The Dilemma of Capital Punishment: A Multifaceted Consideration

Abstract

The issue of capital punishment is a subject of ongoing and often emotionally charged conflict between abolitionists and retentionists, and to this day, a unified international standard has not been achieved. The essence and justification of the death penalty is a matter of exceptional value and importance in the socio-moral context, which is why, in order to effectively emphasize the multifaceted and complex aspects of it, the article provides an in-depth description of criminal punishment as a general issue, as well as the history of the creation of the ultimate punishment and the background of the events that shaped the contemporary Polish legal system. The article aims to synthetically organize the current state of knowledge concerning selected issues related to the death penalty. This text is based on the numerous achievements of currently available scientific literature and refers to the most frequently used arguments in public discourse, presented by both supporters and opponents of the death penalty.