Introduction
The death penalty refers to a premeditated way by which the authorities (governments) take ones life for an offence previously committed as a way of restitution in the justice legal system. The death penalty presents a very controversial issue argued from the moral, religious and judicial points of view.
Arguments that do not seem to be ceasing have been presented by various parties who have a feeling that persons who have committed very gross offences deserve to lose their lives. On the other hand other arguments are raised to oppose this view. If one was unfairly judged for instance would mean they lose their lives unfairly.
Thesis Statement
In as much as death penalty serves to enforce the law in the society consequently punishing heinous crimes, it is important to analyze its clash with the ideals of a moral society. This is because any form of killing is not only immoral but an indicator of the flaws in justice system.
How does the death penalty relate to ethics?
In society persons have been quick to point out that it is not ethical to take away a persona life. On the other hand, others are of the view that people who carry out gross offences do no deserve to stay in an ethical community and therefore justifying their execution. These view points including the following will be highlighted:
- Religion and its relationship with the death penalty
- Morality of the death penalty
- Roughness of the crime justifies death penalty
- Violation of human rights
- Application on juveniles and mentally retarded people makes it barbaric
Arguments for the death penalty
The death penalty, gross as it appears to other people, has support from different quarters. The proponents of the death penalty are of the view that several gains are bound to be achieved at the institution of this penalty. In this segment the following will be discussed:
- Deterrence of would be criminals
- Emotional compensation to aggrieved families
- Justice achieved
- Very high costs incurred in keeping criminals
Arguments against the death penalty
Although religious views form the largest bulk of people’s opinion against the death penalty, moral, social, political and ethical perspectives will be reviewed. In this section several considerations for the opponents of this penalty will be elaborated. These will include:
- Creates a loophole for racial and ethnic discrimination
- Cruel punishment and violation of human rights
- High reversal rate indicates infallibility
- Immoral and unethical
- Unfair judgments could lead to gross damage to innocent people
- Two wrongs do not make a right
- Lack of respect for human life since it is a form of murder
Effect of emotions on my position for or against the death penalty
In as much as I feel emotional towards the aggrieved families, I still feel for persons to be executed. The weight of my feelings therefore leans towards the accused. In this segment details of why I feel the aggrieved needs to be given a chance to live will be expanded further.
Problems associated with the decision to execute a defendant from the juror’s perspective.
Several challenges are faced by the juror when coming up with a decision to send a human being to the gallows. The challenges to be highlighted here include:
- Innocence of someone already sentenced to death
- Emotions of the juror vs. the requirements of the justice system in place
- Effect of Pressure groups
- Overturning the ruling in future
How does morality play a part?
Morality’s effect on the death penalty has two faces to it. The tow perspectives that will be elaborated upon are:
- The proponents view
(ii) The opponents view
The disparity in execution rates based on race as well
This segment will pose statistics for different states that indicate how great variance occurs in persons who have been sentenced to the gallows in as much as race is concerned. Blacks Hispanics and Whites arte apparently treated differently in the judicial system as seen in several researches done. These details will be highlighted but specificity will be given on the death penalty.
Conclusion
In conclusion, all the details highlighted in this paper will be given a mention.
References
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