The capital punishment is a form of punishment that is applied in the criminal justice system. It is worth noting that death penalty is one of the debatable issues in the world. Canada is one of the countries that debate on the death penalty as a form of punishment. For many centuries, countries have utilized capital punishment as a strategy for dealing with serious criminals. The form of punishment in Canada dates back to the era of the British colony. This was a form of punishment that was administered to those conceited of murder, assault, rape, buggery of animals, and robbery. In the 1860s, the use of death penalty in Canada increased. The capital punishment continued to exist in Canada in various forms. After the end of French era, hanging was the only form of capital punishment used in Canada. Notably, in 1962, the last execution took place in Canada. This was the hanging of Ronald Turpin and Arthur Lucas. In 1998, the federal government abolished the death penalty. Since the abolishment of capital punishment, there are dynamic debates over whether the death penalty should be reintroduced. Both the political elite and public have debated the issue on several occasions. Studies show that rate of murder in the country has decreased since the abolishment of capital punishment. The main focus in Canada is whether the government should reintroduce capital punishment as a goal of punishment. The main issues have been streamlined towards moral, economics and social aspects of capital punishment.
Daily reports on murders raise a crucial question on whether those who kill deserve to live. There are those who are in support of capital punishments while others have against the reintroduction of the death penalty. Analyzing the impacts of the death penalty in countries such as the United States show the real picture of capital punishment in society. American studies show that capital punishments neither affect recidivism rates nor does it deter an individual from committing murder. This show that Canada should think deeper before deciding on whether to reintroduce capital punishment or not.
The government has the obligation to analyze the economic aspect of capital punishment before reintroducing it as a goal of punishment. One of the downfalls of reintroducing death penalty is based on economic perspective. Those who support the abolishment of the death penalty have supported their rationality from an economic perspective. In most cases, people argue that life imprisonment is an expensive affair for the government (Sinclair-Faulkner 3). This is not the case because the death penalty is much expensive. Notably, the cost of capital punishment is high because of the extensive appeals process. The marginal costs and benefits of reintroducing capital punishment need to be considered in Canada. During execution of criminals, the country incurs several costs. Critically, the costs of capital punishment begin from the police investigation and arrest and end with the burial costs.
Reintroduction of capital punishment in Canada will increase the expenditure in government. The investigation costs s incurred but the government when establishment the facts on the case. The police are supposed to be precise in the investigation because human life is at stake. It is difficult to access the actual among of money that is used during the investigation, but additional costs are incurred by the government in dealing with capital punishment. On the same note, sentencing and trial costs make reintroduction of capital punishment expensive (McCafferty 17). The trial court fees are very expensive. For example, appeals made required pre-trial research, jury section, defense and prosecution team, and court reporters. Capital trials cost the government billions of dollars, especially on highly publicized court cases.
Reintroduction of capital punishments will create many challenges in the criminal justice system. A single trial on death penalty means a tax increase in Canada. This is because the cost of capital punishment is transferred to the taxpayers. In some occasion, long trials that are streamlined towards capital punishment lead to a lesser sentence of life imprisonment. This means that the government will incur a double cost, which is from lengthy trials and life imprisonment.
Another economic concern related to capital punishment is that it diverts resources that are meant to reduce crime into trial process. For example, countries that have legalized capital punishment have to shrink the budget meant for crime prevention. Hence, reintroducing capital punishment in Canada means that crime prevention programs will be forgone. Also, human beings are very important in the economy of Canada. Capital punishment eliminates productive individuals who would at one pint be productive in the country (Hood and Carolyn 31). Death penalty takes away resourceful individuals in the economy. This is a clear indication that reintroducing capital punishment is not a better option.
The downfall of capital punishment in Canada comes from unbalanced and inadequate funding in the criminal justice system. The notion of justice and punishment is threatened in the United States due to lack of adequate resources. This indicates that reintroduction of capital punishments in Canada strains further the finical status of the criminal justice system.
Also, moral aspect is a critical issue that leads to the downfall of reintroducing the death penalty in Canada. The criminal justice in Canada should comprehend that taking human life is brutal, and inhumane. Under no circumstance is taking other person’s life human. Reintroducing capital punishment is constituting a cruel, unusual and inhuman form of punishment. Individuals who are considered to face death penalty have to wait for many years in trial awaiting several appeals. This is cruel to the suspects and the family members. Cruelty is also analyzed based on the psychological harm that individuals are subjected when living in a death row. The experience is traumatizing, especially if an individual is later exonerated (Hood and Carolyn 65). Also, there are situations whereby the execution process takes the offender through excruciating pain. Therefore, it is inhuman and cruel to reintroduce capital punishment in Canada.
