External Factors Influencing the Death Penalty in Drug-Related Crimes from a Human Rights Perspective

Background and Objective: Like some other countries, the Iranian legal system has foreseen the death penalty for some drug crimes, and in this regard, the necessity of eliminating the death penalty from the Iranian legal system is in line with international and human rights obligations.

Materials and Methods: This research uses a field and comparative method to examine the external variables affecting the death penalty system for drug crimes. In this regard, content analysis of documents and evidence, including court cases of those sentenced to death and interviews with judges and lawyers specializing in this field, has been used.

Findings: It is generally believed that judges are completely subject to the law when issuing sentences and are not influenced in any way by factors beyond the text of the law, such as the defendants' criminal record and social status, the influence of the media, etc., but some empirical studies indicate that in some cases, judges are influenced by these extra-legal variables in determining punishment.

Conclusion: Extra-legal variables may be effective in the sentences issued by judges. Therefore, the present study seeks to answer the question of what effect specific extra-legal characteristics, such as the defendant's criminal record, the role of the media, or the investigating judge himself, have on the criminal process of drug crimes punishable by death in Iran and what is the degree of influence of judges in dealing with these variables.