Arguments for capital punishment
The chosen topic for the discussion is capital punishment. It is the practice of executing people for rectification for committing crime following a proper court proceeding. It is usually used as retribution for severe offences like murder, arson, treason and rape. Capital punishment originated from Ancient Greece, where it was mainly used to punish the offenders under the laws of Draco. Furthermore, it is used in many countries around the globe following the ban of the death penalty. The Amnesty international revealed that use of capital retribution has increased in many countries, thus raising the concern on the morality of the sentence. For instance, Christians have questioned the morality of capital punishment through drawing various biblical verses which prohibits shedding of blood. This essay offers a discussion on the arguments supporting capital retribution and those against the practice.
Arguments for capital punishment
There is a long debate about the morality of capital punishment and its impact on criminal conduct. The discussion has drawn different opinion where some people support capital punishment while others oppose it. The supporters of capital retribution believe criminals engaged in murder offence forfeit their right to life after taking the life of another person. Every person has the right to life, and the universal declarations of human rights prohibit anyone from taking the life of another without any proper reason. Since murder is a violation of the human right, the supporters believe that the only punishment for offenders of serious crimes involving death is capital punishment. The criminals usually forfeit their entitlement to life while committing murder. Thus, it makes capital punishment as the only form of rectifying wrongdoing that is equivalent to the practice of taking someone’s life. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Similarly, supporters of the capital penalty believe that it is a form of retribution that express and reinforce moral indignation to the relatives of the victim and the citizens. The retributivist does not justify capital punishment through general prevention or safety the sentence brings to society. However, they justify punishment because the offender deserves to be punished for committing a serious crime. Executing offenders brings justice to the victims of the family and the general society. This argument has contributed to the strong support of capital punishment by its supporters. The supporters of capital punishment also argue that death was prescribed for crimes in several religious documents. It was also practised broadly within the support of ecclesiastical hierarchies. Therefore, the supporters of capital punishment still hold on the spiritual teachings on crimes and the repercussion of commit serious crime. They argue that punishment through death is accepted in the bible hence making capital punishment as a way of punishing offenders to be morally upright in the society.
The supporters of the capital penalty also believe that the practice is moral because of its constitutionality. The Eighth Amendment of the USA constitution offers provision for the sentencing of the offender involved in serious crimes. The law permits the retribution of offenders through capital punishment. The fifth Amendment allows for the imposing of capital punishment in a situation where indictment by the grand jury directing for the execution of the offender. Therefore, the provision of the USA constitution on capital punishment makes the supporters to fully back the practice because it is recognized by the constitution. Thus, they believe it is morally right to enforce capital punishment on crime offenders.
The proponents of capital punishment also argue that it helps in deterring crime. Some wrongdoing is normally so atrocious and intrinsically wrong that they demand harsh penalties like death or life sentencing. Capital punishment is usually effective in deterring the occurrence of severe crimes in society because it discourages people from engaging in such crimes. Statistics also show a strong correlation between murder rates and capital punishment. Execution of the practice has significantly reduced the murder rate in society, therefore, proving the effectiveness of capital punishment to deter crime. The exercise helps in saving the lives of ordinary citizens in the community by preventing murder criminals from committing a crime. Therefore, the effectiveness of capital punishment to deter crime makes the proponents of the practice support the exercise fully. They believe that it is morally upright to punish murder offenders through the death penalty. The proponents also argue that the capital penalty is cheaper compared to the cost of feeding a murderer in prison. It saves on the money spent on trials while also limiting the opportunities for the petition that may cause lengthy appeal processes. They believe that capital punishment is moral because it saves on the finance that may be used to defend the criminals in the court of law. Instead, the money would be directed to fund other activities that may benefit the family members of the offenders and society as a whole.
Capital punishment is moral because it offers closure to the family of the victim. The advocates of capital punishment acknowledge that the practice is the best way to provide closure to the families of the victims. It makes the family have confidence that the offender will not walk free from prison after killing their loved ones. Capital punishment is a form of restoring justice and makes the people develop confidence in the criminal justice system in their effort of restoring fairness to the affected parties.
