Transformation of the Modern Death Penalty: From a Principal Penalty to Special Penalty

Cut Nurita, Muhammad Ridwan Lubis, Ahmed Kheir Osman

Abstract


This study aims to analyze the status of the death penalty within Indonesian criminal law and examine the direction of its regulation within the framework of modern criminal law. The research employs a normative-juridical method utilizing statutory, conceptual, historical, comparative, and human rights approaches. The results indicate that the death penalty is transforming into a special form of punishment applied only in limited circumstances. Significant changes position the death penalty as an alternative sanction and link its execution to a ten-year probationary period. The findings highlight several issues requiring further attention, particularly the risk of irreversible wrongful convictions, the quality of legal aid, disparities in access to defense, the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent, and the relationship between the death penalty and the right to life. The study implies a need to apply the death penalty under extremely rigorous procedural standards, strengthen guarantees for a fair trial, and develop sentencing policies aligned with modern trends that prioritize the individualization of punishment and the evaluation of potential sentence commutation.

Keywords


Capital Punishment; Criminal Law; Human Rights;

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26532/ijlr.v10i1.38356

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