Death Penalty - Ethical, Religious, Political, Economical and Social Fronts - Essay Example

Advocates of the death penalty contend that it is the only means of serving justice and deterring further capital crimes, while the opposition cites the arbitrariness of the punishment and the wrongful execution of the innocent as valid reasons to abolish capital punishment. . they contend that justice, which is the basic tenet of the legal system, mandates that the punishment is appropriate to the seriousness of the crime. Here, the death penalty is the only punishment that is in proportion to the crime of depriving the victim of life. As murder violates the sanctity of life, justice is served only by the award of the death penalty.

Deterrence is another argument advanced by advocates of the death penalty. While the deterrent effect may not operate in sudden crimes of passion, “There are carefully calculated murders, such as murder for hire, where the possible penalty of death may well enter the cold calculus that precedes the decision to act.” The fear of the finality of death is more of a deterrent than any alternative, such as life imprisonment. Even when the deterrent effects of the death penalty cannot be conclusively proved, its’ adherents assert that, if deterrence holds good, the innocent lives of future victims have been saved and if deterrence fails, the only consequence is the execution of a convicted murderer.

Abolitionists hold the arbitrariness of the death penalty to be a major reason for it to be repudiated. This includes disparities in (1) region – the execution of the death penalty is concentrated in the Southern states; (2) race – blacks receive the death penalty at a 38% higher rate than other defendants; (3) legal representation – indigent defendants are often assigned incompetent defense attorneys; (4) jury misperception and bias. The advent of modern DNA testing has led to several exonerations of Death Row inmates, calling the execution of the death penalty into question by its opponents. Erroneous convictions are attributed to pressure on police and prosecutors to solve homicides, often resulting from the politicization of a crime, lack of eyewitness testimony, heightened publicity, juror bias, limited resources of the defense attorney, emotional issues in heinous cases, and coerced confessions. Abolition of the death penalty is the only way to prevent the death of innocents.

At present, thirty-eight states in the U.S. have authorized the death penalty, which is also upheld by the Federal Government and the U.S. military. Despite the consistent media bias against the death penalty and the strident activism of abolitionist lobbies, public opinion polls demonstrate that the overweening majority of the American public supports the authorization of the death penalty. Under these circumstances, despite ongoing debate, calls for a moratorium, and changes in legislation, it is evident that the death penalty is here to stay.