Assessing the effects of capital punishment on public policy is based on normative issues such as morality. The morality of capital punishment in Canada has been debated for many years. Human beings have no powers to decide the fate of another human being. Reintroducing death penalty is a clear indication of lack of respect for human life. Those against the death penalty in Canada believe that human life is valuable, and no one should be deprived of their right to live. Religion in Canada is another rationale that can be streamlined towards the moral issues of the death penalty (Dailey 123). The death penalty is viewed has a form of punishment that is against religious beliefs.
Capital punishment incorporates doctors and medical professionals who have taken oaths to protect life. The moral perspective of the death penalty comes to question. Doctors should not be allowed to participate in the execution of criminals. Reintroducing death penalty puts the medical practitioners in a compromising position. In fact, doctors evade moral and ethical problem if the death penalty is not reintroduced. Despite the methods of execution, doctors are expected to participate in various ways (McCafferty 34). For example, they have to certify the death of an individual and even use stethoscope certify the state of the electric chair. In such ways, doctors will be assisting in the execution process. Therefore, the death penalty should not be reintroduced in Canada. Let the doctor undertake their main goal, which is to preserve life.
It is worth noting that many innocent people have been executed in Canada. This means that reintroduction of death penalty in Canada is a threat to criminal justice process. There are various flaws in the criminal justice system, which means that innocent people could be executed falsely. The jurors, witnesses, and prosecutors can make mistakes during the trials that may lead to miss trail. There is evidence that shows that such mistakes could happen in the criminal justice system. For example, Amnesty International states that more than 130 people have been sentenced to death innocently. This indicates that the same mistake can take place in Canada. There are several cases in Canada that individuals were convicted wrongfully (Thompson 175). If there was a death penalty at the moment, innocent people could have faced death. In Canada, there are many people that were convicted to dead. These people include Donald Marshall Jr., Simon Marshall, and David Milgaard. For example, David Milgaard spent 23 years in prison and was later exonerated of murder. In a critical analysis, the presence of capital punishment in Canada means that innocent Canadians could have been executed.
Reintroduction of capital punishment may increase the rate of innocent convictions. Wrongful conviction in Canada is caused by various reasons, which include over reliance on science, faulty eyewitness identification, as well as police judgments. Also, there are concocted testimony from the inmates who claim to have overheard fellow inmates confessing to a specific crime. The police seem to promise inmate’s leniency, which makes capital punishment a bad form of punishment. Criminal justice system is meant to administer justice and fairness to all people convicted (Van and John 54). If Canada reintroduces death penalty, then the criminal justice system is compromised in its quest to administer justice. Advocates concerned with capital punishment are not satisfied with the way the court procedures are carried out. On the same note, the death penalty is an irreversible process. The irreversibility of death penalty means that many innocent people will be executed. A Large body of evidence show that innocent individuals are convicted of crimes they did not commit. During the trial, there are several components that may go wrong in a capital case. This situation speaks directly on how crucial it is not to reintroduce death penalty in Canada.
Deterrence is a critical issue in the criminal justice system. Scholars assert that it is worthless to reintroduce death penalty because it does not reduce crime. Statistics reveal that since the abolishment of death penalty, Canada has experienced a drop in murders. The drop is approximated to be at 44%, which is a major decrease. For example, in 2013 Canada recorded the lowest rate of homicide since the year 1966. Although there are no explicit reasons for the decrease, it is certain that death penalty did not deter criminals. The use of death penalty as a method of punishment is meant to deter criminals and send a strong message to potential criminals on the severity of the punishment (Sinclair-Faulkner 3). Therefore, Canada should explore an alternative way of punishment rather than introducing death penalty.
The economic and racial discrimination in the application of death penalty is a critical concern in Canada. The criminal justice system has on some occasion come under scrutiny in cases of racial profiling. Economic and racial profiling can influence the delivery of justice. For example, in the United States, most of the people on death row are blacks. Reintroduction of the death penalty in Canada could raise the issue of racial discrimination in criminal justice system. The country should be able to administer justice without regard to class or race. Also, the poor may be in a bad position in accessing justice (Van and John 41). This is because they cannot afford private representatives, which means they might easily be convicted of the crimes they did not commit. Criminal justice system should present an equal platform, which is not the case in Canada. Therefore, the death penalty should not be reintroduced.
