People may argue that this may cause judges or jurors to find guilty persons not guilty, as they don’t want to make such a decision of life and death.
The law states that judges or jurors have a responsibility to the public to deal out punishments as the evidence dictates.
People may feel that murder is murder and that death sentences are included in this and that the government should set an example not to take the lives of others.
This may be countered by the view that the death sentence is the punishment for a crime and is not a crime itself.
Others may make a case by saying that the supreme law is Gods law in the Bible and that it preaches to ‘forgive and forget’ not to seek revenge.
Some readers of the Bible may agree with the sentiments of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life’ as being true justice and would believe the above is only valid in certain situations.
The pro-hanging lobby uses the argument that a person about to commit a murder would think twice if he knew that he might be executed if he was found out.
Statistics show that this is untrue as murder rates in places where the death sentence is enforced usually show no difference or sometimes are higher than that in places without a death penalty, even when they are neighbouring U.S. states.
Some have the opinion that when a convicted criminal is sentenced to life it should mean life not twenty-five or usually fewer years. So the convicts should be imprisoned until they die or be executed by means of electric chair or lethal injection etc.
Over 85% of people in USA voted in agreement for the death penalty, and it is estimated that a similar amount in Britain would feel the same way. And as it is the people’s country their point of view should count.
However it is the government’s job to ensure the welfare of the people so they have to put in place some system of law and order and so the final decision is theirs.
Conclusion:
I believe that judges or jurors should not be affected by their consciences on this matter as if someone wasn’t going to get the death sentence they wouldn’t care about sending them to prison. So what is the difference?
I agree with the statement that the death sentence is a punishment for a crime and not a crime itself and that sending someone to death row is not murder, they have murdered themselves by committing the crime.
I feel that ‘forgive and forget is only valid in certain situations and when talking about murder it is not valid, but the statement ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for life’ is.
I think that the pro hanging lobby’s main argument of ‘a person may think twice about committing a murder if they knew he might be executed’ is disproved by the murder rate statistics.
I think that you can’t really counter the statement ‘life should mean life not twenty-five years’ otherwise why is it called a life sentence.
I also agree that it is the government’s job to put in place some system of law and order or there would just be anarchy.
Overall I think that capital punishment should only be allowed in cases where it is dead certain who has committed the crime, so to stop people being executed for things that they haven’t done.
I believe that it is something that will be argued about for many years to come and it will be a very long time until it will be decided upon.
