the death penalty as a form of correctional measure
Abstract
The research explores details of the death penalty as a form of correctional measure. It explores the literature that addresses the aspects of the death penalty, including but not limited to contexts of execution, the pros, and the cons. Moreover, it explores the data in various jurisdictions in alignment with the laws of the land. The data collection tool used is the SurveyMonkey, considered for its flexibility and convenience. This paper indicates that there is pertinent information to back the contention, possibly in support of capital punishment. Henceforth, intending to capital punishment as today, it is a complicated matter to depend on proof to decide capital punishment. The paper takes a standardizing position in managing contemporary social issues by offering thought to the human right viewpoint, should the option to live be arranged. The paper concludes with the declaration of how we characterize capital punishment would decide the arrangements executed.
Keywords: Penalty, Death, Punishment, Law.
Death Penalty
Introduction
The death penalty remains one of the most controversial aspects of the contemporary judicial system. The idea of killing a person because of their criminal actions is not necessarily an easy process. While most of the crimes punishable by death are primarily heinous, as is the case with murder and rape or robbery with violence, some people do not necessarily accept the idea of killing the guilty individuals. In the case of crime or homicides, for instance, the death penalty does not necessarily give relief to the close people of the victim. As an inherent part of society, capital punishment has evolved over the years with more detailed provisions on crimes that are punishable by death. In the past, crimes such as theft were punishable by death. However, this has since evolved to address robberies that involve violence. The significance of the death sentence mostly emerges from the desire to deter crime. It is within this context that I seek to explore the opinions on the death penalty and its significance in contemporary society.
Literature Review
To start with (Marcus & Weissbrodt, 1968), mentioned that a death penalty is a form of punishment that was formed and universally accepted by ancestors. The observed measure of punishment can be traced back to the time of Moses. These practices were further inherited and transmitted from one generation to another. The death penalty was a useful method of eradicating criminals in the community, and today it is considered as a method of ensuring a peaceful civil society. However, over the past few decades, statistics from various criminological pieces of research on crime indicate that there is a general tendency in society to increase the incidence of violence and criminal incidents (Marcus & Weissbrodt, 1968). Therefore, ensuring a peaceful civil society is necessary in this case.
As stated by moving Away from the Death Penalty (2015), the death penalty has existed in all countries throughout almost the entire history. The crimes for which she was assigned were very different, including relatively minor such as theft. However, gradually in the laws of many countries, a tendency to reduce the types of crimes for which the death penalty was imposed began to develop. The death penalty is considered to be a deprivation of a person’s life by a court verdict. In other words, it is a capital punishment prescribed by law. There are two main views on the nature and purpose of the death penalty. According to one of them, the death penalty is primarily a means of preventing new serious crimes both from the side of the offender through his physical elimination, and from potential criminals by intimidating them with the real threat of death (Moving Away from the Death Penalty, 2015). The recognition of the need for the death penalty here is relative because it is due to success in the prevention of serious crimes. According to another view, the death penalty is, first of all, retribution for the crime committed. It should be followed regardless of any considerations of expediency. Such a state of affairs leads to the situation in which most countries are confused with the statements mentioned above. Nonetheless, some of them have already given up such cruel punishment. Some of the research questions that I came up with that will help me guide my research like the impact of the death penalty on families of the sufferers and does capital punishment deter crimes.
As it has been mentioned above, many books explore the selections of contrasting viewpoints on the death penalty. In this case, there is a significant number of scientists who try to express their opinions related to the observed topic. As a result, some say that the death penalty will stop people from committing violent and offensive crimes, while others assert that it leads to the killing of innocent people. Currently, there are three theoretical positions concerning the problem of this type of punishment, such as the death penalty. Some scholars and practitioners are entirely against the use of the death penalty and its immediate abolition. They explain this by the immorality and inappropriateness of such a punishment (Bender, Leone, & Winters, 1997). Others support the use of the death penalty, considering it not only as a legal restriction but also as the physical destruction of the criminal, which guarantees complete society safety from such an act of this person. Still others, in principle, support this measure, advocate reducing the application and subsequent abolition of the death penalty. All these opinions are reasonably well-founded, and the choice of the most appropriate approach to the problem of the death penalty seems complicated.
