This is a caption

This is a caption
Amir Salar Davoudi

If the death penalty is removed from the list of common and legal punishments for fighting various crimes related to drugs, what alternative punishment can be considered instead?!

The answer to this question is important because many opponents of abolishing the death penalty for crimes related to possession, retention, and trafficking of drugs cite the lack of a suitable alternative to the death penalty as their reason.

Of course, it is worth noting that the elimination of the death penalty from the list of punishments for non-organizational offenders of drug-related crimes has been raised and considered. Therefore, for organizational offenders of drug-related crimes, the death penalty is still prescribed and there is no debate or difference of opinion about its existence.

It is very important to pay attention to the issue that passing appropriate criminal laws for those who commit crimes such as drug trafficking, possession, buying, selling, and distribution, after committing these crimes, is referred to as “retroactive effect” and will affect the rights of those who were arrested, tried, and even convicted before the passing of the new law, and their sentences have not been carried out. If the legal punishment for these individuals is execution, or if they have been sentenced to death, according to this rule of retroactive effect, they will be exempt from the death penalty and will be subject to the new criminal law. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the fact that the number of individuals who are currently facing execution is significant, and the sudden removal of the death penalty will create a large population for the judicial system and prison organizations to deal with, which they do not have the hardware capacity to detain and rehabilitate.

The first proposed punishment for replacing execution is usually imprisonment, and that is why some people are concerned about the imminent eradication of the judiciary and prison organization due to the current population, waiting for the execution of the death penalty.

In any case, keeping criminals of drugs either temporarily or permanently is both impossible and costly.

Therefore, it is necessary to quickly move towards cultural, social, and economic policies that prevent the use and addiction to drugs among the general population, especially young people. This will lead to a decrease in drug-related crimes such as drug trafficking, possession, and use, and make it easier to control and imprison a small number of offenders.

In conclusion, although the death penalty in any form, especially in the subject under discussion, has not been a deterrent based on its previous implementation, and on the other hand, the execution of such punishment is not compatible with human rights standards, but considering the social and economic conditions of the country under review and the existence of hardware and software facilities to prevent potential consequences, the abolition of the death penalty is also necessary.