Capital punishment: for and against (Chapter 5, ECPE Challenge)

To help you along with the essay on capital punishment at the end of Unit 5 in ECPE Challenge, here are some links to discussions on the issues involved.

1. A summary of the arguments for the death penalty, with counter-arguments, 

from the BBC Ethics page

2. A BBC Radio 4 documentary on the death penalty in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and prospects for its abolition.

3. A Washington Post position article (Nov. 2017) asking why the death penalty still exists in the USA, with multiple arguments against it.

Lastly, don't forget to look at the wealth of other material on the topic already published on this blog. Search for "capital punishment". Happy hunting!

The death penalty: Where do YOU stand?

The case we talked about (the man wrongfully convicted) can be found here.

Lessons from death row inmates (TED video)

More links on the death penalty

Essays by previous students

Video related to our essay and discussion

Lessons from death row inmates

Death penalty

          Capital punishment is being used for serious crimes in many countries such as, the USA, China, the Phillipines and Iran. Some people believe that is a retribution to the offenders, but others say that is the ultimate punishment and it is unfair for the criminals. Personally, I think that it is an ambivalent issue and many parameters should be considered to make a final decision.
            First of all, as a large number of people claim, the death penalty is what a doer of serious crimes, for example, terrorism, homicide or arson deserve. They took a life, so their life should be taken too. Furthermore, advocates of capital punishment insist that without the death penalty as a deterrent, more lives will be lost because the murder rate will go up. Therefore, if the issue is saving lives, we ought to have capital punishment, even if a few innocent people lose their lives. In addition, this punishment may satisfy the family of the victim.
             On the other side, opponents of this view say that is the worst punishment which violates the right to life. Moreover, it cannot be used as a deterrent because countries where this ultimate punishment is approved, have a bigger murder rate than those who do not. The real purpose of all the punishments is penal, so the criminals can understand their mistake. What is more, opponents of capital punishment say that as the death row increasing the convicted people have to wait for years until they finally be executed. As a result of this, they may suffer from psychological problems.
            Taking everything into consideration, I believe that this issue has significant advantages, but also important disadvantages. As I see it, the best option is to develop a better judicial system in which the death penalty will be approved only with the confirmation of the Minister of Justice for very serious crimes such as, massive terrorist attacks.

Death Penalty

 Nowadays, some countries, such as the U.S.A., China, Iran etc., still retain the use of death penalty as the most appropriate punishment for the most notorious crimes. Although this is such an ambivalent issue, it is impossible to condone capital punishment.

To begin with, there are many reasons why this lethal punishment should be abolished. First and foremost, execution is inhumane and violates a person's basic right to life.It is also argued that if murder is wrong, then it must be wrong for the state to claim the convicted person's life, or as they say: "Two wrongs do not make a right.". Another case in point is that this is a relatively unique punishment since, in general, violent crimes are not punished by subjecting the perpetrator to a similar act. Apart from that, judicial systems are not infallible and do not always abide by the law (because of individual interests, for instance, profit). As a result, it is inevitable that innocent prisoners will be on death row.

Seen from a different perspective, although advocates of judicial penalty concede that mistakes will be made, they insist that execution is a gratifying deterrent to crime. Furthermore, a common argument is that death penalty is cheaper and more ethical than locking prisoners up for the rest of their lives, making them suffer from the atrocious crime they committed. Lastly, it gives closure to the families of the victims who have inflicted a serious amount of pain. What these arguments overlook, though, is that this "an eye for an eye" method transfers us to the debris of a primitive society, where this policy dominated.

Taking all this into consideration, there is no doubt in my mind that death penalty is a barbaric characteristic of an uncivilised society. As I see it, criminal rehabilitation is the ideal way to reduce recidivism instead of capital punishment.

The Death Penalty

All links http://markaki-literature.blogspot.gr/search/label/Death%20Penalty 

The case we talked about can be found here.

Other controversial death row cases

More links on the death penalty

Missouri poised to execute sixth inmate in 2014 despite fresh doubts (Guardian article)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Death Penalty (HBO) (funny video)

Death penalty

Hardly a week goes by without an other report of executed inmates in some countries like the States, China, Iran and Philippines, appearing in the news. However, I am convinced that nobody has the right to claim a life, even if the convicted has committed the most ultimate offense, thus I am inclined to believe that the death penalty should be abolished.

