Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment is described as corporal punishment in its most severe form; it is the legal infliction of the death penalty, meaning in acute circumstances, a man or woman can be put to death for the crime they have committed. It is both commended and criticised with an on-going argument as to whether it is right or wrong. Though Capital Punishment was stopped in Britain in the 1960’s, it is still a standard procedure in many nations throughout the world. Some example nations are America (38 of the 50 states have the killing punishment), Iran, China, and Saudia Arabia though there are many more who still retain the death penalty for crimes they feel serious enough. Methods of execution can vary; it has been inflicted in many ways in the past, today however the main processes used are hanging, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, beheading, or lethal injection. So what kinds of people deserve such a brutal, barbaric ending? And is their crime really so ruthless that death is the only punishment seen sufficient?

There are many pros and cons of the death penalty; it’s extremely hard to come up with a satisfying conclusion as to whether it should continue being an optional punishment, or if lifetime imprisonment is a sufficient enough punishment for the offence the person has committed, even for something as profound as murder.

One of the main objections to the death penalty is the risk of executing the innocent. There is no way to reimburse life, once the person has been put to death, it’s over, innocent or guilty they have received the harshest sentence. Had the person been sentenced to lifetime imprisonment however, and then later found to be innocent, they could gain compensation and even more rewarding, another chance in life. However cases like this that have been established are very rare, much evidence and a unanimous vote is needed to convict this punishment upon anyone, and only serious deserving crimes obtain the punishment of death. Therefore it is unusual and infrequent for the wrong person to be executed, and in many cases those who are sentenced to death can be left waiting for years to receive their punishment, in which case, if you are innocent, by then you will have hopefully gathered enough evidence to prove so. It is common for several appeals to be applied before the sentence is carried out, hopefully in which you will win your freedom.

Of course it’s never just the perpetrator who suffers for their felony, relatives and friends also have to suffer the pain of losing a loved one, the person who has to perform the execution may have to face remorse and regret, and also the issuing judge has to go through the guilt complex of knowing that they have just taken away another person’s life. A vicious circle forms as it becomes clear of how many people are forced to face the mixed feelings and weight of one man’s sin.  

Though it is the judge who issues the sentence, it's someone else who has to perform the death sentence. It's then someone else who has to bury the person, the relatives who have to attend the funeral and go through all the grief and anguish at losing a loved one. It has been known for the friends or relatives to cure their depression by taking revenge, and sadly, they feel that their anguish could only be fulfilled by killing the person to blame. Then the picture is back in court where once again their lives are to be fortuned by a man they have never met before, and so the circle continues.

It must be hard for the person who has to perform the sentence; it's scarring their name, emotions and lifestyle forever. The unpleasant feelings of sorrow and guilt as they perform the execution must be incredibly immense, it’s hard to truly understand and sympathise with these people.

 Bad feelings may also be felt by the judge because he may feel he concluded wrongly, but is forced to continue normally, knowing that again because of him a human life was destroyed. Imagine the outlook if it was later discovered that the now deceased individual was innocent all along, but though he had sworn his innocence, it had fallen on deaf ears as the conclusion had been the death penalty. Perhaps the outcome isn’t always so extreme, but so many people have to suffer for one person’s crime and another mans decision, is it really worth it?

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But of course, if it was evident that the being on trial was guilty, and they were killed for it, the feelings of knowing that you took another mans life away could be contented with the thought that by ridding the world of such an evil person you are encouraging the longed for peace, and possibly saving endangered innocent lives. The execution has ensured that had the person been freed from prison they wouldn’t commit the same crime again and make yet more people, relatives, friends suffer for one individuals transgression. Also, if that person had committed the crime due ...

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