Capital Punishment in Egypt

Dina Lameydlamey@aucegypt.edu

Top-ranking crimes punishable by death

• Treason• Espionage• Drug trafficking

Crimes punishable by death

• Aggravated murdere.g. premeditated/deliberate killing by poisoning• Simple murder• Other offences resulting in deathe.g. arson, gang robbery and terrorism

Offences resulting in death

1. Using violence to cause harm, terror, ecological disaster, or other social disruption is punishable by death if the act involves death

2. Perjury: lying under oath causing the execution of an innocent person

Types of killing

1. Manslaughter: unintentional

2. Homicide: a) premeditatedb) non-premeditated

Premeditated or not?

1. Intent to kill (by using deadly weapons)2. Intent to inflict bodily harm on victim3. Reckless indifference to life4. Intent to commit a dangerous felony (act

involves dangerous felony, e.g. arson, rape..)

Look at these examples

• Bob plans to kill Alice. Bob shoots Alice. Alice dies.

• Bob plans to kill Charlie. Bob shoots at Charlie, Charlie ducks, Alice is shot instead. Alice dies.

• Bob fires a pistol into a crowd of people. Alice is hit. Alice dies.

Other crimes punishable by death

• Rape of an adult not resulting in death• Rape of child not resulting in death• Drug trafficking not resulting in death• Drug possession• Military offences such as desertion, looting,

insubordination, dereliction of duty

Does the country have a mandatory death penalty?

• No. Under the Penal Code, “if the conditions of the crime…necessitate the judge’s lenity, the penalty may be changed…” from capital punishment to life imprisonment.

Offenders excluded from CP

• Individuals under the age of 18• Pregnant women• Mentally ill individuals

sources

http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Egypt

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThreeDegreesOfMurder

Questions to ponder

• What context does this reading provide for the Willingham case?

• What information do we have about human fallibility in legal decision-making?

• Using narrative and personal experience to make an argument, how does the argument work?

• Why do we believe some people more than others?

Questions