21st Amendment Aboolition of the Death Penalty / Arguments For

The 21st Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001 proposes to amend the Irish Constitution to allow for the deletion of references to capital punishment and the prohibition of legislation allowing capital punishment in the future.

The proposed amendment seeks to change separate provisions of the Constitution. The combined effect of these changes would be to delete all remaining references to the death penalty in the Constitution and to prevent its re-introduction under any circumstances, even where there is a state of emergency.

This statement of the main arguments for and against this proposal is published by the Referendum Commission having regard to submissions made to it by the public in response to advertisements.

The arguments should be read in conjunction with the earlier explanatory leaflets published by, and available from, the Referendum Commission .

The Commission expresses no opinion as to the comparative merits of these arguments and there is no significance in the order in which they are printed.

Consider them and decide before you vote on the 7th June.


Arguments for

You should vote YES to the proposal because:

Killing is always morally wrong. State sponsored killing is morally wrong in all circumstances and has no place in a civilised society.

Removing the references to the death penalty in the Constitution and providing for a total ban on capital punishment gives a clear signal that this country values all human life.

The EU is aiming to promote the abolition of capital punishment worldwide. Ireland is party to international conventions which involve commitments to abolish the death penalty. A constitutional ban on the death penalty will allow us to be fully in line with our international commitments and to take a lead in the movement to abolish capital punishment worldwide.

It is not appropriate for the State to seek retribution even if very serious crimes are committed against individuals or against the State itself. This is the case even in the extreme situation where the security of the State is at risk. Society should strive for rehabilitation, forgiveness and compassion, not revenge and retribution.

The death penalty is a cruel and degrading punishment which degrades the State as much as the person punished.

There is no evidence that it has any deterrent effect.

If a person charged with an offence for which the penalty is death is wrongly convicted, there is no way in which this appalling injustice can be remedied. Innocent people have been put to death.