The protesters against the penalty of capital punishment claim that if murder is wrong, because it violates a person’s right to life, then it must be wrong for the state to take a person’s life. As the famous motto goes, ‘two wrongs do not make a right’. Obviously, the only difference between an individual murderer and the authorities who execute the condemned to death inmate , is that the state kills with the permission of the court, even though that doesn’t mean that sentencing someone to death is the right thing.

On the other hand, the supporters of the legal execution concede that without capital punishment as a deterrent, more lives would be lost since the homicide rate will go up. Nevertheless, the murder rate in the U.S is nearly three times higher than the U.K which has not established this kind of penalty, so it is obvious that if a person reaches the point of becoming a murderer, he doesn’t  bear in mind the consequences of his actions and the death penalty does not function as an obstacle. Besides the moral issues and the effectiveness of killing criminals, judicial systems are fallible and errors are made quite often. Consequently, with capital punishment it is inevitable that sooner or later innocent people will be executed. This is clearly illustrated by the case of Troy Antony Davis, who stayed in death row for years and was executed in 2011, albeit there was little evidence against him and nothing could be done in order to bring him back to life. 

To sum up, capital punishment is a really thorny issue. Countries like China and Iran should take all issues into consideration and think of alternative punishments in order to finally achieve the abolition of the death penalty.

Capital Punishment

 

     A lot of countries still use the death penalty as a method of punishment for committing heinous crimes. However, I am not sure that it should be used, even in extreme cases.

  

    Many people consider capital punishment as barbaric and cruel, since it violates the universal human right to life. To begin with, killing people who murdered others so as to show that killing someone is unacceptable conveys the wrong message. Moreover, occasionally innocent people are condemned to executions; as a result, real criminals are free while innocent lives have been lost. Additionally people that are on death row have no chance of changing their attitude and regretting for their harmful actions in prison. Last but not least, criminals may be mentally ill, therefore they need psychological or psychiatric support to get over their problems.

   

    However a lot of people argue that capital punishment should not be forbidden. Victims' relatives have suffered so much that they want to revenge the murderer by putting him to death. It will make them feel relieved, as they will not feel the menace of the killer and it will also ensure the safety for the re of the family. Furthermore, if a murderer ends up to prison, they will probably become more aggressive and violent, therefore they will come out on parole as hardened criminals and be a threat to the society. Finally the death penalty is a deterrent for criminals and prisoners as killing people, will mean losing their own life.

   

    To sum up, the death penalty is lethal punishment which cannot bring back to life innocent people and victims of murderers. However plenty people support that it should not be forbidden as it will punish the criminals the way they deserve. Therefore, people need to comprehend that capital punishment does not help no one.

Death Penalty

Nowadays, there are still countries which use the death penalty as the ultimate punishment for some serious crimes.Some people maintain that the capital punishment will help by reducing crime levels. However, others claims that the execution is something inhumane and they doubt if it can improve society at all. Personally, I am opposed to the use of death penalty, as it is something unnecessary.

Although in general I am against capital punishment, I concede that it would be cheaper than locking up prisoners for the rest of their lives. However, I support the fact that judicial systems are fallible and errors are made. Consequently, with execution it is inevitable that sooner or later innocent people will be killed. Moreover, according to some latest research, the murder rate per capita in the U.S.A is nearly three times higher than that in U.K where capital punishment does not exist. It is clear that this kind of penalty does not guarantee a reduction in the number of homicides.

Furthermore, if murder is wrong, then it must be wrong for the state to take a person's life.As some people say, " two wrongs do not make a right ". In addition , from my standpoint this penalty must be forbidden in all countries, since it may cause the execution of innocent people.

All in all, the death penalty is a thorny issue so it is difficult to clearly see if it is right or wrong. Nonetheless, i believe that this type of punishment should be forbidden in all countries, as it is a very violent measure and nobody deserves that.

Extra information on the death penalty

http://markaki-students.blogspot.gr/2011/09/c2-level-students-debate-death-penalty.html