Death penalty and abolitionism: The current state of affairs in the world

V zaključnem delu je naslovljen problem uporabe smrtne kazni, ki v 21. stoletju še vedno igra precejšnjo vlogo v številnih državah sveta. Z razvojem abolicionizma je tematika postala pomembna razprava na globalni ravni, v katero so se vključile tudi mnoge mednarodne organizacije in sprejele poglavitne dokumente ter deklaracije, s pomočjo katerih je gibanje doseglo družbene spremembe. Številne države so opustile smrtno kazen ter spodbudile njeno odpravo z znanstvenimi prispevki o negativnem učinku smrtne kazni. Temeljna človekova pravica do življenja je bila sprva poglavitna pri boju za odpravo smrtne kazni, nato pa so se abolicionisti osredotočili tudi na ostale problematike tovrstne kazni. V zaključnem delu smo z metodo komparacije preverili povezavo med smrtno kaznijo in stopnjo umorov ter stopnjo kriminalitete med abolicionističnimi državami in državami z uzakonjeno smrtno kaznijo. Vzorec je obsegal 50 držav, za katere smo pridobili podatke o številu usmrtitev v letu 2020, stopnji umorov in kriminalitete v letu 2020. Ugotovitve so pokazale, da ni jasne povezave med učinkom smrtne kazni na zmanjšanje oziroma povečanje kriminalitete, saj se pojavijo določene specifike, kjer ima država, ki redno izvršuje usmrtitve, eno izmed najnižjih stopenj kriminalitete in obratno. Podobno so pokazali tudi zaključki pri primerjavi stopenj umorov med državami.The thesis addresses the problem of the death penalty, which is still a prominent form of punishment in numerous countries in the 21st century. The matter of the death penalty has become an important global discussion with the development of abolitionism, which has encouraged international organizations to adopt key documents and declarations that initiate social changes. Numerous countries have abolished the death penalty and thus encouraged its abolition elsewhere through scientific studies of the negative impacts of its use. The fundamental right to life was the first and the most important argument for its abolition, however, other issues of the death penalty were exposed as well. The study focuses on the connection between the death penalty, murder rate, and crime rate in abolitionist countries and countries with legalized death penalty using the comparative method. The sample included 50 countries for which the data on the number of executions, murder rate, and crime rate in 2020 was obtained. Findings showed no clear connection between the death penalty and crime rate due to certain specifics (for example, countries where convicts are regularly executed, have one of the lowest crime rates and vice versa). Similar conclusions have been made when comparing murder rates between countries