https://www.mdu.se/

This study is a qualitative analysis of ideas and ideological content, which main focus is the Indian legislation on rape offenses which was adapted after a brutal rape case in Dehli 2012. The purpose of the study is to analyze how Indian news sites portray the motives behind the new death penalty legislation. The analysis intention is to see if there´s a possibility that the arguments can be categorized within a theoretical framework such as utilitarianism, retributivism or feminism. The material used in the analysis is recently published, high-profile news articles from Indian media. The result signifies that the Indian government's argument for the death penalty legislation is justified primarily through justice and revenge for the victim, as well as the purpose of deterrence, which can be compared to the retributive setting. The majority of the arguments were also problematized from a feministic perspective, with the explanation that execution isn´t the solution to the country's patriarchal structure and gender-based violence and oppression. One factor that has an impact on the study is the limited freedom of the press in India where authorities have censored certain material on the internet, which affects the reliability of the study material. In conclusion the analyzed material uses the same sorts of argument that reflects upon feminist rationales, but this result also indicates that the unified result may have an explanation for the limited press freedom, the country's corruption and the censorship of the authorities.