Autumn Brown

Mrs. Hensel
English 4
April 24th, 2015
Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Worldwide
Cruel and unusual punishment is not a thing of the past and it continues to be used in the
majority of todays society (Dodd and Dyer). The use of cruel and unusual punishment is
exceedingly high beyond popular belief. Death, the most severe of all punishments of many
government entities, is pale in comparison to the barbaric punishments of many authoritarian
regimes. Examples found go as far as being eaten alive by starving dogs ("The Barbaric Regime
of North Korea"). In countries such as the United States, Saudi Arabia and North Korea there are
still many viable examples of cruel and unusual punishment on a daily basis.
The United States still practices cruel and unusual punishments even though the eighth
amendment marks the very idea unconstitutional. The U.S. government has found a loophole in
the law; this loophole is Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay is a Cuban soil government prison
owned by the United States, where CIA operatives torture information from enemies of the state.
On one occasion, Mr. Mubanga was chained to the floor, with shackles while being visited by a
british government official and on another claims in a letter that he was shackled down for an
extended period of time and then forced to clean up his own urine; he also stated that an
interrogator stood on his hair and he was subjected to extreme heat (Dodd and Dyer). The sad
fact to all of these cases of cruel and unusual punishment is that it has dissolved the very
foundation of what the United States Constitution stands for; contradicting what our forefathers
laid out at every turn. Lord Chancellor states in a speech to the public policy research At the

heart of culture our is a commitment to the rule of law and human rights and We could never
countenance individuals being put beyond the law as has happened at Guantanamo Bay but it
does not seem so from the desecrations of human rights found in Guantanamo Bay (Dodd and
Dyer). There is no greater justification that what occurs within the confining walls of
Guantanamo Bay is undoubtedly cruel and unusual punishment.
A little over 7,000 miles away, in Saudi Arabia, cruel and unusual punishment takes on a
new form (Cuba Saudi Arabia Distance). Saudi Arabia contains their own laws, known as
Sharia Law, which oppose American laws in terms of morality and punishment. Many if not
most of their forms of punishment are seen as cruel and unusual to your typical American. A fair
amount of the punishments received in Saudi Arabia are non lethal, but that does not make them
uncruel. The severity of each punishment has been created and enforced by officials and some
citizens hoping to uphold the high regards for public safety, for example under the sharia,
repeated theft is punishable by amputation of your dominate hand ("Saudi Arabia - Crime and
Punishment"). This punishment is non lethal but still cruel. It is the punishment after
REPEATED theft not just once, but because of the severity of the punishment more
qualifications have been put into place to make it a little more fair. One way to get out of
amputation is If a thief repents and makes restitution before the case is brought before a judge,
the punishment can be reduced; furthermore, the victim can demand recompense rather than
punishment or can grant a pardon ("Saudi Arabia - Crime and Punishment"). Not all
punishments are as simple to get out of because the wages of these crimes amounts to
death.Many of these crimes are punished using lethal means due to the nature of many
governments. Supporters and enforcers believe that it is healthy to have a public beheading or
stoning every once in awhile to keep everyone in line and remind them that the law remains in

effect ("Saudi Arabia - Crime and Punishment"). Different crimes have different levels of
punishment according to the severity of the committed act, so some crimes only under certain
conditions are punishable by execution. Crimes that are absolutely punishable by execution are
murder, apostasy from islam, adultery, drug smuggling and sabotage ("Saudi Arabia - Crime and
Punishment"). Execution can take place in many forms, it can be carried out by beheading,
firing squad, or stoning of the convicted person in a drugged state ("Saudi Arabia - Crime and
Punishment"). The type of execution performed depends mostly on the crime carried out or the
crime the person is found guilty for. This method of punishment can trace its roots to King
Hammurabis Code of Law that states an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Recent data
collected shows that on average 100 people are beheaded each year ("The World's Most Barbaric
Punishments"). One of the worst part about these executions is that they are performed in the
town square for all the public to watch. One executioner, al-Beshi, has a close view on exactly
what happened. He states with one stroke of the sword I severed his head and that it rolled
meters away ("The World's Most Barbaric Punishments."). All of this is done in public for eyes
of all ages to see and it teaches that this is socially acceptable to all ages. When in reality it is
very cruel to the ones living the nightmares of these punishments.
These unusual punishments do not stop in Saudi Arabia and the United States alone, it is
a problem evident worldwide. Another great example is located within the borders of North
Korea; North Korea contains camps that specilazed in punishment. Many people such as enemies
of the state, political threats, and foreign prisoners are sent there to be punished for their crimes,
beliefs, and political difference. Very few people ever leave these camps because most of these
punishments end in execution. Inside these camps they are faced with forced abortions, public
execution, rape, starvation and other barbaric forms of punishment. Execution come in many

