This book is an updated and reworked version of the thesis which was submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Laws (LLD) in the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria.

This book is about an African philosophical examination of the death penalty debate. In a 21st century world where the notion of human right is primed, this book considers the question of the death penalty in two sub-Saharan African countries namely, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, notorious for their poor human right records. This edited collection comprises of 11 essays from Zimbabwean and Nigerian philosophers. As opinions continue to divide over the retention or abolition of the death penalty, these African philosophers attempt to localise this debate by raising the following questions: What is the meaning of life in the African place? Is it proper to take the human life under any guise at all? Who has the right to take the human life? Can the death penalty be justified on the bases of African cultures? Why should it be abolished? Why should it be retained? Indeed, this book is the first of its kind to engage the tumultuous issue of capital punishment in the postcolonial Africa and from the African philosophical point of view.

Human development is not simply about wealth and economic well-being, it is also dependent upon shared values that cherish the sanctity of human life. Using comparative methods, archival research and quantitative findings, this book explores the historical and cultural background of the death penalty in Africa, analysing the law and practice of the death penalty under European and Asian laws in Africa before independence. Showing progressive attitudes to punishment rooted in both traditional and modern concepts of human dignity, Aimé Muyoboke Karimunda assesses the ground on which the death penalty is retained today. Providing a full and balanced appraisal of the arguments, the book presents a clear and compelling case for the total abolition of the death penalty throughout Africa. This book is essential reading for human rights lawyers, legal anthropologists, historians, political analysts and anyone else interested in promoting democracy and the protection of fundamental human rights in Africa.

In recent years the death penalty has sharply declined across Africa, but this trend belies actual public opinion and the retributivist sentiments held by political elites. This study explains capital punishment in Africa in terms of culturally specific notions of life and death as well as the colonial-era imposition of criminal and penal policy.

This new edition of a classic study assesses the global status of capital punishment. As in previous editions, this work draws on Roger Hood's experiences as consultant to the United Nations for the Secretary General's five-yearly surveys of capital punishment as well as the latest literature from non-governmental organizations and academic experts. This edition examines significant developments around the world including the Chinese plan for the People's Supreme Court to review all death sentences, and the abolition in the USA of the death penalty for offenders who committed murder while under the age of 18. Recent legal challenges to lethal injection as a form of execution are also examined. This edition also includes an additional chapter on the role and influence of victims' families and victim interest movements. This volume shows how, despite a number of set-backs, the movement to abolish the death penalty has continued to gather pace; that international organizations and human rights treaties continue to put pressure on retentionist countries; that further developments have been made in securing protection for those facing the death penalty in retentionist counties; and that, despite such advances, in some parts of the world the range of crimes subject to the death penalty remains wide and the number of executions considerable. This work engages with the latest debates on the realities of capital punishment, with claims that the death penalty is a unique deterrent to murder and other serious crimes, and contains expanded coverage of arguments about the role of public opinion in the debate on capital punishment.

Discusses the history of execution, the process from sentencing to execution, moral issues involved in the death penalty, arguments for and against it, and the shrinking number of countries with it.

This collection asks questions about the received wisdom of the debate about capital punishment. Woven through the book, questions are asked of, and remedies proposed for, a raft of issues identified as having been overlooked in the traditional discourse. It provides a long overdue review of the disparate groups and strategies that lay claim to abolitionism. The authors argue that capital litigators should use their skills challenging the abuses not just of process, but of the conditions in which the condemned await their fate, namely prison conditions, education, leisure, visits, medical services, etc. In the aftermath of successful constitutional challenges it is the beneficiaries (arguably those who are considered successes, having been ’saved’ from the death penalty and now serving living death penalties of one sort or another) who are suffering the cruel and inhumane alternative. Part I of the book offers a selection of diverse, nuanced examinations of death penalty phenomena, scrutinizing complexities frequently omitted from the narrative of academics and activists. It offers a challenging and comprehensive analysis of issues critical to the abolition debate. Part II offers examinations of countries usually absent from academic analysis to provide an understanding of the status of the debate locally, with opportunities for wider application.