However, many organizations have questioned the decreasing trend in homicide rates. Furthermore, Interpol has proposed that the homicide rate is significantly higher, given that not all crimes are reported to the police, using information on unnatural deaths. The South African Medical Research Council has also made such a proposal. StatisticsOfficial reports on these deaths, including those not due to murder, nevertheless reveal a decreasing trend. The trends in homicides since the eradication of capital punishment are therefore unclear. As United Nations comparative information indicates, South Africa still has a high homicide rate, at 32 per 100,000, almost equivalent to that of Colombia, but lower than that of Jamaica, Honduras and from El Salvador. The homicide rate in South Africa is nevertheless higher than that of Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Germany, France, Morocco, Australia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, which all fall between 0.7 and 1.3 per 100,000. The history of the death penalty in South Africa cannot be separated from the apartheid era, only whites imposed a judgment which mainly concerned blacks. In the past, 98% of judges in South African courts were white. Black judges represent 44% while mixed race and Indian judges constitute 10% respectively. Multiracial composition of courts may confer greater legitimacy, but this does not in itself guarantee that racial bias will never influence judicial decisions. However, even if race could be completely eliminated as a factor in such decisions, it would not eliminate other problems with capital punishment. Now that South Africa is a democratic country and racial segregation is no longer the order of the day, every individual has the right to a fair trial. The death penalty would be based only on the seriousness of the crime. The position in favor of the death penalty amounts to approving the state brutality which structures part of the planning of murder. The death penalty thus brutalizes the general public as a whole and implicates society in the kind of cruelty for which we want the guilty to be punished. However, the public is calling for the death penalty to be reinstated as offenders continue to commit horrific crimes particularly against society's most vulnerable individuals, women and children. The murder of Karabo Mokoena horrified South Africa. The details of Mokoena's death are horrific. Karabo's youthful life was taken away in the most cruel and undignified manner, her killer physically assaulting her for a month until her untimely death. Individuals who commit such crimes should have no place in society. It is unclear to what extent such severe discipline as capital punishment can have on the criminal mind. This is especially evident in relation to the execution of the most ruthless and unjustified planned crimes which usually result in such punishment. According to Mehlkop and Graeff (2010), offenders apply the same values ​​of cost-benefit analysis when choosing lawful behaviors. Therefore, the choice to break the law is affected by their attitude towards the time available, the risks involved and their preferences. Additionally, offenders must also consider expenses and benefits. Sandile Mantsoe made the decision to murder Karabo and even went so far as to cover up the murder and was not entirely cooperative during the investigation, the perpetrator did not take into account the lives he would ruin by committing such a cruel crime. The death penalty is the appropriate punishment. The Case of Karabo MokoenaChabalala (2018) reports that Karabo Mokoena was reported missing by her mother, Keabetswe Mokoena, after her family and friends had not heard from her for two weeks. The charred remains of Karabo Mokoena were discovered by a construction worker in an open field in Lyndhurst,,.