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Capital Punishment is a very serious form of punishment which is highly debatable in the field of law. This punishment is usually implemented for the severest of crimes and the most dangerous of criminals. Where in some countries of the world this punishment is given as a norm, there are other countries where this punishment has been deleted from the context of punishments as a rule. Various schools of thought carry their differing opinions of the imposition of the death penalty based on many reasons. My objective in this report to identify these reasons and their logical basis, as to justify the viewpoints of both; those who favor capital punishment and those who disfavor it.
Arguments for Capital Punishment
As the death penalty is only imposed for criminals involved in serious crimes like murder or terrorist activities, hence is a punishment given for crimes that take one’s life away. And one must not forget that everyone must die eventually. The death penalty serves to remove anarchist elements from society which is justified.
Secondly, capital punishment helps to contain the crimes that cause this punishment in the first place. If a few people involved in heinous crimes are served the death sentence and this punishment is practiced upon them, then surely the society would get cleansed of crimes as criminals would know what the result of the crimes would eventually be.
The third reason is the amount of money involved in running cases over grave crimes. Where it is argued by anti-death penalty upholders that it costs higher to execute a person than run a life imprisonment case, it is also arguable that if the decision-making is quicker, then the death sentence will not cost much and the State will be able to reserve capital for the welfare of the people.
Fourthly, this punishment serves as Payback to the criminal as he realizes the offense he has committed and what he is getting now in lieu of his deed. It can facilitate repent and reformation.
Lastly, this punishment can aid the inhibition of criminal behavior in society. It has been observed in countries, where this punishment is effectively applied, has lowered crime rates over the passage of time. Where anti-death penalty opinion holders claim that this punishment does not reform society and lower crime rates, in America where this penalty was exercised the crime rates dropped significantly.
Arguments Against Capital Punishment
One most favored reason to disfavor death penalty is the unjust principle of the law, where an innocent person might have to face the punishment only because he is convicted of murder, but it might be that his intention of killing another person would not have been murder; it could be self-defense or accidental killing.
Another reason is the excruciating pain and mental anguish that the convicted person’s relatives and loved ones would have to face once the person is sentenced to death. It is one of the most painful news to hear about anyone’s dear one going through something so grueling.
Moreover, campaigners of the anti-death penalty claim that poor state administration over the death sentence leads to unfair imposing of punishment. There are cases where racism gets in the way, and one race is preferred over the other, causing unjust suffering of one individual involved in the same crime as the other. If policy making were just, then this punishment would have served its justice in society.
Also, the intensity of this punishment is quite harsh, realizing that criminals too are people, and there are alternate methods to reforming their ways, rather than taking away their lives. This punishment causes extreme mental suffering to those who are convicted of this, and it is a toll on them.
Lastly, it has a devastating psychological effect on society, where people stop and watch a public execution which is never a pleasant debacle.
Comparing Arguments
Both sides validate their points effectively, yet both have their drawbacks. For those who favor it, the death sentence has not been very effective, and crimes have not stopped even though this punishment is imposed. Similarly, for the against part, racist elements are not quite into play as far as death penalties are concerned. People are punished if they are found guilty of a serious crime and are always punished accordingly. This is something we have to trust our law-enforcers on.
Therefore, the death sentence is a punishment that has serious repercussions on society and overall on those whom it is implemented on. Its nature is to eliminate the society from serious criminals and crimes altogether and serve as a tool for reforming the society and preventing people from committing grave crimes.
My Opinion
In my opinion, the first essay imposing death sentence is the stronger essay because it gives valid reasons for its approach. The only way that society can be changed and made a crime free is by imposing such punishments that serve to uproot the evil altogether and make people think twice before they even think of harming another individual. And if criminals would know that they would never get away with doing a serious crime, then the society would be significantly crime free and harmonious. As statistics proves that crime rates have dropped since the imposition of the death penalty, hence the regular practice of this punishment can aid the eradication of all crimes.
References
Listverse. Arguments for and against the death penalty. (2013, June 15).
Retrieved from http://listverse.com/2013/06/01/5-arguments-for-and-against-the-death-penalty/
Phil for Humanity. Capital Punishment. (2008 Feb 2).
Retrieved from http://www.philforhumanity.com/Capital_Punishment.html 2 13 08
World coalition. Org. Against the death penalty. (2014 Dec 17).
Retrieved from http://www.worldcoalition.org/?gclid=CLrA4OLezcICFVEmjgodeXEAMg
