Abstract
Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the killing of a personal by judicial process for retribution and incapacitation. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences . Death penalty exists since the Antiquity. Effectively if we follow the Talion law, 'an eye for an eye', death penalty will be a normal punishment. If you kill you will be killed. But the development of new criminal theories changed the role of the punishment during the Enlightenment period. Effectively it was emphasized the fact that if you kill, you become a killer, then if you are a murderer you will be punished by death. This represents one of the strongest arguments against death penalty. Turkey and France are really different when compared to each other. France is a catholic and secular country while Turkey is secular but influenced by Muslim traditions and religion. Then, both religions do not share the same view of the death penalty. France was one of the founding fathers of the European Union while Turkey is not yet integrated as a member of the Union. France is known to be a defense of the human rights because of the declaration of the human rights enacted in 1789 while Turkey is more known for its lack of human rights. But, despite these differences, both countries were the latest abolitionist countries in Europe. Then, this comparison appears interesting because of their two different histories, and political, religious and social background.
