Premium
THOU SHALT NOT EXECUTE
Author(s) -
EREZ EDNA
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1981.tb00402.x
Subject(s) - hebrew , conviction , punishment (psychology) , law , capital punishment , relevance (law) , perspective (graphical) , capital (architecture) , political science , sociology , psychology , history , social psychology , classics , art , archaeology , visual arts
This article discusses the historical developments in the approach of Hebrew law to capital punishment. It presents the biblical principles and modes of capital punishment, and discusses subsequent reforms and innovations of the Talmudic and post‐ Talmudic scholars. The sanctity and invaluableness of life, so fundamental to Hebrew law, did not allow for the substitution of any other type of punishment for death. Reluctance to impose death penalties was expressed in various procedural and substantive legal requirements for conviction in capital cases, requirements that rendered the imposition of the death penalty virtually impossible. The few exceptions to this practice were noted and the relevance of Hebrew law to secular law in contemporary society is discussed.