Sultan
Alnawmasi
ENG 191
14 Dec 2012
"If we execute murderers and there is in
fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to
execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we
have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather
risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call."
Professor John McAdams, Marquette University
The worst
punishment in the world is being given a death penalty, according to a personal
opinion. The definition of the term death penalty is ‘putting a condemned
person to death’. This means that if a person kills someone, in most cases, he
himself will get adjudged to death. The issue of death penalty has been of
concern since times immemorial; however, people all over the world have
different ideas of what a death penalty actually is.
The death penalty within the logic of
criminal justice in the "atonement for sin" expiation. Of
striking that even in societies that abolished the death penalty there a large
segment of public opinion is still supported: it is still reacting about
"criminals" being, according to the logic that justifies the
punishment of death and demanding law of retaliation: "Breaking fractured
and eye for an eye and enact enact" Thus, "the death of death." They
voice saying "respect for the victim's" claim to kill the murderer;
calling for revenge and Tempted estimated that the offender takes advantage of
compassionate treatment, no humanity. Move
emotional reaction this is a genuine desire in the violence disrupted claims
"humanism" humanists of civilization. Justify
the death penalty means a decision to deny the sanctity of human life and
transcendent described categorically and definitively. As
such, if you are not for the life of the offender from the sanctity, there is
no sanctity for any human life. Every execution is an act of
despair in humanity.The issue is not to try to prove that the death penalty is not
a deterrent; The issue is not in question for the appropriate retribution
replaced. The death
penalty is impossible because they do not prudence. It
is incredibly because just think of the death penalty constitutes acceptance of
killing a human being become "innocent" innocent, ie, literally, it
is in the case was unable to inflict harm. Even
necessary that stick out in the position, of legitimate self-defense cannot be
here to serve as a pretext to accept the killing.
At the same time, it is pertinent to note that many
countries around the world have abolished the charge of a death penalty to
their citizens despite the heinous acts that they may commit. Other countries,
for example, India, still make use of the death penalty in the rarest of rare
cases. Modern society should do away with the death penalty because in some
cases, an innocent person may be charged with death, and furthermore, it is not
considered ethically correct in order to deliver a death punishment on anyone. This
essay helps in unravelling the mystery behind the ethics, as well as the use of
the death penalty, and also focuses on the main causes of concern related to a
death penalty.
Death penalty,
also known as capital punishment, is a legal process that takes place under the
purview of a state, for putting a criminal to die as a punishment for a crime
committed by him. These crimes may be regarded as capital crimes or capital
offences, and the term “capital” has been used because it refers to ‘the head’
in Latin. 58 nations around the world till date practice the grant of a death
penalty whereas others have successfully abolished its use. Amnesty
International considers the death penalty to be “the ultimate denial of human
rights.” According to the organisation, “It is the premeditated and
cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishment is done in the name of justice.” (“Death Penalty in 2011”)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that awarding a death penalty
to any human being violates the right to life and Amnesty International, thus,
holds absolutely no exceptions for awarding the death penalty, despite the
heinous acts that the criminal might have committed.
I am
disagreeing with the death penalty as it is not the solution. Life is the gift
of god and no one has right to grab this gift. The important reason due to
which I am against it is that, it does not give any benefit to the victims.
Murderer, who killed any person or did any other crime, taking his life in the
shape of death penalty, does not provide any benefit to the victims. Death of
the convicted person does not provide any benefit to the victim’s family. There
should be a trend that murdered or accused person should pay some amount to the
victims so that its family can spend live in a better way. Supporting them
financially is the solution but death penalty is not the way out. (KING)
Death is not
the ultimate punishment. Punishment is of such type that teach a lesson to the
convicted, that should teach him/her about the consequences. Punishment means
to teach him in a way that he will not repeat the mistake in future. So, death
punishment is not an appropriate solution. (Yorke)
One of the main
reasons behind abolishing the death penalty is that in many cases, an innocent
person just might be executed. For example, in India, when the terrorist Afzal
Guru had attacked the Indian Parliament, he was caught and sentenced to prison.
