Death Penalty as a Component of Criminal Justice - Essay Example

?Introduction Death penalty, also referred to as capital punishment, is a type of punishment in the legal systems, which prescribes the killing of convicts instead of jailing them. It remains a controversial issue in most of the societies in the world, including the US, and its legality has continued to be challenged by opponents such as human rights watch groups and religious organizations, on the basis of its moral and ethical standings (McCafferty, 2009). Death penalty is not a new phenomenon in the contemporary society as it has a long history, which can be traced back to the Babylonian society under the leadership of King Hammurabi. This is the society, which has the earliest documented application of this penalty in form of the Hammurabi code, which is said to have existed as early as the 18th century BC (Brians, 1999). The crimes that were punishable by death at this time were numerous unlike in the modern society, which has first degree murder as the major crime punishable by death. Under Hammurabi code, crimes such as adultery, petty robbery cases, wrongful accusation of individuals among others were regarded as capital offenses. This paper is a critical evaluation of death penalty as a component of criminal justice. Death Penalty Death penalty is a punishment in the criminal justice system, which has continued to attract criticism and support from various quarters such as human rights activists, religious groups as well as the society at large. As stated earlier, it is not a new phenomenon unique to the contemporary society as even the ancient societies applied it even though with little regard to human life. In this context, the manner in which it was applied especially in the Babylonian society under King Hammurabi showed that there was little will on the part of the authorities to offer convicted criminals the chance to redeem themselves and reintegrate with the society (Brians, 1999). However, the contemporary society has tried to rectify this by limiting the punishable crimes to those of high gravity such as murder, genocide, treason among others. On the other hand, some of the countries around the world have decided, through legislation, to ban the death penalty altogether while others have remained adamant and still use it to date. Some of the countries that has banned it include and not limited to Argentina, Spain and Australia while those where it is still considered legal include and not limited to the US, China, Korea, Egypt, Japan among others. In total, it is believed that more than 139 countries worldwide have banned its use. The most conventional methods of execution to date include and not limited to; hanging, being shot by firing squad, electric chair, gas chamber among others (Bedau, 2004). This is in contrast with the ancient methods of execution, which can be termed as primitive, inhumane as they were more bent towards making the convicted criminal experience pain and humiliation. In fact, some sources indicate that such societies believed in the ‘tit for tat’ and the ‘an eye for an eye’ principles. Convicts were either beaten to death, burned alive, crucifixion while others were drowned in water (Brians, 1999). Recidivism is a major concern for proponents of death penalty (McCafferty, 2009). This is the habit of convicted criminals returning into crime once they are released from prison after completing their jail terms. It is for this reason that death penalty is perceived as a permanent way of incapacitating the criminals from ever committing other felonies. Opponents on the other hand claim that instead of killing the culprits, they should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. However this may sound convincing, it does not escape the minds of the proponents that jailing a criminal only limits his or her rights to freedom but this does not mean that they lose contact with the outside world. In this context, it is true to say that the criminals can still plan with the help of accomplices especially where criminal gangs are involved. This may turn out to be dangerous for witnesses of such cases, who may end up becoming victims of revenge. For example, the killing of Osama bin Laden by the US military incapacitated him in such a way that the terrorists under him lost the morale and the motivation to continue wit their violent activities. Suggesting that he was jailed instead of being killed, it is most definite that these terrorists would be using his arrest as a way of intimidating the Americans whereby they would be hijacking planes, kidnapping innocent civilians and using them as a bargaining tool towards the release of their leader. Furthermore, it is obvious that jailing someone for life means that the government would have to undertake the responsibility of taking care of their daily needs such as food, clothing and accommodation, not withstanding the congestion in the correctional facilities. It may also be important to note that escapes from prisons by convicted criminals is a reality not forgetting that they can also find their way out into the society through corrupt deals with officers of government. It may be painful for a victim for example, who lost his or her soul mate, child or friend to watch as the tormentor returns to the society and continues to live his or her life as if nothing ever happened (McCafferty, 2009). Everyone in this universe fears death not withstanding some elements who participate in suicidal activities either as terrorists or normal citizens. This is the reason why even in the courts, criminals, through their individual selves and their lawyers fight towards convincing the judges to have pity on them and thereby reduce punishments from death penalty to life imprisonment or lesser penalties. For this reason, it may be found out that majority of citizens will stay away from committing capital offenses knowingly and as a result, crime is deterred. However, it has been difficult to establish this connection between the prevalence of capital offences and the effectiveness of the death penalty to deter crime. This is due to the fact that there are minimal executions that take place after conviction and this may have a negative impact on the efficiency of death penalty to deter crime. In the US for example, reports show that in more than 300 convicts on death row, only one of them is actually executed (Cassel, 2006). The government should therefore ensure consistency in executions or else it would be failing its own people. On the other hand, opponents share the opinion that death penalty infringes on the right to life. This is true based on the fact that this right is protected by the American declaration of independence, which guarantees the inalienable right to life (Roberts, 2008). Every individual was created by God and according to religious institutions, only him, then, has the right to take life. However, the government has a moral obligation to protect its citizens from murders, rapists, arsonists among other criminals by incapacitating them permanently and the best way to do this is by sentencing them to death. Any person who has ever been victimized by these criminals may understand that such a penalty offers retribution and provides the victims with a closure thus enabling them to continue leading a normal life. However, it is true to say that the death penalty is subject to errors. This is to mean that innocent persons may end up being sentenced to death as a result of poor investigations by the prosecution. In the US for example, it is estimated that more than 100 people were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the period between 1973 and 2006 only for them to be removed from the death row after new evidence was presented to prove their innocence (Roberts, 2008). In this context, it is difficult to tell how many people have lost their lives in this manner and this may be a reason to reconsider the legality of the death penalty. Despite this, the penalty should not be abolished and if the government is not willing to execute capital offenders in order to avoid being pointed at, these convicts should be forced to kill themselves by transforming them into gladiators and making them fight each other to death if there is no one willing to execute them. References Bedau, H. (2004). The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies. New York: Oxford University Press. Brians, P. (1999). Reading about the World. Texas: Harcourt Brace Custom Publishing. Cassel, P. (2006). Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case. New York: Oxford University Press. McCafferty, J. (2009). Capital Punishment. New Jersey: Aldine Transaction. Roberts, J (2008). Capital Punishment, Innocence, & Public Opinion. Criminology & Public Policy, 4(1): 130?-146. Read More