Does the death sentence offer justice to the criminal or the people who were wronged? The whole world may disagree with these sentiments, if confidently declared that justice would have fully prevailed. Has someone ever lost his/ her kith or kin to a killer and if so, how was the reaction? This is what forms the basis for this argument. Death sentence is not the only way through which justice can be achieved.
Corporal punishment is perceived as dreadful. For instance, many people think that working as a hangman is bad. The Society needs to change its belief about abolishing corporal punishment as a means through which equity and justice can be achieved.
When speaking about children, there is a need to point out that “And corporal punishment is incompatible with human rights standards prohibiting cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and protecting children from physical violence and mental abuse” (“American Civil Liberties Union” 1).
There is unnecessary cry for revenge especially for people seeking justice which comes as a result of the death of the criminal. If a murderer is allowed to live whether as a free man or serving a life sentence, justice would have failed. Feelings of hatred to the law will forever be engraved in the hearts of those whose loved one was murdered.
They may not be noble feelings but they are suffered by almost every human being. It can be argued that two wrongs do not make one right deed but should it be at the expense of frustration, injury and injustice to others?
Abolitionists seem to have more force but they tread on dangerous ground. It is widely believed that the core and the only aim of punishment, in this case electrocuting or hanging criminals, is to deter other potential criminals from doing the same crime.
This assumption is believed to be part of the fundamental lies that urgently need to be reviewed. Deterrence of course is one of the aims of punishment but it is not the sole reason why criminals should receive a sentence. The victims of the crime feel at solace with the feeling that the law has avenged for them.
Furthermore, facing a consequence is one of the most cruel form of invention whose archaeology is least known to mankind except for the religious people who saw them from the beginning of the world. Each action done in both conscious and subconscious state of mind shall ultimately have the repercussions of the same gravity when discovered.
Although most murders occur at flashpoint, there is no justification for such crimes to go unpunished. There is no excuse for doing actions prohibited by the law. Abolishing the death sentence can be equated to removing one sharp edge of the sword thereby leaving out the consequences for the blood-thirsty and the trigger-happy fellows.
This cause revenge seeking persons for murders committed against their loved ones look for alternative methods of expressing their dissatisfaction. Multiple deaths will be the result of this legal negligence.
Life imprisonment is an option facing murder criminals. However, lifelong suffering cannot be a replacement for an untimely death. It is not enough to be locked in prison for ending the life of a fellow human being.
Amnesty could be an option instead of letting a person defiantly serve life imprisonment knowing that his/her precious life is safe notwithstanding the life he terminated. Most people convicted with minor crimes end up serving life long imprisonment. Individuals in charged with major crimes should face the consequences equal to the crime committed and that is when justice will prevail in the society.
One may be accused of championing the fact that death sentence is inhumane or rather indecorous. This provides a chance to find out whether protecting an individual’s life who could not hesitate to fire several bullets to destroy a fellow man is wrong or right. The innocent man may be long dead, well, but the law should not hesitate to do the same to the perpetrator.
Given that the felony committed is gravely, the perpetrator has to definitely pay for his actions. In any case, those who commit minor crimes serve their sentences fully without being defended by the legal systems in place. These loopholes ought to be filled to give reason for society to claim that it offers any form of justice to any one that deserves it.
Criminal responsibility should be fully paid for without discrimination of the gravity committed by the criminals. Criminals who commit minor crimes should not be punished at the expense of those committing major crimes. This is an outright injustice. The rule of law should completely prevail or else have it replaced with jungle law without the society’s knowledge. It takes withdrawal from self interest in favour of self respect to agree that murder should be paid with death.
The safest method to avoid electrocution is to avoid murder. It is inhumane to terminate the life of a murderer; never-the-less no thought is paid to the implications of allowing a murderer to live. If one acts in a manner that seems to be bad according to the society he ought to expect the same from the same society.
The same way anyone performing a felony when the law is barring him to do so is supposed to face the penalty. Capital punishment aims at stopping criminals from continuing in criminal acts. “The evidence for capital punishment as an uniquely effective deterrent to murder is especially important, since deterrence is the only major pragmatic argument on the pro-death penalty side” (White 1-18).
More so, the punishment is aimed at stopping school going persons from cheeky characters. There are many more ways of ensuring order without necessarily terminating capital punishment. Revenge is one of the ways that can be used.
In conclusion the society needs to reconsider its moral grounds and practices before deciding to abolish corporal punishment. Societal decadence should be dealt with legally. Will law protect the brains behind the crimes or the victims?
Works Cited:
“American Civil Liberties Union.” A Violent Education, Corporal Punishment of Children in U.S. Public Schools, 2009. Print.
White, Lawrence. “An Overview of the Death Penalty and Capital Trials: History, Current Status, Legal Procedures, and Cost”, Journal of Social Issues 50, no. 2 (1994). Print.