Human minds are said to be bothered by the problem of crime and punishment. However for every crime committed it should be punished accordingly. Therefore every country has a special sets of laws that defines the appropriate and type of punishment that offender deserves. The laws bind the citizens together and prevent them from committing crimes. Furthermore, prisoners are of productive significant since it make the criminals to work for the country in local areas therefore fulfilling social workers hence bringing good in the society (Winters & Paul, 19). The supporters of the effectiveness of death penalty argue that it is the appropriate and best method to eradicate and punish criminals therefore preventing further crimes.
Research indicates that people fear death more than any other moral punishment. Death penalty will help in reducing the prevalence of crimes. Psychologically, people fear death and the mere fact that committing a crime will make them to be petrified. Sentencing convicted criminals to death will finally discourage impending criminals from causing suffering and possibly death to innocent citizens within society. Additionally, death penalty serves as an elementary prompt to the public that crime does not get rewarded. It sends a message to the public that committing a crime will attract a greater price that will basically not be pleasing to the criminal and possibly to their friends and relatives too (Williams, 116). Death penalty has been proven by research conducted in the field of sociology to be a perfect way of restoring discipline and morals onto the members of the society that have extreme deviant behavior. A clear and critical observation of criminals in a court always try to do all that they can to postpone or reduce their sentences further supports the point that people fear death more than imprisonment. I believe the death penalty is very effective, and is a good way to make the criminal fear the consequences of their actions. I suggest that capital punishment is very effective as well as appropriate since it makes offenders to fear the consequences of their actions. Appropriate punishment therefore protects that society against crime and morally improves it.
If death penalty is not applied, the imprisonment will have to be applied. Though the torture that prisoners go through while in prison might serve to deter crime, imprisonment in itself constitutes evil. It leads to loss of freedom whereas death penalty inflicts a more severe loss; that of life itself. Death penalty can be seen as compared to freedom which is relative and can just be imagined. People react more to what they actually see rather than what they imagine. A threat that is invisible cannot be effective in intimidating criminals. According to Judge Robert E., "It is the finality of the death penalty which instills fear into the heart of every murderer, and it is this fear of punishment which protects society" (Williams, 76). Death is tangible and can be seen by all and there imposing a death penalty on an individual will be very effective in deterring crime. It makes crime appear less attractive to criminals.
Death penalty is cost-effective as compared to imprisonment or other forms of punishment. If death penalty is imposed on a criminal, the criminal will be gone for good. This saves on money that could otherwise be used to cater for the criminals’ upkeep in jail. Rehabilitation is quite an expensive process and less of the individuals really change to the better. Therefore executing death punishment also averts the problems that the criminal would have caused to the society after committing a crime and getting away with it (Williams, 96). If death penalty is dropped it therefore means that the society will have to incur more costs that will be brought about by the rise in crime rate. Is an individual important than the entire society? Definitely no. death penalty should therefore be used but with great care to avoid causing more problems than benefits to the society.
When someone is sentenced to death penalty and is executed the family members remain with revenge as part of the emotions that everyone feels in the family. Capital punishment is unfair Legitimate due process and basic justice both require that the judicial functions of trial and sentencing be led with fundamental fairness. Especially when it comes to irreversible sanction of the death penalty is involved. In death sentencing there are cases of racial biasing. Racial discrimination is practiced in most of the countries (Winters & Paul, 34). I suggest that if it comes to judgment of criminals anyone deserve equal punishment just like anyone else.
Discrimination is mostly against the poor in our society when making judgments. Therefore death sentence is based under the offences committed hence the appropriate punishment is decided. It is unfair and unjust manner against people. Mainly relies on how much money the offender’s family have, the skill of their lawyers, race of the victim and where the crime took place. The blacks are more likely to be executed than the whites particularly if the casualty is a white. Therefore since death penalty is not for everyone it should be eliminated in constitution.
Capital punishment is waste of tax payers by reducing the number of citizens therefore it has no significance and has no public safety benefit. According to vast majority of law implementation they suggest that death penalty does not deter violent crime. It is noted that the states with has death penalty laws have the highest murder rates. Innocent people are too frequently sentenced to death (Winters & Paul, 25).
Capital punishment is viewed as inhuman and anachronistic by the international community. In 1962, the European council reported that the death penalty is something anachronism. As a result most countries in Europe have abolished the penalty. England abolished tit in 1971, Canada in 1976 and France in 1981. The united nation is also not for the idea it advocates that there should be measures to restrict the number of offenses in which the death penalty might be imposed. In the application of international law, statistics show that 140 countries have abolished death penalty either by law or by practice (ACLU, 1). United States has not abolished the same which compelled it to abstain from signing international agreements. This treaty on prohibits physical and psychological torture but not the death penalty.
Capital punishment is popular than its alternatives. Though it is said that most Americans approve the punishment, a careful analysis of their attitudes reveal otherwise. Most of the citizen propose life sentence without parole. In a survey carried out in the state of California in the year 2000, voters were asked their opinion on the issue. Statistically, 37% were for life without parole while 44% were fore death (ACLU, 1). A more recent study in the same region which was conducted in the year 2010, registered voters were responded to the question of what would be the best punishment for the first degree murder, statistically, 42% were for a life without parole compared to the 41% for the capital punishment.
The death penalty is expensive than incarceration. Though it is suggested that life sentence is expensive than death sentence, taking all the relevant cost of the two decision and comparing them, death sentence is indeed expensive. A first degree murder is expensive in terms of time and the legal expenses incurred. This will include the time spent by judges, prosecutors, attorneys, public defenders, court reporters all are paid by the taxpayers. A study carried out in New York in the year 1982 showed that the cost of death sentence would cost twice that of life in prison. This is according to the New York state defender on capital loss. Similar findings have been proved in North Carolina, Maryland and California (ACLU, 1).
Capital punishment can be termed as unjustified retribution. It is insisted that death penalty is the only fair and just or suitable revenge for atrocious crime such as murder. Death penalty can be defended on narrowly revengeful stands only for the crimes that involve murder and not for any other crime such as rape, kidnapping, treason or drug trafficking. Execution is more than revenge for the murder crime. The justification being that a criminal be punished for the crime they commit with the same punishment. However, this principle is only applied on murder criminal. If the principle was to hold, torturers should be tortured, rapist raped and all other criminals are treated and punished as per the crime they have punished (ACLU, 1). The family of the victim of such punishment is the most affected and they often oppose the punishment due to the problem they succumbed to after the bereavement.
In conclusion therefore, the death punishment does not cure crime. The issue of death penalty will continue to be a public debate. Though it is said capital punishment reduces crime, it is a harsh treatment that does not offer the offender a chance to reform. It is an expensive exercise that leaves trauma to the family of the bereaved. Death penalty is indeed a brutal way of retribution and should be abolished.
Works Cited
ACLU. "The Case Against the Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Williams, Mary E. Capital Punishment. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Print.
Winters, Paul A. The Death Penalty: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Print.
