CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

                Nowadays, it does not take a rocket scientist to see a report about a child who is found murdered or a woman who has been raped, on the news and realize that the rate of violent crime is soaring. We live in a day and age where crime rates are rapidly increasing in nearly all of the world’s countries. What is to blame for this social unrest? Not  employing capital punishment  is not the right answer to this question. Namely, I do not agree with the idea that the death penalty is indispensable to stopping crime in societies.

                Capital punishment,which is also called the death penalty,  the execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense, has long generated  considerable debate concerning both its morality and its effect on criminal behaviour. However, the question ‘why do we kill people who kill people to show that  killing people is wrong?’ is actually enough to end all discussion regarding this matter. One of the most reasonable ways of stopping criminals from re-offending is rehabilitation. A long-term programme which includes intensive psychotheraphy and is funded through the state in order to rehabilitate offenders, particularly juveniles, helps them reintegrate into the society. If such a project is not carried out, the death penalty can be  commuted to life imprisonment. Besides, it should be underlined that the possibility of the execution of innocent persons is also an enormous problem concerning capital punishment. For  example, according to a newspaper article, studies done show that nearly five per cent of defendants sentenced to die were innocent, 1973 to 2004, in US.

                On the other hand, it is an undeniable fact that there are a number of people in favor ofcapital punishment. Their claims generally stem from  the idea of deterrence and the sense of revenge. Although,  the death penalty is thought to be a unique deterrent, some of those executed may not have been capable of being deterred because of mental ilness . Apart from this, let it be admitted that the instinct to take revenge is deeply rooted in human nature so capital punishment will be a retribution which serves this purpose, too. However, killing criminals will not relieve suffering and will not bring back victims.

                Taking everything into consideration, the death penalty that is so inhumane, cruel and degrading should be abolished in all countries due to the fact that killing criminals is neither in victims’ nor societies’ interests. In the words of Albert Camus,who is a French writer and philosopher, ‘’Capital punishment is the most premeditated of all murders’’