Hanging as execution mode
Against
- Violation of Right to Die with Dignity (Article 21)
- Lack of guaranteed instant death (England study: only 10% get instant death)
- Mechanical unpredictability (drop height)
- colonial era practice
- psychological & physical trauma
Alternative modes
- 187th Law Commission Report 2003: Recommended lethal injection
- Military Law Precedent: Shooting by firing squad
- Intl. practices: lethal injections, lethal dregs
SC upheld hanging, why?
- hanging causes least possible pain when administered properly
- Legal reaffirmation in BNSS 2023
- Absence of Proven Superior Alternatives
- Documented failures of lethal injections abroad
- Decorum & decence in execution, without excessive brutality