The Death Penalty in Canada. There are many issues surrounding the rebirth of capital punishment in Canada; some say is it necessary under some circumstances. However, the key word in that sentence is some.

        Social and racial inequalities can be seen in every day life.  However, they become a much more serious issue when they are involved in the decision of life or death. Capital punishment is often much more likely to be given out to stereotypical groups and minorities.  While many of these judgments may be subconscious they sadly still exist, and when it comes to capital punishment they may be deadly.  Statistically, men are far more likely to be given the death penalty than women.  This can also be attributed to the fact that pregnant women may not be executed, and obviously men cannot become pregnant.  Aside from gender, a Pennsylvanian study showed that black people have an almost 4 times higher chance of being given a death sentence.  This could be credited to the fact that the lives of these people are usually in the hands of white prosecutors and judges, and obviously imperfect juries.  In death penalty states, 2% of prosecutors are black or Hispanic, and unfortunately where the victim is white and the defendant is black, the defendant will have a much higher chance of acquiring the death penalty than if the victim was also black.  For those that do not think these facts have any importance on society, consider Rev. Joseph E. Lowery president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference words that “by reserving the penalty of death for black defendants, or for the poor, or for those convicted of killing white persons, we perpetuate the ugly legacy of slavery—teaching our children that some lives are inherently less precious than others.”  In a world that constantly tries to fight for equality, the death penalty continues to perpetuate the racial stigmas seen in the world.

        Another issue with capital punishment brings the chance that the person sentenced to death is innocent.  The chance of this happening also has the ability to effect the jury’s decision.  Some juries will not convict because they do not want to execute the innocent and therefore the amount of convictions will lower. It is worrisome that capital punishment may be given out over circumstantial evidence, especially when someone who has been given the death sentence may never have admitted to doing the crime.  This means no closure for the family of victims.  It also leads to more complex questions of how to later compensate for the family of the victim.  The case is also less likely to be solved if a death penalty has been hastily given and has been closed for a while.  This is not just to say that the family of the victim should be compensated for, but also the family of the accused who would have faced years of possible persecution and exile.  The financial affairs of an accused person also play another unfair factor in determining their innocence.  Many defendants may not have an adequate amount of money to provide themselves with a good lawyer and in this way have less of a chance in proving innocence.  Sometimes a jury would feel it necessary to execute these persons as their case seems less legitimate.  Again this shows criminals that the death penalty is not a deterrent because they may go unpunished and have an innocent person take the blame for them.  There is no doubt that capital punishment is a flawed system that raises the risk of the unjust deaths of innocent persons and greatly questions a countries moral if they decide to make these unnecessary risks.

        Another reason people typically tend to favour the death penalty is because of costs.  Some argue that it is more beneficial to kill a convict so tax dollars can go to other more important things instead of keeping a prisoner in jail.  However, the cost of execution can be higher than the life sentence.  It is estimated that a capital case resulting in execution costs $3-4 million.  The typical cost of keeping someone in prison for a life sentence is $30-35000 dollars annually.  California will spend around $137 million in 2009 on its 700 capital cases.  A report from Connecticut stated that the death penalty cost $177,635 more than life imprisonment from 1987 to 2002.  This is also because it costs more to keep a criminal on death row.  Out of nine countries, only the U.S.A supported the death penalty.  However, this is Canada and not the United States.  Here the majority of people do not support the death penalty, and in a country which is still in economic recovery, is there any point in spending money on unnecessary and immoral things?

 
        Mental illness is a touchy subject whilst dealing with the death penalty.  However, mentally ill people have been given the death penalty and it is an unfair and unjust action which again deteriorates the value of human life.  Some criminals may also not see it as a deterrent because they may have the option of pleading insanity.  An advocate for the Disability Rights North Carolina believes that mentally ill people may ultimately face the death penalty because their fate is up to a jury that does not understand mental illness.  A mentally ill person should not be held responsible for their actions and therefore not be given the death penalty; however some states such as North Carolina still do not have laws protecting them.  Bringing the death penalty back to Canada has these same risks as the country uses the jury system. However, many turn a blind eye and believe that the mentally ill are protected under international law, but since 1983 there have been 60 mentally ill persons executed.  While the number may be low, it also may be inaccurate.  It is estimated that of all those on death row, 5-10% have some form of mental illness.  Where does the death penalty go next?  Are children supposed to be executed?  Again the question of the capital punishment raises eyebrows when it comes to a countries morals and placement of value on a human life.

        Naturally when someone commits a heinous crime such as murder or rape, there is a need for someone else to get revenge.  So almost four decades after the abolition of capital punishment in Canada, is there reason to reinstate it?  The answer is no.  The option of capital punishment does not just end here, because this so called “justice” is not a deterrent.  A criminal does not think of the death penalty when he takes another’s life.  By allowing the death penalty, there is a lower value on human life, which has the potential to raise crime rate.  Life imprisonment is both cheaper and less uncertain than having the possibility of killing the wrong person for the wrong reasons.  Emotions need be put aside when making the decision of life or death, because the death penalty makes murderers of all of us.

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