There is a heated debate currently going on about the whole notion of marital rape. A topic of much interest, with many newspapers publishing articles [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] as well as it being discussed on various TV networks [10] [11] etc… The overwhelming consensus seems to be that marital rape should be considered as, well, rape of a woman i.e. of the wife by her husband and should be punished according to extant rape laws.
Needless to say that punishment for committing rape is severe with extended jail terms and the like… For e.g., in our country, rape is punishable for a period of not less than seven years but which may be extended to a life term [12]. Further many are of the view, especially after the Nirbhaya incident [13] that rape should carry the maximum possible punishment, namely the death penalty… Now, rape is a serious offense and should be punished severely though for the record, I am against the death penalty. As an aside, I state that entailing the death penalty for rape amounts to a violation of one of the basic tenets of English Common Law which state that punishment should be commensurate with the crime so committed [14]. A life for a life i.e. the death penalty be instituted only for murder and not for any other crime… Rape, though of course being a serious offense, still does not kill you and ergo cannot command the death penalty.
