Capital Punishment - Essay Example

Capital Punishment By hearing the word capital punishment it brings out a full spectrum of emotions in people. The act of legally authorizing the killing of someone as a punishment for a crime has sparked an amplitude of controversy around the world. Many people are against the death penalty protesting that any sort of killing is wrong and making it legal to take someone’s life is the worst kind of killing. On the other side of the argument, the people who support death penalty maintain that crimes which are heinous in nature such as child murder and genocide should not be awarded nothing less than death. This paper will analyze the morality of the death sentence and the credibility of the evidence which is provided at the court of law on the basis of which capital punishment is awarded. The paper would also examine the different alternatives practiced around the world for death penalty. The history of death penalty dates to very ancient times. The earliest recorded evidence of this law comes from the fifth century B.C Roman law of Twelve Tables. This was followed by the Draconian Code of Athens in the seventh century B.C which made death the only sentence of every crime. The history of capital punishment also shows that this law was practiced in England as well. In England, one ruler who is famous for practicing this law was King Henry the eighth who sentenced a lot of people to gruesome death sentences. He did not even spare his wives from this punishment. It is established from history that in every civilized society there has always been a law of death in order to maintain law and order (Death Penalty Information Center 2003). The verdict of capital punishment has always been a matter of controversy generally because of the way a case is dealt at the court of law. A recent post by the Orlando Sentinel suggested to the state of Florida to change the way a death sentence is practiced. It suggested that instead of the existing law where a meek majority of the jury is sufficient to suggest a death sentence to the presiding judge, it would be better that a unanimous decision would be required to award the death sentence to the convicted person. The report highlights three cases in which individuals were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes which they did not commit. It took at least thirteen years before post-conviction DNA test cleared them from the charges. Such cases where innocent people are sentenced to death raises questions as to whether the individuals who were awarded death sentences in olden times truly criminals as the DNA testing techniques were not developed in those times (Sepia 2011). Another issue which is raised with regard to death penalty is that whether the death penalty should be exercised or not in this day and age when a lot of emphasis is laid upon human rights. The ongoing case of Bradley Manning is an example. Bradley Manning leaked classified information relating to possible war crimes of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan in WikiLeaks. The government of the United States has charged him for aiding the enemy which is a dealt with giving a capital punishment in the country. Now a letter has been sent to the president of America, Barack Obama which has been signed by more than 50 European Parliament members. They have stated their demands that Bradley Manning should be put to trial officially rather than being subjected to torture. Furthermore, they have demanded that he should not be given a death penalty (Guardian 2011). There are different places around the world where a ban has been placed on capital punishment. This includes the state of Oregon in the United States. The governor of Oregon John Kitzhaber has declared suspension of the death sentence and would halt any execution till he is in office. The governor even declined two volunteers who were in death row and were willing to die. Mr. John Kitzhaber stated that this system was wrong and he clearly stated that “I refuse to be part of this compromised and inequitable system any longer”. The governor confessed that the system was broken and it was not fair to give a verdict of death sentence to people. He further urged to find alternatives which included life imprisonment or less. Republican Governor Ryan had a good chance of taking revenge on Danny Edwards who kidnapped and then killed one of his close friends by burying him alive. But the Governor ended the system of death penalty and he included Danny Edwards name on the list of the people who would not face death even though Edwards asked for a death sentence (Protess 2011). The finance required just to run the death penalty system is colossal. A report from the New Jersey Policy Perspective has stated that the New Jersey taxpayers have spent more than $250 million on the death penalty system which have not executed anyone over the past 23 years. Hence the average money paid by the citizen of New Jersey just to run the capital punishment system is $11 million per year. The report by all means has understated the total cost because it explains that it has not taken into account the various capital punishment-related government expenses. The reason for this understatement is that various officials were reluctant to keep track of how much money is allocated to run this system. (Forsberg 2005) In England death penalty was abolished first by the Murder Act 1965, and then permanently abolished four years later in 1969 by a majority vote in parliament. The home secretary at that time James Callaghan made the parliament aware that by abolishing the death sentence for four years, the murder rate had not gone up but it rather remained constant (BBC 1969). One of the most controversial death sentences was given in Texas to two men named Joseph Nichols and Willie Williams. The case was that they had committed a robbery at a deli on 13 October 1980 and the storeowner was killed. The forensic proved that the owner of the deli was shot only one bullet which was fatal and caused him to die. In two separate cases both of the robbers were found guilty of murder and were sentenced a capital punishment. These sentences in any way could not be justified and yet the verdict was given which caused at least one person to loss his life due to the loopholes in the judiciary system. Questions arose as to how the judge could overlook the key fact of the case that only one bullet was shot and two defendants were found guilty of murder. This incident explains how legal killing of a person could be unjustified (Pilkington 2011). The time has come that the developed countries of the world should review capital punishment as it has truly violated the right for a human being to live. If the first world countries do not take concrete steps to eradicate this atrocious punishment then how could they stop and urge third world tyrants to stop genocide in their country. Works Cited BBC. “On this day 1950-2005, 1969: MPs vote to abolish hanging.” BBC. 16 Dec. 1969. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Forsberg, Mary E. “Money for Nothing? The Financial Cost of New Jersey's Death Penalty.” New Jersey Policy Perspective. 25 Nov. 2005. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. “Part I: History of the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. 2 Jan. 2003. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Staff. “Bradley Manning: MEPs' open letter to the US government.” The Guardian. 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Pilkington, Ed. “Texas executions: the most controversial cases.” The Guardian. 15 Sep. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Protess, David. “Two Volunteers for Execution, Two Governors Who Would Not Let Them Die.” The Huffington Post. 28 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Sepia. “United jury needed in death penalty cases.” Orlando Sentinel. 27 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Read More