Ban on Capital Punishment

Uan-aa-Boa

Ban On Capital Punishment
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Human Rights

Strength: Significant

Proposed by: United Massachusetts

Having already presented its rationale in GA 438,

Restating, however, that the death penalty institutionalizes a model of justice with only retributive value, a model inherently flawed in its assertion that violence and killing are best dealt with by more bloodshed,

Concerned that the use of capital punishment prevents nations from taking steps to correct errors in their legal process, the most grave and final sentence having already been delivered,

Believing that life sentences and other alternative punishments better provide criminals with the opportunities to repent for their wrongs and improve their habits,

Asserting that justice is best served without the death penalty, for it is cruel, condemns certain innocent people to death, and rejects the affirmation that all sapient life is valuable by its very existence,

The General Assembly, at long last, invoking its august power in this present session assembled, and by the advice and consent of its delegates and member nations, hereby:

Declares that no member state may execute any person under its jurisdiction,

Mandates that member nations commute any death sentences handed down within their jurisdiction, and instead determine through their legal processes an alternative punishment,

And prohibits member nations from extraditing individuals to a foreign nation where they are likely to face execution or capital punishment in line with prohibited punishment above.

Co-authored by: Imperium Anglorum

Uan-aa-Boa

I had some minor input on the text of this proposal and I'm emphatically in favour of it. If they said the WA was over-reaching before they ain't seen nothing yet.

Ransium

Although I'm personally against the death penalty IRL, I don't like the idea of WA-wide ban. It doesn't really strike me as an international issue. That said I imagine Forest will break heavily for and I'll end up voting for. But were I not delegate I would be voting against.

Uan-aa-Boa

Ransium I see where you're coming from with that, and in many areas I'm a supporter of national sovereignty. The WA does make sweeping statements on human rights, however, just like RL international organisations, and I think under that heading the death penalty should go the way of torture, slavery and child labour.

Forest didn't break as heavily for the repeal that paved the way for this as you might think, so you never know what the vote might end up looking like,

Turbeaux

So every nation with capital punishment would lose that policy if this passes? I support this, I am just curious because many issues offer capital punishment as an option.

Uan-aa-Boa

Turbeaux No, the stats effect would be determined by the fact that it's human rights legislation of significant strength. It won't cancel any policies. The WA is mainly for roleplay and noncompliance can be roleplayed (at varying degrees of quality). As per the recently passed Administrative Compliance Act you'd be (roleplay) fined if you retained capital punishment.

Turbeaux

Uan-aa-Boa It can take a while for the opportunity to repeal some things to come up.

Uan-aa-Boa

Turbeaux Yet if it passes you'll immediately get the "laws have been enacted..." telegram. NS consists of several mini-games that overlap to some extent but not fully. Compartmentalise, suspend your disbelief and chill out.

Turbeaux

Uan-aa-Boa I don't use capital punishment in my WA nation, so I am chilled out as it is. My questioning was based on curiosity rather than personal interest.

Caracasus

Eh. I don't really subscribe to the moral part of the anti-death penalty argument so much, I do think there are some crimes where simply killing the person responsible is probably the best outcome really.
However, I struggle to see any real world examples where the death penalty has been in use that hasn't resulted in it being used as either a form of coercion when the prosecutors want a conviction but have less than firm evidence (confess and we won't pursue the death penalty) and in the worst cases being applied to people who have inadequate defense (I'm sorry, it doesn't matter what the WA wants to pass, someone living in a country where you can afford the top lawyers on a good salary by neccessity means that those who are poor are not getting equal and fair representation)

We expect the WA to legislate against other examples of state sanctioned harm to individuals, torture, poor prison conditions and legislation surrounding what a state may do in wartime so it seems to me that this is an international issue.

Turbeaux

Caracasus There have been people on death row in the US that have been exonerated of crimes based on new or overlooked evidence. Additionally, I think that government execution of criminals contributes significantly to our culture of violence.

Caracasus

Well at present the vote has been swinging around 50/50 with for narrowly losing out to against. This is a very interesting one for the World Assembly.

Turbeaux

Looks like this is the plan B proposal: https://www.nationstates.net/page=UN_view_proposal/id=imperium_anglorum_1536629586