In current societies, all the old tools of oppression have been rejected and condemned, but the death penalty, as one of the most barbaric methods of ancient heritage, has not only not been rejected and condemned, but has also been legitimized and given a legal aspect by self-proclaimed governments in many parts of the world.

In other words, punishment in the legal systems of authoritarian regimes has always been defined and justified as a means of suppressing crime or reforming society. However, throughout centuries, the long-standing rule of tyranny and self-interest in all nations proves that the death penalty is not only ineffective in eradicating violence, but also replaces one form of violence with another.

Karl Marx, in his brilliant writing “On Capital Punishment” (1), refers to the fact that Hegel considers punishment as the right of the criminal and states that punishment is an act that the criminal has committed and thus has deprived another of their right. Marx expresses his critical view of German idealist philosophy, stating: “German idealist philosophers (Kant and Hegel) have given a supreme sanctity to the laws of society.”

In other words, the death penalty is a tool used by governments to prevent the realization of democratic demands in their society. This is evident when we consider that despite all efforts to abolish it, the death penalty not only remains in place in Iran and many other legal systems, but has also solidified its position and become an irrevocable matter.

Marx writes in his writings: “Punishment is nothing but a means of society to defend itself against attacks on its own living conditions, but what kind of society is it that does not recognize better means than the executioner to defend itself and considers brutality as an eternal law? (2).”

The fundamental question is whether any agent that commits a crime is an inseparable part of the law of nature. We can firmly answer no; because in societies based on relationships that have hierarchical gaps and social inequalities, committing a crime is not an indivisible part of the law of nature, but rather a product of a system that is the main source of it. With these interpretations, the issue of defending human rights and abolishing the death penalty becomes necessary. (3) Annual reports by Amnesty International testify that many governments, by implementing their arbitrary sentences, violate the fundamental principles of human rights and their actions are in line with the destruction of the highest human achievements.

Despite all the attacks and oppression by the suppressive forces, this should not prevent us from defending human rights and the necessity of abolishing the death penalty. The effort to abolish the death penalty requires a reevaluation of all existing relationships; a reevaluation that aims to eliminate the anti-social nature of the death penalty. “If man is influenced by his environment, then his environment must be made human.” (5).

Notes:

1- Marx, Karl, Capital punishment, Hakimi, Mohsen, website.

Bright horizon.

October 13th, 2018.

2- Same as 1.

3- Lewin, Lea, Questions and Answers about Human Rights with Cartoons of Plantu, Poyende, Mohammad Jafar, Qatreh Publishing, 1377.

4- The International Amnesty Organization’s report on death sentences and executions in 2020.

International Amnesty website.

April 21, 2021.

5- A speech by Karl Marx. In his writing (about the Jewish question), Marx discusses the liberation of humanity and sees the realization of freedom as dependent on the overthrow of the capitalist system.