Benue State University, Makurdi

The Impact of the Death Penalty on Third Party Victims

Joshua, Blessing Ozavize*

Abstract

The death penalty has been a subject of decades old debates around the globe. The bone of contention is usually not its legitimacy in the States where it is practiced but rather the deservedness of the death penalty on the crime for which it is established, the alleged offender who is convicted of a capital crime and the compatibility of such punishment with the tenets of human rights which are inherent in humanity; these have been the basis of arguments for both the retentionists and abolitionists advocates of the death penalty. This article weighs the retentionist and abolitionist arguments, lays emphasis on the human rights issues and examines the impact of the death penalty on the third party victims which include: the convict’s family, the executioners and their families, therefore advocating for the abolition of the death penalty.