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’’
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