He has been condemned by the courts and slapped with a death penalty. However,
it is only the delay in the execution of the same that has still kept him
alive. Guru had written numerous letters to various lawyers, the Supreme Court,
as well as other eminent personalities in the Indian nation. Journalists and
writers, like Praful Bidwai and Arundhati Roy, have helped his case by stating
that he just might be an innocent bystander – a mere scapegoat caught in the
entire rift of the attack and blamed for its happenings. According to his
personal plead, he states that it was not his fault and that he is an innocent
man. (Chandra)
This has put
the Indian judiciary in a dilemma whether or not to go ahead with the death
sentence granted to him. The delay has been taking place because of
conservative jurists in the country, taking their time out in order to make a
final decision which will not be regretted later. If the man turns out to be
innocent, there will be a lot more like him that might stand up and actually
take revolutionary actions against the nation. The country may turn against its
judiciary and ten more terrorists may be given birth to. Putting condemned
people in a death row or a kind of waiting line for their execution is also
quite unethical, according to the Amnesty International, as well as other
nations around the world. This is because the death row is as good as a convict
being put in prison and, thus, why would that individual have to serve both
time in prison as well as be hanged as per a death sentence?
Since a long
time ago, capital punishment has been awarded to those that have committed
terrifying crimes that have shaken the conscience of society on the whole; for
example, murder, espionage, treason etc. The death penalty has definitely been
regarded as one of the cruellest forms of punishment; in countries around the
world methods like injecting lethal poisonous substances, putting the convict
on an electric chair, suffocation in a gas chamber, as well as hanging till the
spinal cord gets cut and the person is asphyxiated have been used. The last
country in the world to abolish the death penalty was Gabon, in the year 2010.
One of the main reasons that it has been criticised is that it leads to the
miscarriage of justice due to wrongful execution of people.
Capital
punishment should be used only in the rarest of rare cases; for example, Ajmal
Kasab, the terrorist behind the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai awaits his execution.
The Robert Pickton case, where a serial killer committed second degree murders
of six women was extremely terrifying, yet the murderer was granted life
imprisonment and not a death penalty. Human dignity is a right of every
individual and despite the wrongful doings of people; they still deserve a
right to life. Furthermore, it is the media that fuels the minds of people and
makes them believe that living in a society where everyone is granted a death
penalty for their wrongdoings will help in creating a better world. If this
were true, then killing people would lead to a Utopian destination, however,
capital punishment is still wrong and should only be granted to the worst kind
of criminals, and that too after a good amount of deliberation. According to my
opinion, punishment should be like any penalty which is related to fine or
prison should be given, so that the person knows about the consequences. He
would feel some fear about the penalty. So, teaching a hard lesson is a good
penalty rather than sentence to death. (Arguments
against capital punishment)
References
"Abolitionist
and Retentionist Countries / Amnesty International." Amnesty.org. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/abolitionist-and-retentionist-countries>.
Chandra, Rina.
"Is It Time to End the Death Penalty in India?" Reuters. 20 May 2010. Web. 15 Apr.
2012.
<http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2010/05/20/is-it-time-to-end-the-death-penalty-in-india/>.
"Death
penalty”. Audioenglish.net. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/death_penalty.htm>.
"Death
penalty in 2011. Abolish the Death
Penalty”. Amnesty.org. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty>.
"Introduction.
History of Capital Punishment”.
Stephen-stratford.co.uk. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/capital_hist.htm>.
Ornellas, L. “Death
penalty arguments”. Pro-death
Penalty.com. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/ornellaspaper.htm>.
"Pro-death
Penalty". Pro-death Penalty.com.
Web. 15 Apr. 2012. <http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/>.
"Arguments against capital punishment." bbc.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/against_1.shtml>.
KING, RACHEL. "THE IMPACT OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
ON THE FAMILIES OF DEFANDANTS."
<https://www.ajs.org/ajs/publications/Judicature_PDFs/895/King_895.pdf>
Yorke, Jon. Against the Death Penalty:
International Initiatives and Implications. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, n.d.
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