According to (Why Amnesty Opposes the Death Penalty, n.d.). The issue of the death penalty has always worried people. And now there is ongoing heated debate about its use. Of particular concern is the appropriateness of capital punishment against terrorists. Many believe that their atrocities need to be paid tribute to. The society was divided into two camps. All give different arguments for and against, but they are not all strong enough. The case of the opponents of the death penalty: life imprisonment is enough because it is the same death sentence. But only a prisoner has nothing to fear for life, and he can commit a variety of crimes in prison. Besides, the offender may be released under the law. The law has amnesty, pardon, parole. Generally, “amnesty opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception – regardless of the accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence or method of execution” (Why Amnesty Opposes the Death Penalty, n.d.). The main argument of the opponents of the death penalty is the possibility of a judicial error, as a result of which the innocent will die. But life imprisonment, in the end, presupposes death. Therefore, the introduction of the death penalty will have to lead to a more sophisticated method of investigating the crime. In connection with the increasing terrorist attacks, another argument appeared – do not scare death by death. Yes, it does not frighten suicide bombers, but the organizers of the attacks themselves are in no hurry to part with their lives. And for them, the death penalty should be possible. There are many different arguments for and against, but not one can clarify this complex issue.
As claimed by (Radelet, 2001), the issue of the death penalty is quite debatable and multifaceted. It has many aspects, not only legal but also social, religious, political, and economical. There are many complicated questions about the correctness and humanity of the death penalty since each party has its arguments and views on it. The vast majority of developed countries have already abandoned such a cruel and irreversible form of criminal punishment. Accordingly, the law does not provide for the use of the death penalty for any crime, regardless of their public danger. In the early 1990s, about 60 countries in the world gave up their lives as a form of punishment for the crime (Radelet, 2001). Such a state of affairs led to the situation in which most countries in the world became more humane and abolished the death penalty.
In turn, the opponents of the death penalty are most worried about the high chances of making erroneous judgments against innocent people, since the jury relies heavily on evidence in which errors can be made. Besides, “poor defendants without a team of lawyers are far more likely to enter death row than those with strong representation” (ProCon, n.d.). Moreover, there is no research technique that a person would consider infallible. Also, ton, their argument emphasizes the purpose of the punishment, which is to correct the vice of the individual and allow the person to live by the laws of society and with its other members after restoring acceptable moral effectiveness.
According to (Death Penalty, n.d.). “A record 111 exonerations in 2018 involved witnesses who lied on the stand or falsely accused the defendant. In 50 of these cases, the defendant was falsely accused of a crime that never happened” (Death Penalty, n.d.). The death penalty does not meet this goal. On the contrary, supporters of the death penalty believe that society cannot grow and develop economically, politically, and socially when it lives in fear of criminals. This may be true, given that criminals destroy not only physical resources but also destroy human capital, which is the largest resource necessary for any growth and development. Thus, the death penalty is needed for the trial of the most atrocious crimes, such as terrorism or pedophilia. But for its applications, more thorough research is required to reduce the possibility of an irreversible error.
All in all, it is essential to emphasize that the death penalty is considered to be one of the severe methods of punishment. The observed sentence is currently useful in lots of countries all over the world. However, due to numerous articles and books that explore the issues of the death penalty, people can get acquainted with different opinions that help them to understand the necessity of the observed punishment. As a result, due to literature, it becomes clear that there are death penalty cases and arguments that help innocent people to avoid marked punishment today. However, some have not been breaking the law but have been sentenced to death.
Research Methodology
With every research, you have to have a research methodology, which basically where you should have an idea of at the start of your research, and that is how you are going to collect data. My research methodology and how I managed data was through quantitative survey questions that I came up with and with the help of items that I found. In contrast, researching, which I thought would be a great help in making sure that I get the right data for my research, this is the link that helped me with coming up with my questions, And I felt using the quantitative method was the ideal method for my analysis. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WJPT93W. Some of the research questions that I came up with that helped me guide my research like the impact of the death penalty on families of the sufferers and does capital punishment deter crimes.
