Human life is valuable; thus, even the worst of murderers or criminals must not be sentenced to death. If an individual is held accountable for any criminal act; the state has the right to give a death sentence against the individual who is termed as capital punishment. In some states, capital punishment may be a consequence for people who commit crime. However, in some states capital punishment is not an option, but the individual may be sentenced to life imprisonment or may be torture in torture chambers. The individual may be sentenced to death, but unless and until he is not put to death the capital punishment is not put into action. The process of putting someone to death is known as execution. In earlier times, capital punishment was the norm for most societies. As times have evolved, people have moved away from public flogging and torture mainly because of an increase in human rights activists.
Most murderers or killers are often declared as clinically insane; thus, capital punishment may not be a threat to stop them from committing the heinous crime. Consequently, if a country has a law of capital punishment and people still commit crimes, it goes to prove that it does not play an effective role in threatening the individuals. In some extremist states where terrorism is on the rise, it may be difficult to enforce capital punishment because of threats from fundamentalist groups and other active extremist parties. Thus, if the law enforcing agencies want to maintain their dignity and authority they must abolish these laws and implement those laws which can be readily practiced and may actually prove to be threats to the people or criminals (ReligiousTolerance.org).
An individual may have murdered another individual may be when he was not in the right state of mind. In the case where the murderer is genuinely guilty of his mistake; thus, sentencing him/her to death may not be a fair deal. Even though, murder cannot be justified under any circumstances people who are involved in murdering could be under the influence, under pressure, or not in their senses while committing a crime. In such instances, it may be justified to forego capital punishment.
The judicial system is not free from flaws. Eventually, innocent people will get killed because of the gaps in the judicial system. Because the system is man-made, it is no surprise that there are errors. Thus, capital punishment must not be a part of the system because sooner or later people will get killed, and we cannot hold every individual accountable for their acts. The consequences of capital punishment upon the people may have lasting psychological impact especially for families whose people are executed. The consequences are even harsher for families whose members have been innocent yet they have been executed.
According to the US Catholic Conference, it is wrong to teach that killing is wrong by killing. If executing murderers is a lesson taught to other murderers about the consequences of their act then, this is not the correct approach. There could be other options that would instill within the murderers a conscience that may stop them from committing these acts. Regulatory authorities and governments should maintain their dignity by ensuring that they do not set a wrong example. People often look up to the government as an ideal, and if the government is ruthless enough to execute individuals then, they may not be the best of examples for its people.
Capital punishment is wrong and cannot be justified from the perspective of an individual who strongly believes in human rights and the value of human life. It may be necessary to execute individuals when they have committed a crime that is not worth forgiving. Moreover, if the state allows for the execution then it may be practiced as it is a right to punish people who have wronged others.
References
Bbc.co.uk, . (2014). BBC - Ethics - Capital punishment: Arguments against capital punishment. Retrieved 2 November 2014, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/against_1.shtml
Religioustolerance.org, . (2014). Capital punishment; the death penalty: all points of view. Retrieved 2 November 2014, from http://www.religioustolerance.org/execute.htm
UN News Service Section, . (2014). UN News - UN marks World Day against Death Penalty with strong calls to end ‘cruel practice’. Retrieved 2 November 2014, from http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49048#.VFXEtPmUeNA
