First, the death penalty has never been shown to deter crimes more effectively than other punishments. Recent studies in Oklahoma and California failed to find that capital punishment had a deterrent effect on violent crime and, in fact, found a significant increase in stranger killings and homicide rates after the death penalty had been reinstated. Most people who commit murders either do not expect to be caught or do not carefully weigh the differences between a possible execution and life in prison before they commit the act. These murders are most often committed in moments of blinding anger or passion.
Since World War 2 there has been many arguments towards abolishing the death penalty. In 1977 16 countries abolished the death penalty. The British government decided it was time to get rid of the death penalty in their country because they considered it inhumane and since human rights came into force it started to change everything. One of the arguments that made the government and the public views change on capital punishment was because in the 18th and 19th century many people were killed by hanging or beheading were actually innocent or had only done a small crime. The other argument towards it was the mass numbers of the public realizing this and they began protests and riots. As a result the government decided it was time to abolish the death penalty in Britain.
Is it ever justifiable to take a life? No it is not. It is never justifiable to take a life. Why because if the killer kills and becomes a murderer the executioner is killing that person. So that makes the murderer the victim and the executioner the murderer. Even though prisons are overflowing killing the murderer won’t bring the victim back. Killing does not solve anything. Murderers get sentenced 15-20 years, known as a life sentence. In my opinion life sentences should be 30-40 years long and that should destroy the murderers chance of living just like he/she destroyed the life of the victims. This should be punishment enough for them to see the error of their ways.
It is not just non-religious people who are against the capital punishment. Many religions are not for it. Take Christianity for example. They do not believe in taking a life and in the 6th commandment it states the words “thou salt not kill”. In the Jewish religion it was said in the 12th century “it is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than put a single innocent one to death”. In the Buddhism chapter 10 of the dhammapada states “everyone fears punishment everyone fears death therefore do not kill or cause to kill”.
In 1989 DNA analysis was used to prove if the accused fingerprints had his/her DNA on the weapon then they could be proven guilty. This helped the authorities believe if the suspect was guilty or not. Before DNA testing an innocent man called John Knout was sentenced to 17 years in prison and after 6 years he was transported to death row. Although he was not killed he still had to spend 17 years of his life is prison and lived in shear terror of what day he could have been marched to the electric chair. It is beyond belief that someone would have to go through this. If John were put on trial now he would without doubt have been proved innocent. Due to DNA testing an average of 7 people in Britain are found innocent of the crime. If the death penalty had not been abolished these 7 innocent life’s would be dead and buried. This is why so many argue against the death penalty and still senators and governments don’t listen and still innocent people are killed because of it.
Leo Jones was convicted of murdering a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida on March 28, 1998. Jones signed a confession after several hours of police interrogation, but he later claimed the confession was a lie. In the mid-1980s, the policeman who arrested Jones and the detective who took his confession were forced out of uniform for ethical violations. A fellow officer as an “enforcer” who had used torture later identified the policeman. Furthermore, Texas executed Jesse Jacobs on January 4, 1995 despite the prosecution’s admission that arguments they made at Jacobs’ trial were false. This proves to you that innocent people die due to it.
In conclusion, the death penalty should not be allowed in this country or any country. We all have the resources to keep society safe from criminals, so it is unnecessary to have such an inhuman and degrading punishment. This punishment does not deter crime and also might cause doubt to someone’s guilt. The death penalty should be abolished forever! I believe life is a beautiful, precious gift that nobody has the right to take away. Even the criminals themselves should not be killed. But then again, two wrongs do not make a right.
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Crimes and capital punishment (book)
The death penalty (book)
Nicholas McAdie
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