In every research methodology, there should be a design from which you can envision how you’re going to collect the data, so I had a design in mind of how I wanted to collect information for my research, and I wanted to collect data by a survey. I would make using the SurveyMonkey website, and this website is an efficient and simple website for a study that you can easily create and send out to people. It calculates the responses and puts them together, and that also called a software where I can collect significant responses. There’s an option where it can analyze your results that they have received and put it in the form of a graph, which is fantastic, and there are many software out there that do the same thing; however, in my opinion, SurveyMonkey is the best for me. And that was my tool for collecting data, and since the outbreak virus that happened, this is the best way of collecting data since you don’t need to be in contact with people, and that’s not allowed anymore. For the protection of ourselves and others, we can be at the comfort of our homes easily send out our surveys, and get our results back. My literature review is my secondary data, which I used to get some of my research questions from and placed it here to give you a feel of my research questions. An article that I found which was very useful for me in my literature review and with my research question was as claimed by (Radelet, 2001), the issue of the death penalty is quite debatable and multifaceted. It has many aspects, not only legal but also social, religious, political, and economical. There are many complicated questions about the correctness and humanity of the death penalty since each party has its arguments and views on it. My primary data collection method is my quantitative survey.
My strategy at first was I wanted to go out and interview people I had in my mind like going to the police station and interviewing officers and meeting up with a lawyer and discuss and interview him but I couldn’t, since my research topic was about Death Penalty it felt as though these people were the right people for me to question. But because of the virus that spread, I didn’t have the chance to do that. My sampling and target group then changed since my research topic was a bit difficult and I didn’t expect anyone to know any information about it I choose a specific age group that starts from 18 to 54+. They could be both genders, and the questions that I have are straight forward and understandable. I used the Likert type scale for some of my questions, and I used some yes or no questions and questions where they had to pick one or more answers, and that gave me a variety of different issues for my target group. I tried to persuade my target group, which is the participants, through my questions, but obliquely, so I gave them questions that will leave them thinking. The research questions that I used are an excellent way for me to grab a sense of how my participants feel about the topic and that will help me a lot in my research that I am passionate about this topic and hopefully at the end of this journey which I call my research will end up in people being more knowledgeable around this topic that I know for some might be very difficult and overwhelming because it’s a grave topic which is related to life and death.
Results and Findings
Based on the online conducted survey, I gathered diverse responses, which I will discuss in this section. The actual questions and reactions of the study area in the appendix section. I managed to get a total of 18 respondents for my research. However, some of them skipped questions of the survey. On average, the age range of my respondents was between 18 and 24. 61.15 of the respondents support the death penalty, while 11.11% do not agree with it an additional, 27.8% on the other hand, do not know whether they support it or not. Over 90% (66.7% and 27.7%) believe that the abolition of the death penalty would result in an increased murder rate in society, with only 5.6% having not interested in the topic. For 27.7% of the respondents, the abolition of the death penalty would result in a decrease in murder rates. In comparison, 55.6% disagree with this notion and an additional 16.7% not being aware of whether the crime rate would decrease with the removal of the death penalty.
Regarding the crimes that should be punishable by death, murder, rape, terrorism, homicides, and illegal trafficking stand out as the most notable crimes at 70%, 50%, 38%, 60%, and 30% respectively believe. Additionally, the respondents strongly believe that these crimes are those for which the death penalty should be made mandatory, as is evident in their respective percentages of 72%, 50%, 39%, 60%, and 30%. In terms of the benefits and costs of the death penalty, 64.71% believe that it is beneficial, while th35.29% believe that it is costly. For 66.7% of the respondents, the death penalty is essential in deterring criminals, while 33.3% percent are unsure of its impact on the prevention of crime. When it comes to agreeing or disagreeing with the benefits of the death penalty on society, 46.75 agree, 26.75 partially agree, 6.67% neither agree or disagree, while 12% somewhat disagree. Concerning whether criminals deserve the death penalty, 33.35 strongly agree, 20% agree, 40% neither agree nor disagree, and 6.67% disagree.
