Death Penalty as an Institute of Punishment in Foreign Countries

The article analyzes one of the debatable issues related to the violation of human rights - the practice of the use of the death penalty. Today, the death penalty institution is predominantly recognized as inhuman and is not used as a punishment. However, despite the marked tendency to abolish the death penalty, some countries not only have a legislative basis for this institution, but also use it in practice. The study found that the institution of the death penalty, although it is considered a violation of fundamental human rights and is actively condemned by international organizations, is used both in countries with authoritarian political regimes and with democratic ones. One such state is the United States of America. The practice of this country on the application of such punishment as the death penalty is analyzed. It is established that, in contrast to the beginning of the 19th century, when the death penalty in the United States was used for a significant part of crimes, today this type of punishment is not overly common. Legal norms to some extent limit the use of the death penalty in relation to certain categories of citizens, however, official statistics indicate the annual execution of about thirty relevant sentences. The analysis showed a wider practice of using the death penalty as a punishment in authoritarian countries. Moreover, the analysis of statistical data in them is difficult due to the official prohibition of disclosure established by the authorities. Unlike states with a totalitarian political regime, in authoritarian countries, in practice, it is possible to be exempted from such a punishment as the death penalty by amnesty on behalf of the head of state. The study also showed the vigorous activity of international organizations, in particular the UN, in the field of promoting the complete abolition of the death penalty in the world. Today, thanks to the work of the United Nations, the use of this type of punishment as the death penalty is significantly limited due to the binding nature of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and two Additional Protocols to it. This indicates a further humanization of criminal law and the possibility of future abolition of the death penalty in countries with different political regimes