Despite the fact that murder was the first sin a human being committed on Earth, the son of Adam killing his own brother, contemporary times still do not offer a consensus on the solution to this troubling issue of adequately punishing murderers. Diverse solutions people have applied to this dilemma are devised from religious holy books such as the Old Testament and the Holy Qur’an, while others are created by people in order to solve the murder problem. Consequently, some countries have made the death penalty mandatory for murderers, while on the other hand, many countries are still upholding the jail punishments: locking up murderers for the rest of their lives and using them for heavy, physical labor, sadly, frequently offering opportunities for appeal after a certain period of time has passed, in hopes that the person is rehabilitated now. However, this kind of punishment is not enough of a deterrence for people with sadistic motives such as murder. My personal opinion is that the world would be a better place if we managed to find a proper solution to this issue, and my belief is that the leaders of world governments ought to make the death penalty mandatory for anyone who commits murder.
First and foremost, one of the major principles of justice is for the penalty to fit the crime. It is utterly wrong to allow one person’s happiness in life, after serving a paltry fifteen or twenty years for murder, when he took a life that was not his to take, cut off the line of that person’s descendants or orphaned his children and widowed of his wife; for that life imprisonment is far from enough.
Secondly, the reason why death penalty should be utilized is due to the fact that prison does not address the consequences murder has in society. By providing the offender with a merciful, small penalty, the oppressed are being bereaved of their right to justice. The countries which use the prison penalty for murder have a resulting high rate of murder. For instance, the United States had the highest international homicide rates in 2004 with 5.9 homicide crime per 100,000 people because it does not agree to employ the death penalty regularly in its laws (Carl 231).
Moreover, murder is symbolically analogous to a bomb, exploding and destroying the people in close vicinity of it, because relatives of the victim and relatives of the bomber will intent to seek bloody revenge in a never-ending cycle of “eye for an eye.” For instance, the war between Al sha’ah and Al sonah, two religious Islamic groups in Iraq, commences when individuals from one group murder the wrongdoer from the other group and reaches its terminus only when hundreds or thousands of people from both groups have been killed. Thus, the death penalty in such a case would save thousands of innocent lives.
It is the belief of many people the death penalty is a heavy punishment and does not answer the problem because it constitutes taking another life. Opponents argue that the death penalty only increases killing, and if we put the murderer in prison for some years and bring this man or woman back into society, they will be rehabilitated and deemed as good persons, although this notion is highly questionable. In addition, there is also an argument about human life being given by God and taken away by God, which is supported by the idea of the mercy of humans and the support of human rights. However, these people think about the problem from the offender’s side only. They neglect to take into account the rights of the victims, their relatives and the rights of the society. The offender is granted the right to a fair trial and the right to defend himself legally in front of a judge, while the dead stay dead and their rights seem to matter very little, if any.
The death penalty should be contrived as a right for the victims and their relatives, and to protect the safety and life of all members of society. If the government allows each person to take the life of their enemy and then punish this behavior with several incarcerated years, the question of general safety surfaces. If the punishment for murder is so mild, are individuals really safe from such a deadly retribution? And is this kind of punishment enough of a deterrent factor to put a halt to this sinful practice? Life is given by God and must be taken by God, but if one person takes the life of another, the order of God must be put to use. The Old Testament and the Holy Qur’an state that the society must take the life of a murderer to prevent the corruption in a country. The question of mercy should not be raised at the cost of fairness and equality. Human rights must be supported and justice must be served.
The death penalty ought to be mandatory for murderers because it is the right and fair answer for preventing corruption in a country, for achieving justice for the victim and for protecting every single individual in society.
Reference
Carl, John D. Think sociology. Oklahoma City: Pearson, 2011. Print.
