Death Penalty and Mercy Petition: Examining the Impact of Delay in the Judicial Process

The most severe punishment that can be bestowed upon a convict is the death penalty. What further increases the mental and physical agony of the convict is the wait for the date of execution. Under Indian law both the Constitutional and Criminal Procedural Laws the right of filling the mercy petition is provided. Both the President and the Governor of the state have the power to commute. The lengthy trial period and further delay in decision of mercy petition add to the mental agony of the convicts. The present paper is an attempt to clarify the position of death penalty and the present judicial stance on commutation of death penalty to life incarceration in case of sufficient delay in decision on mercy petition.