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Mohammad Moghimi

The death penalty has always been a controversial topic in criminal law and its supporters and opponents have always presented reasons to defend their views. However, what is certain is that in Islamic criminal jurisprudence, the death penalty is an exceptional punishment and is limited to cases such as retribution and specific boundaries. Retribution is a personal right that is granted to the victim’s family and the boundaries are limited cases that are difficult to prove. On the other hand, in the Holy Quran, the sanctity of human life is emphasized in multiple verses, for example in verse 32 of Surah Al-Ma’idah, saving one life is considered equivalent to saving all lives and taking one life is equivalent to taking all lives, which shows the respect for human life in Islamic law.

On the other hand, from a human rights perspective, the right to life is the source of all human rights. Therefore, the death penalty is in conflict with the right to life, which is the source of all human rights. Talking about criticisms of the death penalty and listing the opinions of its defenders is neither the writer’s goal nor can it be included in this brief. However, it is certain that the death penalty, even if it is not abolished, should be a very exceptional punishment and should be limited to cases that are restricted by law.

One of the issues that has always sparked criticism from domestic activists and international organizations is the subject of capital punishment for drug offenders. In addition to the aforementioned cases, when criticizing the use of capital punishment, it must also be noted that drug-related crimes must be addressed at their root and a thorough investigation into the causes and factors must be conducted. Executing drug offenders only masks the problem. In practice, statistics have shown that capital punishment has not been able to deter the commission of these crimes and we have witnessed its increasing spread.

Therefore, it is appropriate to use alternative punishments instead of execution in drug-related crimes, and this issue should be given more attention by legal experts (lawyers, judges, and university professors) and students and be the subject of scientific-legal research in universities and research centers. Punishments such as imprisonment (although imprisonment itself is subject to alternative punishments due to its harmful effects, it can be considered as an alternative to execution due to its preference over it), probation, free public service, fines, deprivation of social rights, etc. can be mentioned as alternative punishments. The important point is that in establishing alternative punishments, the cultural, economic, social, geographical, psychological, sociological, etc. roots of the crime should be taken into consideration. Additionally, the goals of punishment, which are the most important of them being rehabilitation and return of the criminal to society and the benefit of punishment for society, should be considered. For example, for some criminals whose crime is less severe and considering their personality