Does Death Penalty Successfully Deter Crimes - Essay Example

(First 3 May Does Death Penalty Successfully Deter Crimes? I believe that people are born to love and respect one another. Killing is barbaric and not humane. However, people seek justice. Eye for an eye, I know all of us are familiar about that bible doctrine. Does it mean killing? Yet, how sure prosecutors are in determining innocents from guilty prisoners? In fact, people argued about that matter endlessly. All of these were ambiguous. According to the article written by David Von Drehle on the Time Magazine, one government spent millions for the capital punishment, while the other party allocated millions to depend against the former. When this issue can’t be solved, we must look back at the very essence of the death penalty – to safeguard lives. Is killing justifiable? In my point of view – the end does not justify the means. If the execution is always delayed for prisoners who are sentenced to death – are we so sure it’s the best way to deter them from not doing the things they have done before? Correcting mistakes and wrongdoings must be done immediately – hence delaying for more and more years completely fails the purpose why the lawmaker should kill to protect lives. I have given my honest opinion about the death penalty. I am a pro-life. In addition, I have examined significant reasons and evidences why I suggest that the government should replace capital sentence to an imprisonment without parole where people can be productive behind bars. Yes, prisoners shall be given chances to change their lives. We know that they cannot undo the past; nevertheless, they can change their future. Based on “The Death Penalty’s De Facto Abolition” of The New York Times, more Americans have realized that the death penalty is not the way to comply with the Constitution. It’s not working. People have changed their minds over time because they have realized that killing healthy people in order to give justice does not reflect their morals. It is against their values – and they are finding ways to seek the best alternative for the capital punishment. In fact, there are 16 States in the US that do not allow death penalty. In connection, let me discussed to you the different significant reasons why capital punishment should be abolished in the following paragraphs. According to the article of Dawn Krider, guilty prisoners are sentenced to death to prevent similar crimes to happen again. However, according to the statistics given on her writing, in the twelve states that allow capital punishment, the murder rate is twice as of the rest of the states that do not allow executions. Is this an eye opener for people who are supporting death penalty? More so, it is also discussed in the same article that killing is wrong except when someone kills as a self-defense. Yet, can we justify killing a prisoner behind bars a self-defense? When your life is in immediate danger, you need to depend yourself from getting injured or killed. How about using lethal injection to kill a prisoner judged as guilty to the crime accused to him? Is there an immediate danger? No and therefore it does not justify killing. Whereas, when a prisoner is sentenced to a life imprisonment without parole and after some years, he is proven to be innocent, he can be free; but, when a person is sentenced to a capital punishment – it cannot rolled back. No one can bring back life, except God. Furthermore, I want to be fair on giving my opinion about this subject. I am a pro-life, yet, I want to look into the arguments presented in favor of the capital punishment. Let me discuss the basic arguments that support retribution. According to the article “Arguments in favour of capital punishment” published on BBC, all prisoners that are proven guilty deserve to be punished. In order to make this punishment morally right, only guilty people should be punished. And these guilty peoples deserve to be punished equal to their committed crime. Thus, it supports the Old Testament’s Eye for an Eye. If this is the case, do you think that all peoples who were deprived of life guilty? No. They are not sure. Why I say so? In the United States, convicted prisoners are put in death row for several years. Have you asked yourself the reason behind this delay? They are not quite sure that these peoples in the death row are guilty for the given conviction. When prosecutors put these peoples to death right after the day the court decided them to be guilty of such crimes – the essence of retribution cannot be justified. They must prosecute only the guilty prisoners. How about those people who are only accused the crime they had never committed in their lives? Moreover, let’s tackle the article about “5 reasons to abolish the death penalty”. Cameron Todd Willingham of Texas was executed before he was found innocent. People may end up paying the crime they did not commit. It contradicts to the arguments of the pro-death penalty advocates that only guilty people should be punished. Killing criminals does not prevent others from doing the same crime again. For instance, after Canada had abolished the capital punishment, the country recorded 44% drop in murders. This strongly shows that death penalty is not the reason to deter criminals. There is another significant reason why the count of murders had been lessened. People must understand the value of life – it’s precious. Life must not be an instrument to deter crimes. Digging further, I have read similar articles about the death penalty, and I have stumbled upon Death Penalty Focus. Let’s find out if they have a coherence of the ideas discussed above. It talks about “10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty.” Judgment is not absolute. The court may come up with a decision that has impaired by the non-disclosure of all the clear evidences of the crime. If an innocent person is sentenced to death – it cannot be rectified. I said in the preceding paragraphs – no one can bring back life. What is the impact to the society if they know that the law has made a wrong judgment? We do trust the government – we follow protocols – but if this can question our morality then it’s another story. Another significant reason why the government should abolished the death penalty is the cost directly related to the execution of soul. It is much costly to execute a healthy person than to put him behind bars. The government would allocate millions to kill – what do you think about it? It is justifiable? Putting inmates to a lifetime prison without parole can give them chance to change their lives – and they can be productive along way. Several inmates around the world worked and used their skills. They can make money to support their families, and this will help them find ways to finally appreciate life. Most nations, in spite of cultures and religions have the same reflection about the death penalty. This is not a humane practice! It could never be justified – the clear evidence is the abandonment of the capital punishment both in law and practice in major countries in Western Europe, North and South America. In connection, I looked back at the article of David Von Drehle I had recently cited in the first part of this article. A part of his writings revealed that Justice Lewis Powell had his most regrets in voting in favor of the capital punishment in 1987. Sandra Day O’Connor, one of the members of the Five-Justice majority has been thankful that their state doesn’t have death penalty. She described it as a “big sigh of relief”. What does this mean? Even justices are now opposing the capital punishment. I am sure that Justice Powell, for instance, had realized that killing is not the right way to give justice. It is described as “most regretted” vote casted. How about Justice John Paul Stevens? In 1976, as a new justice, he voted in favor of capital punishment. He wanted to save death penalty, yet, did he change his mind too just like the other justices? According to the same article on Time Magazine, he spoke about “serious flaws” of the system he saved. Let’s digest it. Death penalty has been described as the most regretted vote casted by Powell; O’Connor mentioned exactly the same thing – big sigh of relief for their state not to adopt capital punishment as a means of deterrence. Do you ever wonder what are the flaws mentioned by Stevens – the serious ones? Lastly, let’s further talk about wrongful convictions. According to the article of Aliza B. Kaplan, it says that there is no guaranteed method of determining the innocent from guilty. There are several factors why that statement holds to be true. The hundreds of wrongful convictions took place in the State of Oregon proved that the system had several flaws which were not fixed for a long period of time. Wrongful convictions have several tragic results, for instance, Carlos DeLuna had been executed regardless of his mental condition. He came from Texas and a mentally retarded man. Despite of the lack of evidences, he was convicted and sentenced to death. Several evidences had been withheld in the trial and it was said that DeLuna case was flawed at virtually every level. Can you imagine why prosecutors, police officers or lawyers were less diligent in determining if this mentally retarded guy deserved his life? Therefore, I can say clearly that the death penalty is not the solution to deter crimes, e.g. murders from happening again. The arguments that support capital punishment cannot stand strong. The government, the people, the justices have realized that death penalty is not the solution to make this world a better place. After all, we are human, and there is no humane way to deprive life. All the peoples – good and bad – deserve every of their precious breath. At this very point in time – I suggest that the government should have a closer look at the imprisonment without parole as the best alternative for the capital punishment in which imperfections in the courts can still be refined through releasing the innocents. The very essence of conviction is justice; no one can give justice if the prosecution made is another crime that can further impaired our ethical standard. Hence, the capital punishment should be buried on the court’s archives. Let’s face a new world with less crime – not by killing people. Work Cited David Von Drehle. “Death Penalty Walking.” Time Magazine. Time, Inc., 03 Jan. 2008. Web. 4 May 2013. “The Death Penalty’s De Facto Abolition.” The Opinion Pages. The New York Times Company, 14 Oct. 2011. Web. 4 May 2013. Dawn Krider. “The Value of Life: An Argument Against the Death Penalty.” A.D.P.P. Board of Directors of the Open Computing Facility, n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. “Arguments in favour of capital punishment.” Ethics guide. BBC, n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. “Five reasons to abolish death penalty.” Amnesty International. Amnesty International Australia, 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 4 May 2013. “10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty.” Working for alternatives to the death penalty. Death Penalty Focus, n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. Aliza B. Kaplan. “Oregons’s Death Penalty: The Practical Reality.” Lewis & Clark Law Review. Lewis & Clark Law School, n.d. PDF File. Read More