371 Indians are on death row; only 4 have been executed in 13 years

Among the prisoners whose mercy petitions were rejected by the President of India, the median time spent in prison under trial was 16 years nine months

On April 21, 2018, the Indian government passed an ordinance allowing death penalty for the rape of children younger than 12 years. But is capital punishment an effective deterrent?

Human rights bodies and the United Nations have argued that the death sentence is inhuman and cruel and should be abolished. In India, the debate was revived in the wake of the ordinance.

Apart from the humanitarian argument, latest data also indicate that in India trial delays make the death sentence ineffective and result in protracted waits for the