Retention or Abolition of the Death Penalty and Public Opinion on the Death Penalty

Abstract

The discussion on the death penaltys retention or repeal has been going on for a long time, and there are different views on the retention and elimination of the death punishment. Despite the international trend toward abolition, certain countries, like China, Japan, and the United States, continue to use the death sentence, and all three countries have conducted public opinion surveys on the abolition of the death sentence, and public opinion has a certain influence on the death penalty reform. This article will compare the views of Beccaria and Bentham, the representatives of abolitionism, and Kant and Hegel, the representatives of capital punishment retention, review the outcomes of popular opinion surveys on capital punishment in China, the United States, and Japan, analyze the characteristics of public opinion, and discuss the interaction between capital punishment retention and abolition and public opinion. The study about the value of public views in terms of the death sentence reform is of reference significance to the issue of whether the death penalty should be retained or abolished.