An Analysis of the Human Rights Violated by the Death Penalty

When thinking about which human rights the death penalty violates, the first one that comes to mind is Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person." Obviously, killing someone takes away his/her right to life. The death penalty also violates Article 5: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Often the electrocution, lethal injection, or other form of legal killing is not properly administered and can cause intense suffering. And even when an inmate is killed "properly," the usage of the death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment because this person should be allowed to absolve his/her wrongdoing. This ties into another article that the death penalty violates, Article 8: "Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law." In prisons around the world, there is clearly a lack of effective rehabilitation programs to help inmates because, when released from jail, many fall back into a life of crime.  If the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were followed, then criminals would not be killed for their crimes but instead, effectively remedied and allowed to make a better life for themselves.  The fact that the above three articles are violated means that Article 28 is violated: "Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized." This is not currently true because, due to the death penalty, everyone cannot live in a place where they can realize the freedoms stated above.

Source: un.org
Picture source: http://book.coe.int/ftp/image/110044.png