Gayatri Sidhu

214402531
Law and Criminal Psychology
Weekly Response
Weekly Response

Question: Explain why Capital Punishment is not allowed in Canada.

Capital punishment refers to the execution of an offender who has been sentenced to

death after conviction by of court of law for a criminal offence. This term should be distin-

guished from extrajudicial executions, which are carried out without due process of law. The

term ‘death penalty’ is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, although the

imposition of the penalty does not always result in execution (even when upheld on appeal) be-

cause of the possibility of life imprisonment (Hood, R).

On July 14th, 1976, the House of Commons passed Bill C-84 on a free vote, abolishing

capital punishment from the Canadian Criminal Code and replacing it with a mandatory life sen-

tence without the possibility of parole for 25 years for all first-degree murders. Canada retained

the death penalty for certain military crimes, such as treason and mutiny, but no soldier has been

charged or executed for these crimes in over 50 years. On December 10th, 1998, Canada com-

pletely abolished the death penalty by passing a law that removed all mentions of capital punish-

ment from the National Defence Act (Death Penalty in Canada).

The death penalty is described as a cruel, inhuman, and degrading method of punishment.

The ethical and human rights issues raised by hundreds of advocacy groups globally opposing

capital punishment have led to a significant debate worldwide. The methods of implementing the

death penalty have varied across jurisdictions, however, in Canada, hanging was the method

used. The 1959 wrongful conviction of teenage Steven Truscott was a significant factor in shap-

ing national public opinion against the use of the death penalty and towards its outright abolition.

He was sentenced to death for the murder of a classmate, but his sentence was later commuted to

life imprisonment. In 2007, he was fully acquitted of the charges. The potential loss of an inno-
Gayatri Sidhu
214402531
Law and Criminal Psychology
Weekly Response
cent life highlights the gravity of wrongful convictions, and concerns about the state taking peo-

ple’s lives, as well as doubts about the death penalty’s effectiveness as a crime deterrent, remain

valid reasons for opposition to the death penalty (Oykhman, M).

Canada and the United States had a similar approach to the death penalty until 1976.

Canada stopped executing people after 1962 and had various pauses in the application of death

penalty. In 1976, Canada’s parliament decided to remove the death penalty from the Criminal

Code. The debate over the death penalty in Canada was particularly heated in the 1950s and

1960s. One of the strongest arguments for abolishing the death penalty was the risk of executing

an innocent person. If a wrongful conviction were discovered years later, there would be no way

to rectify the mistake if the person had already been executed (Canada’s Last Hangings). The

elimination of capital punishment in Canada was influenced by a combination of ethical consid-

erations, public opinions, legal frameworks, and the acknowledgement of the risks associated

with wrongful convictions. In addition, global movements and a growing emphasis on human

rights and fair justice systems played significant role in bringing this change.

Works Cited:

Hood, R. Capital Punishment. Retrieved on June 2nd, 2024 from

https://www.britannica.com/topic/capital-punishment

Death Penalty in Canada. Retrieved on June 2nd, 2024 from

https://amnesty.ca/what-we-do/death-penalty/death-penalty-in-canada/#:~:text=On%20July

%2014%2C%201976%2C%20the,for%20all%20first%2Ddegree%20murders.
Gayatri Sidhu
214402531
Law and Criminal Psychology
Weekly Response
Oykhman, M. Death Penalty in Canada: Can You Be Sentenced to Death in Canada?. Retrieved

on June 2nd, 2024 from https://www.strategiccriminaldefence.com/faq/death-penalty-canada/

Canada’s Last Hangings. Retrieved on June 2nd, 2024 from

https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/politics-law/canada-s-last-hangings