Pros and Cons of Death Penalty - Research Paper Example

Death Penalty Introduction Death penalty has been in use in the United s for centuries. It has been used a punishment for capital crimes such as murder, hijackings, conspiracy to commit a capital crime and also treason. The employment of the death penalty has raised controversies about its effectiveness in maintenance of law and order. Various states have had their opinions about death penalty with some upholding it while others scrapping it from the laws. However, there exists no general agreement as to whether the death penalty is an effective punishment to deal with capital crimes. The proponents of the penalty derive their arguments from the fact that is cheaper than holding convict for life, and acts as a deterrence to crime. However, the proponents are tasked with a heavy burden of proof assignment that has not been successful so far. This leads to the question whether the death penalty deters crime The paper seeks to answer the question through an argumentative approach. According to Amnesty International USA, the assertion that the death penalty reduces murder rates are flawed (Amnesty USA n.d). The fundamental basics to prove that it does not deter crimes are evident in the murder statistics difference between states that employ the death penalty and the states that do not use the penalty. According to the said statistics, it is seen that states that do not have the penalty have lower rates of capital crimes as compared to others. Consequently, the penalty is not popular among the public. The pie chart shows the public opinion about death penalty and its effect in deterrence of crime. Adapted from amnesty international USA Sources indicate that people who commit capital crimes are commonly under the effects of drugs and or alcohol. The claim implies that the persons are not conscious enough to reckon the repercussions of the crime they are committing. Death penalty is not part of their reasoning at the time when they are consumed by rage or fear. It follows that a crime will be committed, with or without death penalty laws. Thus, death penalty is not sufficient to deter crime in such incidents. Another reason that taints the deterrence assertion is that criminals do not expect to be nabbed after committing an atrocity. Suspects in murder cases do not consider the probability of being arrested and facing charges for the crime. Instead, they consider the possibility of walking free (Michigan State University 2000, p.3). In these cases, the fangs of the death penalty do not scare the criminals from their actions. The same implies that criminals do not weigh their chances of being imprisoned for life or being sentenced to death. An example is that a criminal will consider the safest way possible to commit an atrocity considering the options of being arrested or walking free. The ruling of the jury does not affect the decisions. The ability of a criminal to consider and understand the extent of the crime and the punishment due if arrested and convicted can act as deterrence; however, few understand the legal processes, especially for non-professional criminals. Most first time offenders are vulnerable to face the death penalty especially when crime is committed out of anger, alcohol or drugs. Death penalty cannot influence the actions of persons with psychological problems or mental issues. The claim means that people with these conditions can commit a crime out of heat of passion and thus not willingly. As such, death penalty threat does not come into play. Execution of such individuals would be an act of extreme brutality bearing in mind that the person(s) commit a crime due to uncontrollable complications. In such cases, it is important to assist in medical corrections and or keep such individuals away from the public. From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the death penalty has no significant impact in deterring crime. The assertions made that criminals cower when they witness an execution is lowly expounded with not resounding evidence or proof. Opponents of the penalty have provided convincing statistics to partially show that the death penalty is not an effective way to deter criminal from committing the said capital crimes. Unless the burden of proof on the penalty is resolved by the proponents of the death penalty, the impact of the penalty will remain a mystery. Public Execution Death penalty has been executed in a variety of ways. The most common and ancient method is strangulation. Most of the strangulation scenes were performed in public. With the evolution of execution methods, public executions ceased to exist in the USA. However, there are arguments about the issue of public executions. Both proponents and opponents of the penalty have valid reasons to justify their stands. Proponents believe that the death penalty can act as deterrence to crime. Consequently, effective use of the penalty can minimize the criminal minds in the society. The impact of execution scenes lingers longer and deeper into the minds of people who have witnessed it. This implies that people will always be war of following the death penalty path. Public executions also involved painful and heartbreaking techniques such as strangulation, which aggravates the need to maintain sanity and avoid capital crimes. Despite the perceived advantages of public executions, there are numerous issues that show the distastefulness of public executions. The moral basis of the issue and its eventual implementation is a question of interest to the community. First, the public perceptions about executions dwindle when the acts are committed in public. This makes the society wary about the long term impacts of observing the scenes. The disturbing episodes can bring long term physiological complication to people and especially the family members of the convict. The second argument against public execution is that it becomes sort of entertainment when performed regularly. This leads to a perverted way of life where the public is always baying for blood f offenders. The public would then derive pleasure from the scream and cries of the convicts. The perverted lifestyle can be dangerous to the aim of the exertion. With time, the public may lose the essence of the punishment and view it as a routine. Pros of Death Penalty Capital punishment has been the most popular punishments for most heinous crimes. The arguments for and against the punishment are based on the extent of damage and the message to be sent to potential criminals. In the light of offenses that deserve highest punishment, the proponents have reserved their arguments on the advantages of having capital punishment. The arguments have been supported by the following issues; Capital punishment is considered just and cost effective (ProconOrg 2009). Despite serving justice to the victims, the costs of holding capital criminals for life are reduced. Holding criminals for life implies various costs to the states and the