Those who commit crimes of personal violence and murder do not predetermine their crime. This is an important factor that should be considered when focusing on reintroducing death penalty in Canada. Most of the capital crimes are committed under the influence of alcohol and emotional stress. This means that individuals who commit murder are not in their logical state. Even if crimes are planned, criminals will focus on escaping arrest, conviction, and detention. Therefore, the threat of death penalty does not discourage an individual from committing a crime. Capital punishment does not solve crime-related problems in Canada.
On the other hand, proponents of capital punishment in Canada have raised several issues. Councilor Giorgio Mammoliti is one of the leaders who is called for the reintroduction of the death penalty. This was triggered by the Eaton Centre Shootings and murder case in Montreal. The councilor argues that death penalty is the only punishment that will induce fear to the murderer (Peat n.p). The death penalty is believed to be the appropriate punishment for pedophiles, cop killer, and murderers. Proponents of capital punishment in Canada assert that it prevents re-offending. Those who are executed are not in a position to commit further crimes. There are occasions whereby inmates escape prison and commit the same crime.
In occasions where criminals predetermine their crime, the death penalty could be the best form of punishment that prevents them from committing a crime. Proponents in Canada assert that capital punishment is the best warning against all forms of crimes. In a critical analysis, death penalty deters criminals who predetermine their crimes. Canadians also believe that reintroduction of the death penalty is the best option for the families of the victims. The murderer deprives families their loved ones (Martin n.p). The grief of family members begin with the murder, and it ends when the murders are punished. Victims’ families’ believes that the best punishment for murders is capital punishment. Also, surviving victims always live in fear unless the criminal is executed.
There are criminals who cannot rehabilitates even after serving in prison. In Canada, there are criminals who cannot be deterred by other forms of punishment. Such individuals who are immune to rehabilitation process should be executed. The society should not tolerate killers who cannot repent and be remorseful of their crimes. The big challenge is how to determine criminals who cannot rehabilitate and those who are ready to change.
In the general perspective, the death penalty is one of the datable issues in Canada. Based on crime trends in Canada death penalty might be reintroduced into the criminal justice system. Since death penalty as removed, there are various instances that the public and politicians feel there is a need to reintroduce the death penalty. The downfall of the death penalty in Canada is based on moral, religious, economic and innocent executions. The Economic aspect is the main component that leads to the downfall of reintroducing the death penalty. The marginal financial cost of the death penalty should be analyzed. The death penalty should not be reintroduced because it strains the economy of the country. The death penalty is expensive because of several costs involved. These costs include investigation costs, sentencing and trial costs, appellate costs, and execution costs. The costs mean that the burden will be shifted to the taxpayers. Innocent convictions is an inevitable issue when focusing on the death penalty. This form of punishment is inhumane, cruel and unusual. Those who support the reintroduction of the death penalty believe that the capital process requires reformation. Deterrence and justice are some of the reasons for capital punishment. Based on the analysis, it is evident that reintroduction of the death penalty is not a better option. The government and other responsible stakeholders should establish alternative forms of punishments. The criminal justice system should serve Canadians fairly and without discrimination.
Works cited
Dailey, Thomas G. "The Church's Position On The Death Penalty In Canada And The United States." Death penalty and torture. 121-125. New York: Seabury Pr, 1979. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.
Hood, Roger, and Carolyn Hoyle. The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective. , 2015. Print.
Martin, David. Canada Should Reconsider the Death penalty after Bourque and Bibeau, 2014
McCafferty, James. Capital punishment. New Brunswick. Willy., 2010. Print.
Peat, Don. Bring back the Death Penalty in Canada: Mammoliti, 2012 http://blogs.canoe.com/goodgravy/politics/bring-back-the-death-penalty-in-canada- mammoliti/
Sinclair-Faulkner, Tom. "Restoring Canada's Death Penalty." The Christian Century 104.14 (1987): 400. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.
Thompson, Andrew S. "Uneasy Abolitionists: Canada, The Death Penalty, And The Importance Of International Norms, 1962-2005." Journal Of Canadian Studies 42.3 (2008): 172-192. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.
Van, den H. E, and John P. Conrad. The Death Penalty: A Debate. New York: Plenum Press, 1983. Internet resource.
