K. Balagopal’s objections to the death penalty, and their resounding relevance today
Throughout his illustrious career, one of India’s leading human rights activists consistently raised principled challenges to the death penalty as a socially sanctioned State response to crimes of brutality such as rape. By revisiting his contentions today, and placing them against emergent evidence of the death penalty’s futility, we come closer to imagining a truly victim-centred justice framework.