Discussion
In line with the answers offered by the respondents, it is clear that the death penalty is mostly supported in society. For starters, most of the respondents believe that it is beneficial to society. This could be because it is associated with the deterrence of crime in society. In other words, many people hold the view that the death penalty instigates fear within the community and, in so doing, helps prevent the emergence of criminal behavior. Living with the notion that a person is likely to lose their life for rape, murder, or terrorism has reduced the degree of which crime arises. It is for this reason also that the respondents do not view the death penalty as being costly. It is also evident that the death penalty is supported mainly for the most heinous crimes in society. Cases involving murder, homicides, terrorism, and illegal trafficking do not only result in the loss of lives but also contribute to numerous ills in society.
In the case of illegal trafficking, for instance, kidnappings are familiar with the trafficking routes providing space for the flow of other vices such as drug peddling and prostitution. Death and the idea of ceasing to exist is the man’s most unresolvable idea. This is evident in the long-standing effort to achieve immortality across various areas and sectors of society. It is for this reason that the death penalty continues to receive support in contemporary society. While the result supports the idea of the continuation of the death penalty, it is essential to consider the fact that this could be the opinion of a minor section of society. The 18-person sample size is relatively small and such, which implies that their advice may not represent the accurate picture of the whole community.
Moving forward, however, society may develop better crime deterrence approaches. This might change the significance of the death penalty resulting in its elimination. Focusing on the aspect of age, it becomes clear that the support of the death penalty could have been affected by the age demography. The age range of 18 to 24 is mostly made up of young adults. In this case, therefore, they may like an accurate and in-depth comprehension of the implications of the death penalty. For many individuals within this age group, their primary focus is forming a more profound sense of self even as they explore various ideas and opinions. In this case, therefore, their opinions are likely to change as they grow older.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study results show that an accessible assessment on the utilization of capital punishment, an exact measure, must be built up that can all the more completely catch the intricacy of people’s perspectives. By building up a scale to recognize varieties in feelings, analysts will have the option to all the more precisely survey people’s specific degree of help, possibly in support of capital punishment. Besides, for the procedure of arrangement making, there is an inclination to miss the central matter in touchy issues like capital punishment. How an item is characterized would figure out what strategy ought to be actualized. In the problematic definition stage, if capital punishment is described as a human rights issue, the vast majority of the contention, for example, cost and prevention, would not be considered as a significant issue. The case that capital punishment ought to be utilized for hoodlums to pay for homicide wrongdoing is remarkably frank. On the off chance that states are unsettled in losing lives, at that point, capital punishment ought not to be the discipline for homicide. It is, therefore, that researchers keep on searching for an elective sentence for murder. As referenced in the presentation, a general supposition on capital punishment unequivocally impacts a clear strategy around there. Consequently, it is fundamental that the exploration of this theme is intensely assessed and that new techniques are created to help in our comprehension of open assumptions on this issue.
References
Amnesty International. (n.d.). Why amnesty opposes the death penalty without exception. Amnesty International. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/ .
Bender, D., Leone, B., & Winters, P.A. (1997). Death penalty: opposing viewpoints. Greenhaven Press
Equal Justice Initiative. (n.d.). Death penalty. Equal Justice Initiative. Retrieved from https://eji.org/issues/death-penalty/.
Marcus, M., & Weissbrodt, D. (1968). The death penalty cases. California Law Review, 55, pp. 1268-1490.
Radelet, M. L. (2001). Humanizing the death penalty. Social Problems, 48(1), 83–87. doi: 10.1525/sp.2001.48.1.83.
ProCon. (n.d.). Should the death penalty be allowed? ProCon. Retrieved from https://deathpenalty.procon.org/questions/should-the-death-penalty-be-allowed/.
United Nations. (2015). Moving away from the death penalty arguments, trends, and perspectives. New York. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/Lists/MeetingsNY/Attachments/52/Moving-Away-from-the-Death-Penalty.pdf .
Appendix
Fig:2
Fig:3
Please say how much do you agree or disagree with the following statement: I believe that criminals deserve the death penalty.