different styles inside of these camps. One way involves the prisoner to dig their own grave
and then the guard will hit them in the back of the head with a small metal hammer ("The
Barbaric Regime of North Korea"). It is bad enough the prison guards are going to kill you by
striking you in the skull with a hammer but they won't even take the time to dig you a grave or at
the very minimum a hole, big enough for your body shows how little they actually care about
you as a human being. Another method involves strangulation using a rubber rope ("The
Barbaric Regime of North Korea"). In some cases it did not stop with just the strangling. A
former guard releases his first hand accounts with observing these punishments. He states that he
witnessed prison offices strangling the prisoners not to death but just close enough then they
would finish it off beating them with wooden sticks until they were dead ("The Barbaric
Regime of North Korea"). A far more cruel punishment is execution by starving animals. More
specifically it is called quan jue or execution by dogs. A pack of 120 starving dogs were set on
Jang Song Thaek and five others as 300 officials watched the horrific execution ("The
Barbaric Regime of North Korea"). It still doesn't even stop there! In March 2013 approximately
80 citizens were lined up, bags placed on their head and machine gunned to death for such
crimes as owning a bible or watching western movies ("The Barbaric Regime of North
Korea"). It is pitiful to live in world where in some countries you can be exiled for owning a
certain book or watching a certain genre of movie.Women are treated even more unfairly than
men in these situations. The same former guard stated that he also noticed that prison officials
frequently raped women inmates who were then killed, he said after a night of servicing the
officials ("The Barbaric Regime of North Korea."). These woman died on the spot because the
secret of the prison officials fun couldn't get out to the public. Another way they were treated
even more unjust than men is by being forced to kill their own children (Ryall).

The United States, North Korea and Saudi Arabia all use some form of cruel and unusual
punishment, although the methods may differ, the concept remains the same. These countries
have some form of punishment that results in death by guns. Just last year, June 18th, the United
States had a citizen die by being shot to death. He was convicted of being a murder and put to
death by firing squad ("The World's Most Barbaric Punishments"). This is similar to the 80 North
Koreans that were lined up and shot with machine guns for breaking the strict laws. Saudi Arabia
and North Korea Both have stricter laws in which it is easier to face execution on a daily
basis("Saudi Arabia - Crime and Punishment"). All three without a doubt have been proven to be
unjust and cruel with punishments.
While all three countries treat humans unfairly and take away their human rights with the
punishments given they all seem to add their own little twist into the plan. North Korean offices
more specifically target women than men in the cruel and unusual punishment. They use them to
fulfill their sexual desires ("The Barbaric Regime of North Korea."). Other accounts have been
found of this happening in other countries but it is common for North Korea. The United States,
unlike the other two counties listed, tries to hide what they are doing. The have fled the U.S.A
and taken to Cuban soil in an attempt to conceal the wrong doings (Dodd and Dyer). Saudi
Arabia is a firm user of stoning. It is much more common to be stoned on Saudi Arabia than
either the U.S. or North Korea.
Cruel and unusual punishment is evident throughout the world. It is not only used but
supported in some countries. In Saudi Arabia supporters of the punishment believe that it would
keep down the crime rate ("Saudi Arabia - Crime and Punishment"). In the United States the
government tries to hide it by performing the task on cuban soil. In North Korean prison there
are many different strategies to execute prisoners that vary from torture to starvation ("The

Barbaric Regime of North Korea"). Cruel and unusual punishment has became too usual
worldwide. It is unfair and inhumane especially to all the innocent people caught up in someone
else's crime.

Works Cited
"Cuba Saudi Arabia Distance, Miles and Kilometer." Cuba Saudi Arabia Distance,
Miles and Kilometer. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
Dodd, Vikram, and Clare Dyer. "Guantnamo Torture and Humiliation Still Going On, Says
Shackled Briton." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 2015. Web. 12
Mar. 2015.
Ryall, Julian. "Executions and Torture Are Daily Life in North Korea's Prisons." The Telegraph.
Telegraph Media Group, 29 Aug. 2013. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2015.
"Saudi Arabia - Crime and Punishment." Saudi Arabia - Crime and Punishment. N.p., 1992.
Web. 08 Apr. 2015.
"The Barbaric Regime of North Korea." The Barbaric Regime of North Korea. N.p., 17 Feb.
2014. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2015.
"The World's Most Barbaric Punishments." Newsweek.com. NEWSWEEK LLC, 2010. Web. 12
Mar. 2015.