The Abolitionist Movement: Progress and Prospects
This chapter presents an overview of the extent to which the movement to bring about abolition of the death penalty worldwide had progressed by the end of December 2007. From ancient times until the latter part of the eighteenth century, the threat of punishment by death had been widely accepted as an effective penal weapon of social control, even though the extent to which it was enforced varied. The chapter looks at the motivating ideals and political processes which have been at work to transform the issue of abolition into an international movement within such a short space of time. It then discusses the resistance that has been encountered from those countries, including the USA, that have not yet accepted — or even vigorously opposed — the claim that capital punishment should be banned by international agreement, just as slavery, torture, and genocide are.
Keywords: abolition, USA, international agreement, resistance
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