مطالعۀ جامعه‌شناختي تحولِ شيوه‌هاي مجازات اعدام در ايران و امريكا

A Sociological Study of the Evolution of the Death Penalty in Iran and America

تاريخ تحولات كيفري حاكي از فراز و نشيب‌هاي گسترده در اجراي مجازات اعدام است. اگرچه امروزه بسياري از كشورها اين مجازات شديد را از سياهۀ قوانين كيفري كنار گذاشته‌اند، اما برخي ديگر، ازجمله ايران و امريكا، با تحول در شيوۀ اجراي اين مجازات همچنان از آن استفاده مي‌كنند. تحولاتي همچون پنهان شدن و انتقال اعدام از منظر عموم به پشت ديوارهاي زندان، تلاش براي تحميل آن با كمترين رنج جسماني و دخالت پزشكان در فرايند اجرا از مهم‌ترين تغييرات در شيوۀ اجراي اين مجازات در ايران و امريكا بوده است. تغيير و تحولات يادشده را مي‌توان از زواياي گوناگوني تحليل كرد. در نوشتار حاضر سعي كرده‌ايم تحولات اخير را از منظر نظريه‌هاي جامعه‌شناسي كيفر بررسي كنيم. نتايج اين مطالعه حاكي از آن است كه از يك سو مي‌توان چنين تغييراتي را به تحولات فرهنگي نسبت داد و آن را يك فرايند طبيعي در راستاي هماهنگ شدن اجراي مجازات با احساسات و ذهنيت‌هاي جامعه دانست. از سوي ديگر مي‌توان گفت كه تحول در شكل اجراي مجازات‌ها، ازجمله اعدام، نمادي از تغيير در سازوكارهاي كنترلي نهاد قدرت به‌واسطۀ پيشرفت تكنولوژي در دنياي مدرن است. كليدواژه‌ها

Regardless of the time, historical developments of the death penalty in America and Iran, is indicative two fundamental transformations in execution modes of the death penalty.On the one hand, capital punishment was removed from the public arena and went behind the prison walls and on the other hand, application of new methods of killing is considered by policy makers to reduce the risk of pain. Such alterations are typically attributed to achievements of penology, the primary task of which is to identify the most effective sanctions for criminals in order to better serve the purposes of punishment. Although the most studies of death penalty are carried out in penology area, these examination has an internal approach to criminal developments and these fundamental changes has nothing to do with society. But the sociology of punishment claims that better understanding punishment needs investigate the relationship the idea of punishment and other social phenomena and forces and trace its social roots. Punishment, which in criminal law is considered as state's response to violations of law, sociologically is studied as a phenomenon which must be explored in the broad context of community. In sociological study of punishment, as in other disciplines, different approaches to society could produce different analyzes of the criminal response. A Durkheimian structural and holistic view, perceives deep relationship between punishment and social values and refers to the effective role of community’ sensibilities in the developments of methods of penal practice. The Durkheimian perspective interprets punishment as a cultural pheromone. Roughly speaking, Norbert Elias's ideas of civilization process can be considered a kind in line with the Durkheimian theory. From Elias's point of view, evolution of individual sensitivities gave rise to transformation of culture and these developments can be clearly seen in the mirror of punishment. In sum, Durkheim's and Elias's ideas are “cultural explanations of punishment”.