Reference no: EM13160659

Throughout human history, governments have seen the death penalty as a powerful method of deterring crime. However, after the aftermath of the Second World War, some states changed their perspectives on this punishment. A large number of states, among which the United States, agreed to follow the human rights standards set by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although the Declaration is not a legally binding document, it expresses the basic ideals that the world holds for human rights – they are “inherent to all human beings,†regardless of nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status as well as are “interrelated, interdependent and indivisible†(UNHROHCHR). Furthermore, the Declaration defines the right to life as one of the most fundamental human rights (UNAC). While all Western states have abolished the death penalty or do not exercise it, the United States and Japan remain the only industrialized states in the world that still practices the death penalty (Amnesty International). Although the United States has faced international pressure in regards to its continuing use to the death penalty, thirty-three U.S. states still practice it (Death Penalty Information Center). However, the United States should abolish the death penalty as it not only violates universal human rights norms, but also is expensive and ineffective deterrent.