Arguments for and against Death Penalty - Essay Example

Arguments for and against Death Penalty Introduction There have been controversies regarding death penalty, with some people arguing that it should be abolished while others point out that it is the most appropriate way to punish people who have committed heinous acts against fellow human beings. Many countries have been practicing death penalty including developed countries such as the United States and Japan. Some of the less developed countries that practice death penalty include Congo and Chad (Beck et al 2007). There have been differences in opinions over the years, leading to the abolishment of capital punishment in many countries. However, a common opinion in regard to the use of death penalty has not been accomplished. This essay is an argument regarding the use of death penalty. It presents some reasons why death penalty should be abolished, while on the other hand it presents several reasons why the application of death penalty is right. Application of Death Penalty There are certain situations whereby I have reasoned that death penalty should be applied on some of the crimes against humanity. For example, there are situations whereby people hire killers to cause the demise of those whom they feel are a barrier to their prosperity. Others do this as a result of disputes. The most amazing thing is that those who carry out such murders would never like to be faced with a situation whereby they can lose their life. The big question is why anyone would want to terminate another person’s life while he/she would not like his/hers to be terminated. This is selfishness that does not need to be supported under all circumstances. Casey (2000) argues that once a person kills for the first time, it is likely that he is going to take the life of another. Human beings are vulnerable to death caused by fellow humans in many cases. This is because a person with the intention of killing another is intelligent enough to way lay the unsuspecting victim regardless of the living environment. I disagree with the people who argue that assassins should be sentenced to serve jail terms whereby they get rehabilitated. This is because the reason behind executing a human being can not be justified under all costs. It happens that because of fear and the opportunity to live again, a person may pretend to have reformed, but in reality there happens to be disapproval in regard to the reason for committing the crime. Kay (2005) observes that there are cases whereby people have been convicted of murder and sentenced to many years in jail, but immediately after being freed they commit the same crime. I believe that there should be no objection if such a person is sentenced to death. On the other hand, the relatives and friends of the deceased whose life is terminated through criminal acts can never come to terms with the fact that the person who killed their loved one continues getting pleasure from living after causing so much suffering on them. People usually live in fear on the realization that there lives a murderer in their midst. Some other people have even committed mass murders, for example in genocides that have occurred in various parts of the world such as in Rwanda and Burundi. There can be no reason to support the rehabilitation of masterminds of such devastating killings. I believe that such people should pay for their criminal actions through death penalty. Apart from murder crimes, there are other unforgivable crimes such as ruining the life of minors through rape. Death penalty can serve as a warning to any person who has the mind of committing such crimes. The reason why it can perfectly play a warning role is the fact that no human would opt to die unless n rare circumstances such as insanity (Acker 2006). Once a person realizes that the consequence of committing a crime is death, there can be a second thought about “what if I am caught?” This can assist in reducing the number of violent crimes that are rampant in the modern times. The issue of jailbirds can also be eliminated. Although I strongly support death penalty in punishing crimes against humanity, I tend to have a different view when I consider the nature of human beings. They are unique in the sense that all of them react towards emotions. Criminals are no exception. They too have emotions of fear, rejection as well as pain. It is not justifiable for any human being to take the life of another. Most of the religions preach against it, although some justify the use of capital punishment. The justification is that once execution has been done to an individual, it incapacitates the person, preventing him from committing the crime once more. Regardless of the extent of the crime, it is usually not prudent to kill fellow human beings. Many religions teach that people should do to others what they too would like to be done to them. In reality, those people who support death penalty on offenders would not like to face the same even if they committed crimes of an equal magnitude (Kay 2005). The psychological torture that a prisoner undergoes before the real execution takes place is usually enough punishment to make him reform. It is normal for a human being to suffer mentally due to the thought of dying at a particular time especially if the method of putting him to death is known. The imagination of the pain that will be inflicted on the convict is real mental torture. Death penalty should be reconsidered due to the pain that it causes to humanity. When a society becomes used to executing its own members, there happens to be a tendency of loosing the moral values that make up a community. People who witness the painful execution of others time and again do not find it hard to repeat the same action. A society composed of merciless individuals can easily end up losing direction (Turow 2003). In this sense, I do not support death penalty. I would like to live in a society where human life is highly respected. Any action that takes the life of another should be avoided as much as possible. This is because capital punishment causes suffering to humanity in general. Public hanging is one of the methods that have been used to execute people who have been sentenced to death by many criminal justice systems. They usually have a negative impact on the society taking in to consideration that the observers are usually people of all ages. The executions happen in the view of children who rarely understand what it means to be sentenced to death. It is very hard for them to forget such executions through out their lives. It is an apparent denial of their right not to be exposed to such actions that are meted out on people by their fellow human beings. More over, capital punishment takes away the life of a person and it does not allow a chance for him to reform and become a productive member of the society (King 2005). There is need to reconsider the application of death penalty to juveniles. Although it is important that the youth are punished for criminal acts, especially murder, it should be understood that they are less mature and most likely to commit crimes out of utter ignorance. They are people who can be given a chance to reform and become productive in the society. On the other hand, the youth can easily be intimidated in to confessing about crimes that they never committed. Having little knowledge of the criminal justice system, the police can easily coerce them to confess by giving them the wrong information. There are cases where police have convinced ignorant youth to confess in order for them to be on the safer side or face harsh penalties. On confessing, they have been sentenced to death. This shows that there is need to review the death penalty for the youth (Bledsoe 1998). In conclusion, I am for the abolishment of death penalty since it causes suffering to humans, and giving them a chance to reform can allow them to become more productive in the society, and also save their families from the trouble of taking up the convict’s tasks that he would otherwise perform if he reformed. Abolishment of the death penalty can also be significant in promoting morals within the society. References Acker J. R. (2006). Wounds That Do Not Bind: Victim-based Perspectives on the Death Penalty, Carolina Academic Press. Beck E., Britto S., and Andrews A. (2007). In the Shadow of Death: Restorative Justice and Death Row Families, Oxford University Press, USA. Bledsoe J. (1998). Death Sentence: The True Story of Velma Barfield's Life, Crimes and Execution, Dutton Adult. Casey, R. (2000). Memories of the Present: A Sociological Chronology of Modern Justice Systems, Institute of Public Administration, Dublin. Kay J. W. (2005). Murdering Myths: The Story behind the Death Penalty, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. King R. (2005). Capital Consequences: Families of the Condemned Tell Their Stories, Rutgers University Press. Turow S. (2003). Ultimate Punishment, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Read More