R.E COURSE WORK –CAPITAL PUNISHMENT!

Crime is a social act that offends the laws of society. There are lots of causes for people carrying out crime, whether it is because they are so poor they commit robberies to survive or because they are mentally unbalanced and do not realise the difference between right and wrong.

            There are lots of ways to punish the criminals but it isn't all about punishing them. Punishment can be used as a deterrent to stop the criminal committing crime and also to stop others as well. Punishment can also be a form of retribution or revenge on criminals for their behaviour. Some people for the case of capital punishment believe that the law should be based on the idea of "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." In simple terms what you do wrong should be done back to you. E.g. if you kill someone, you should be killed also. This view can be backed up in the bible in the book of Leviticus chapter 24:17-20. It says:

"If the person strikes another and kills him, he must be put to death. Whoever strikes an animal and kills it is to make restitution, life for life. If anyone injures and disfigures a fellow countryman it must be done to him as he has done- Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth."

It makes them suffer for their crime that they have committed.

It can also be a form of protection to society from the criminal. The criminal could be dangerous and it could be for the public's safety and the criminal's well being if he is punished. It is the protection of society from anti social behaviour; the criminal is therefore separated from society. Punishment can also be a form of reformation, so they can change the criminal's ways and make him/her less likely to commit another crime. This could involve working with the criminal to understand why they carried out the crime and changing their attitude or circumstances to assure themselves that the same crime will not be carried out again.

So basically there are five main reasons for punishment. When a punishment is given it tries to fulfil at least one of these aims:

The Theory of Deterrence: to put a criminal of re offending. Also the punishment that the criminal receives will put others off from committing the crime too.

The Theory of Retribution: If somebody commits a crime then they should receive a punishment that is fitting for the crime that they have committed, this is where the saying  ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ comes from.

The Theory of Protection: Punishments can be used to protect society from somebody’s anti-social behaviour. This type of punishment can also be designed to protect the offenders against themselves.

The Theory of Reform: People who commit crimes often need all sorts of help. The punishment that they receive should be a kind that will prevent them from committing further crimes, and make them responsible citizens who have something to offer society

Capital Punishment has been recognised as a civilised way of disposing of their unwanted criminals by most countries at one time in their history. This can be done through hanging, beheading or even by using injections.  Slowly countries that claim it is uncivilised to kill people for crimes they have committed have abolished the death penalty.  Capital punishment has now been abolished in the u.k. In 1975 the British government ruled that only certain types of crime were extreme enough for the death penalty to be the only option available. These offences were killing police officers, using guns or explosives, killing two or more people and killing during a robbery. In 1965 after much debate capital punishment was suspended for a 5-year trial period. In 1970 it was permanently abolished. One of the debated reasons was because of the way the law condemns murder, but then goes on to murder in the name of the law. Punishing murder by murder is not right. (Two wrongs don’t make a right) That's one reason against the case of capital punishment.

Join now!

 Another reason why some people are against the thought of bringing it back is because of the role terrorism plays in our society. If a terrorist was caught and punished by death then it would turn the convicted criminal into a martyr. This is not right, making these political extremists into martyrs. Surely it would be better to imprison these people and at the same time keep them out of societies way.

        

There are many arguments ‘for and ‘against’ capital punishment; here are just some of them:

Arguments for capital punishment:

  • Reduce ...

This is a preview of the whole essay