Lessons from the abolition of the death penalty in Lithuania: looking through a kaleidoscope of professional, political and public discourses

• In Event: Political and Social Discourses about Crime and Justice Panel 3

Abstract

Twenty-five years ago, Lithuania legally abolished the death penalty. This was a message that the Lithuanian state sent to citizens and international political communities about its intentions and determination to pursue a civilised and humane criminal justice policy and comply with international obligations in the field of human rights. However, it was not an easy and formal move; rather, it was a unique solution in which academic arguments, political interests, and people's feelings about the death penalty's purpose, necessity, and appropriateness were intertwined. The presentation aims to reconstruct the process of abolishing the death penalty in Lithuania, utilising social phenomenological discursive principles proposed by A. Schutz and M. Foucault. The analysis focuses on professional, political, and public discourses regarding the death penalty's retention and abolition, the coalitions and conflicts that arise, and their influence on the final decision. In addition, it examines the potential impact of this decision on the broader international abolitionist policy.

Author

• Aleksandras Dobryninas, Vilnius University