Two thirds of the population of the United Kingdom would bring back capital punishment as we seem to be breeding a nation of killers, rapists and child abusers. We are turning out more and more like Americans everyday. So why don't we be like them and have capital punishment reintroduced.
One of the oldest arguments against capital punishment is that some people who are convicted of a crime, and are executed, might be found innocent after they have been killed. Evidence to prove this is that in America, researchers have estimated that over 350 innocent people have been wrongly convicted of capital crimes and 23 have been executed before evidence casting doubt on their convictions was uncovered. However, D.N.A. testing and recently advanced science make it even less likely that the wrong person is caught for the crime. D.N.A. testing is more than ninety - nine percent accurate.
There are arguments that in order to stop rape and murder we have to study those who commit the crimes and find out why they did what they did. If we can understand the reasons behind these crimes we can perhaps stop them happening again in the future. This chance would be lost forever if we executed those who commit the crimes. However, supporters of capital punishment could argue that crimes like murder are spontanious and don't have a reason behind them. Hiring good psychologists would be very expensive and the people who commit the crimes could easily lie to get out of prison. Keeping them in prison would be expensive and why should we pay taxes to clothe and feed them. Their victims will never eat another meal, so why should they?
Another strong argument against capital punishment is that methods of execution are cruel and it can also be mental torture for the person who is awaiting execution. On the other hand, supporters would argue that the criminals deserve everything they get. They put thier victims through torture, so why shouldn't the killers be tortured? If the criminal didn't want to die, they shouldn't have commited the crime, as simple as that. The death penalty is not meant to be nice. Death row inmates are supposed to suffer for their crime whichever way they die. As the saying goes "An eye for an eye." In some ways it is less cruel to execute criminals. I think most people would rather die than spend the rest of their lives in prison. It would be more torture for someone spending the rest of their days in the same place with only the thoughts of what they did for company. It would also make people feel safer as the murderers are on death row waiting to be executed. People could walk about the streets without having to look over their shoulders every five minutes. The families of victims also need reassurance that the killer is not going to be able to walk the streets again and have the chance to reoffend. It would also give these families a chance to get on with their lives. Research suggests that the most common cause of death among death row inmates is of natural causes.
Opponents argue that instead of capital punishment we should have life sentencing which makes the criminal think about what they have done as they are in prison for such a long time. On the other hand supporters could argue that prison sentences are too lenient. That all the offender would get was a life sentence, which, nowadays, is only about eight or nine years and you can get out early on parole for good behaviour and the person could easily reoffend. This is a waste of tax payers money. No one wants their hard earned cash spent on luxuries for killers and rapists if they are going to be released after a few years. Their victims will never have these luxuries again, so why should they?
Opponents could argue that capital punishment is expensive. An example of this is the amount of money the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy cost taxpayers. He cost them over three million dollars to hear his appeals for clemency during his nine years on death row. Nevertheless supporters of the death penalty argue that it is better to pay that amount of money to keep someone on death row for a few years before hearing their appeals for a few years before thay are executed.
In conclusion, I think capital punishment should be reintroduced. A strong argument that has convinced me is the age old "Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" argument. If a person takes another persons life, surely the only way to pay for this crime is their own life. In addition, opponents say people can be convicted of a crime they didn't commit. But D.N.A. testing has become so advanced that it is almost impossible that an innocent person could be killed for a crime they didn't commit. What is more, we are hearing of more and more cases of rape, murder and child abuse. Incidents like the Sarah Payne case should not be allowed to happen. Any one who commits such a horrible, dispicible crime should be killed. Imagine it was your child who was playing in the street and they were picked up by a stranger and taken to the place where they were killed. Any sane person would agree with me that capital punishment should be reintroduced in Britain.