Arguments against capital punishment
Likewise, the opponents of the practice argue that capital punishment is immoral because it violates the offender’s entitlement to life. Every person has an inherent right to life, including those charged with death cases. Convicting individuals to death and executing them breaches the right to life which is entitled to everyone. The opponents of the practice also prohibit capital punishment because it results in the execution of the innocent. The criminal justice system typically faces challenges, which under some circumstance, tampers with the trial of the murder offenders. Also, witnesses, judges and prosecutors can make mistakes during the prosecution of accused offenders, and this may result in the execution of innocent people. It is therefore unavoidable that the innocent individuals will be convicted for crimes in a scenario where the prosecution and the judge make faults summed up with the flaws in the judiciary.
Furthermore, Amnesty international acknowledge that capital punishment legalizes an unrepairable act of brutality through the state, and it will unavoidably claim innocent offenders. Evidence from the Amnesty international reveals that since 1973, about 130 people sentenced to death in the USA were innocent. Therefore, the argument on the execution of the innocent people makes the opponents to oppose the practice to be immoral in society.
They also argue that the penalty is immoral because it is a form of vengeance. The retribution created to promote justice can lead to the execution of innocent people with the aim of revenging. Retribution is also wrong because it is applied in an unusual way in the case of capital punishment. The criminals usually face a penalty which is not equivalent to the crime they committed. For instance, rapists are not punished by sexual assault but through execution. The punishment is, therefore, harsher compared to the crime committed by the offender. The uniqueness of retribution in imposing cruel punishment to the criminals has caused the opponents in the argument about capital punishment to fiercely object the practice because it is not fair to the offenders. Capital punishment has also failed to deter crimes. It is not effective in preventing people from coming severe crime. Scientific study has been unable to offer proof that execution imposes a more significant deterrent impact compared to life imprisonment. Additionally, deterrence is a flawed concept because it makes people pay for the crimes they have not committed since it contributes to the execution of the innocent.
Capital punishment is immoral because it brutalizes both society and individuals. Statistics have revealed that capital punishment contributes to the brutalization of the community while also enhancing rates of murder in the community. The offender may get angered when executed, and this would, in turn, improve their likelihood of committing another crime. Moreover, it induces the unaccepted connection between law and violence. The link would significantly promote the brutalization of society, which would dramatically derail peace and unity in society. Capital punishment also reduces the tone of the community. It lowers the ability of society to condemn the practices to promote the safety of the offenders.
The opposers also object capital punishment because it is usually applied unfairly. The flaws in the judicial system typically make capital penalty unfair. For instance, one of the Justice of the Supreme Court of the USA revealed that capital punishment was bound to destroy the cause of justice. The justice had initially supported the exercise but later changed stand on capital retribution. Furthermore, the judge concluded that capital punishment is filled up with mischievousness, mistakes and discrimination, which usually results in the execution of innocent people. There is also jurors bias because they rule in favour of capital punishment. The unfair application of the capital retribution has contributed to fierce criticism of the practice by the opposers of capital punishment. The opposers of the exercise have also argued that capital punishment is cruel, inhumane, and it degrades people. The ways of executing capital retribution induce so much pain and suffering to the convicted person, and they amount to torture which violates the rights of the person under arrest. Methods used during execution habitually causes suffering to the offender, thus making capital punishment inhumane. Some of the techniques used to execute murder offenders include execution using lethal gas, strangulation and electrocution. All the methods are painful, and they expose the offenders to extreme suffering when executed. Based on the pain experienced by the murder offender during execution, the opposers of the exercise have continued to object capital punishment because it is immoral in the society
Personal stand on the debate
Based on the discussion on capital punishment, I support opposer to oppose the practice in society. Under most cases, the convicted and executed murder offenders do not have enough time to defend themselves either through their advocates or by testifying by themselves. The results of the majority of murder cases are always predetermined. Therefore, it denies the accused right to a free and fair trial. Lack of fair trial usually contributes to the conviction of some of the innocent offenders. Capital punishment is, therefore, immoral because it results in the execution of innocent persons in the society. It is also unethical because it takes the life of the accused by employing painful execution methods.
In conclusion, capital punishment has remained a controversial topic in society. Some people have supported the exercise while others have fiercely opposed. The proponents of the debate argue that the exercise assists in deterring crime through discouraging criminals from committing murder. They have also discussed that capital punishment constitutional since various provisions of the USA constitution recognize the practice. The opposers on the other side have rejected capital punishment basing their argument that the practice is cruel and inhumane. They have also argued that the capital penalty is typically unfairly applied, and it results in conviction and execution of the innocent people. Moreover, one would take stand on the debate by supporting the opposers because the practice generally causes more harm than benefit.