Roger Hood

Capital Punishment A Global Perspective

This article reviews the extent to which the movement to abolish capital punishment has been successful and discusses some of the influences which have produced a remarkable increase in the number of abolitionist countries in the past two decades. It asks whether this trend has now come to an end as many countries which retain the death penalty continue to defy, for a variety of reasons, international pressure to change their laws and practices. Finally, it discusses some actions that might prove effective in overcoming these obstacles.

Penal Policy and Criminological Challenges in the New Millennium

This article explores the relationship between criminology and penal policy. It draws attention to recent developments in penal law and practice that have caused concern to criminologists and discusses some of the reasons why criminological ideas and findings appear to have had less impact on penal policy than many criminologists had hoped for. It suggests that some of the blame may attach to criminologists for failing to establish a scientific legitimacy for their subject and concludes by arguing that criminology needs independent funding to guarantee a scientific agenda free of direct political influence. The establishment of an independent Criminological Research Council in their country should be the ambition of criminologists who want to take the subject forward to a period of greater legitimacy and influence as the new millennium unfolds.

Abolishing the Death Penalty Worldwide: The Impact of a “New Dynamic”

The number of countries to abolish capital punishment has increased remarkably since the end of 1988. A “new dynamic” has emerged that recognizes capital punishment as a denial of the universal human rights to life and to freedom from tortuous, cruel, and inhuman punishment, and international human rights treaties and institutions that embody the abolition of capital punishment as a universal goal have developed. We pay attention to the political forces important in generating the new dynamic: the emergence of countries from totalitarian and colonial repression, the development of democratic constitutions, and the emergence of European political institutions wedded to the spread of human rights. Where abolition has not been formally achieved in law, we discuss the extent to which capital punishment has been bridled and by what means. Finally, we examine the prospects for further reduction and final abolition in those countries that hang on to the death penalty. More and more of these countries are accepting that capital punishment must be used sparingly, judiciously, and with every safeguard necessary to protect the accused from abuse and wrongful conviction. From there, it is not a long step to the final elimination of the death penalty worldwide.