government in terms of resources spent in maintaining the convict at the penitentiary institution. Such costs include food, clothing, security and medical services. All the mentioned services come at a cost to the taxpayer. So, the more life sentences, the more taxpayers dig deeper into their pockets. The overall costs of maintaining penitentiary services can thus be reduced by sentencing extreme crimes by death. Death penalty is regarded as the most severe form of punishment in the world. This implies that capital offenses should be punished by capital punishment. The advantage of execution is that it offers enough lessons to potential criminals who are deterred from risking their lives through the penalty (ProconOrg 2009). Moreover, death penalty is regarded as the best way to serve justice to victims of murder and other capital crimes. Safety of the community is preserved by death sentence because hardened criminals can exploit the imperfections of the penitentiary facilities to escape can pose imminent danger to the public. Consequently, a chilling example is set to other criminals thus dissuading them from following the death penalty path. Research has it that most capital punishment victims are very violent or swift in criminal acts. This implies that they pose a danger to every person they are in contact with. It beats the logic when such an individual is locked in a cell with other inmates of lesser crimes. The main issue is that the criminal history and the degree of damage can determine the behavior of an inmate even in prison. For example, given a maximum of a life sentence, a convict is at liberty to cause any mayhem since he or she is under the most extreme punishment. The action may hurt, or even lead to deaths of fellow inmates. In rare cases, capital criminals, such as terrorists, may radicalize the inmates who are serving lesser sentences. This poses a greater danger to the national security. As such, it is better to carry out the execution. Cons of the Death Penalty As noted above, death penalty has both positive and negative sides. Despite the numerous points in support of the death penalty, there are also several issues that are associated with it. The issues on the contrary opinions are based on the effectiveness, morality and the human rights reasons associated with the death penalty. The main contrary opinion in support of life sentences instead of the death penalty are; respect for human life, costs of conducting a humane execution, possibility of executing innocents, and also lack of evidence to prove that capital punishment deters crime. Death penalty is a very severe punishment. In Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 257 (1972)], it was held that the death penalty treat human life as non-human life by just toying around with it and discarding. This implies that the dignity of human life is lost by termination of life. Further, death penalty subjects persons into an uncivilized treatment contrary to the civilized treatment as guaranteed by the constitution (Center for Constitutional Rights 2012, p.1). Death is a fate forbidden and seen as cruel and violates the eighth and fourteenth amendments. The penalty also violates the natural right to live that is pegged on every person. Violation of the right is detrimental to the social and economic welfare of family members of the convict. No evidence has been forwarded to show that death penalty deters crime. In actual sense studies and data from the death sentence states and non-death sentence states show disparities that contrast the assertion (Amnesty USA n.d). The amnesty international US shows that states that have death penalty laws indeed have more cases of murder as compared to the states that have not legalized death penalties. This proves that there is no positive impact in regard to the death sentence. The failure to deter crime in death sentence states is a failure of the penalty. Methods such a life imprisonment could be good alternatives. Death sentence is not enough punishment for offenders since it does not make a convict remorseful for the crimes committed. As such, putting a person to death reduces his or her chances of ever seeing his or her misdeeds. A death sentence suggests that a person’s life is being forcefully threatened which means he or she cannot control the situation except by appeals. Failure to secure an injunction to halt the execution leads to a non-remorseful end where it is not known whether guilt is admitted or not. This shows the contrast between the death penalty and life imprisonment where a convict has a chance to rediscover himself from the rubbles of past misdeeds. While the proponents argue that the death sentences are cost effective, the opponents think otherwise. The cost of implementing a capital punishment is relatively high. This is because the act involves massive preparation in terms of personnel and equipment. The costs of the process are high and can be equated to sustain the convict in prison for life. Consequently, the costs of appeals for the penalties can prove to be expensive for the state. Trying to evade these costs can lead to the execution of innocent civilians, who are victims of legal technicalities (Michigan State University 2000). A valid illustration is the case of Frank Leo (1913). In conclusion, death penalty is a barbaric act that should be scrapped off from all the law of the world. As discussed, there are no proven benefits of death penalties. In contrast, death penalty can be replaced by life sentencing that is more humane (International Bar Association 2008, p. 3). Moreover, respect for the human life regardless of the situation is a civil act. Thus, is important not to avenge the loss of life by losing other lives. In this regard, careful examination of both pros and cons of the penalty can assist in making the right decision. References Amnesty USA (n.d.). The Death Penalty and Deterrence | Amnesty International USA. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/the-death-penalty-and-deterrence Center for Constitutional Rights (2012). The Death Penalty is a Human Rights Violation: An Examination of the Death Penalty in the U.S. from a Human Rights Perspective. Retrieved from http://ccrjustice.org/files/CCR%20Death%20Penalty%20Factsheet.pdf Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 257 (1972)], https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/case.html International Bar Association (2008). A Background Paper to the IBAHRI Resolution on the Abolition of the Death Penalty. The Death Penalty under International Law, 3-8. Retrieved from www.ibanet.org/Document/ Michigan State University, & Death Penalty Information Center (2000). Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty. The Death Penalty, 1-12. Retrieved from http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/arguments/arguments.PDF ProconOrg (2009, April 13). Top 10 Pros and Cons - Death Penalty - ProCon.org. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000 Read More