THS6thLegalNetherlands

 **Country:** Netherlands
 * Topic:** Capital Punishment
 * Committee:** 6th Legal
 * Name:** Nathan S.
 * Period:** 0



Capital Punishment (in the Netherlands)



 * Background:** Capital Punishment, or the Death Sentence, is the highest form of punishment, only given to people for unspeakable crimes. Crimes such as Murder, Rape, Acts of Terrorism, and Hannis. (Ex: Torcher, Rape, Murder, Destruction of Body all on one person) Back then, Capital Punishment was done by hanging, lion acts (throwing someone in a pit to die with animals), being torn apart, crushed, thrown off cliff sides, stoned, burned, ect. Modern Day Capital Punishment can be done by decapitation, electrocution, firing squad or other methods of shooting, gas chamber, hanging, and lethal injection. So far 92 countries have abolished it, while other countries still use it. Only 64 of the other countries use it on a daily basis, other only use on special occasions. The most common method so far of capital punishment is lethal injection, but other countries still use gas chambers (US), firing squad (Mexico), and hanging (Middle East). The debate of Capital Punishment dates back way beyond. People believe that Capital Punishment should be abolished because it is wrong, horrible, against the rights of freedom (US, EU), and because of common mistakes. People support it because; some people just cannot be turned around, too deadly for this world, crowds in prisons, and general thoughts (if a guy is sentenced to life in prison and there is no hope for him getting out, why not kill him). People belive that everyone can be given a second chance and can be good, the converse of that is, too many chances can be given, and a person can be born evil at heart. The general thought against Capital Punishment is that everyone has the right to live, and the freedom of their lives. And the government should not take the place of that. The general thought with Capital Punishment is that people are too deadly for this planet, and should not be given another chance, and that they do not belong on this world. It is not gods way, but when he if off earth, let god decide whether to send him to hell, or be on heaven.


 * United Nations Involvement:**  The UN has written the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" to educate people on human rights. (ie The right to live). Article Five of the   Universal Declaration of Human Rights   states:   "No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.".  This basically states that every human has the right to live out their lifes in prison, and they should not die, no matter how in-humane the crime was.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights passed in 1948.  The UN also protects minors from the death penalty, in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is accepted throughout the world, except in Somalia and the US. The UN has created many documents and treaties to end this punishment, but they have not succeeded yet.


 * Country Policy and Involvement:** The Netherlands has completely abolished Capital Punishment from their Judicial System in 1991. But after WW2 the Dutch re-introduced capital punishment for a few years fearing that their people would try to take matters in to their own hands. The last executions in the Netherlands took place on March 21, 1952, near The Hague. Wilhelm Albrecht and Andreas Pieters were the last people to be executed from the Netherlands. Today the Netherlands operates a clear policy against capital punishment, such as not participating in extradition if the suspect has even the slightest chance of receiving the death penalty.


 * Solutions:** Currently, for the Netherlands, I believe that the law should stay as is. In other countries such as the US, I believe that it should also stay, but the Convention on the Rights of the Child should also be put into effect. I believe a person under the age of 18 should be able to live, until the age of 18, where a trial will be held. If he or she is proven guilty for all of his crimes, and cannot be given a 2 month chance to prove that he should be given the right to live, then he should be humanely be put down. If anyone is proven guilty, I believe they should be monitored for 2 months, and if he or she is living out their lives to be normal people, they should be given the right to live. But if they do another crime such as murder, attempted murder, rape, or anything within that range, they should be killed. But if it is for speeding, tickets, small theft, or anything otherwise, they should just be punished on the same grounds as everyone else. If he or she is put within __prison__ again, not jail, within 1 day to 2 weeks, they should be on trial for either life in prison, or death. (depending on the crimes)

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_Netherlands http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-row http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dfwfvj8r_7c6nk84f5

General People (educators, parents, other adults)