Is Death Penalty Effective? (Essay Sample)

Is the Death Penalty Effective?
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Is the Death Penalty Effective
The acrimonious debate regarding the deterrence effects of capital punishment has been ongoing on for years. While some factions deem it as a just form of retribution for capital crimes committed and therefore, support its enforcement, there are those who are vehemently opposed to it citing it as an antiquated practice that is barbaric and one that contravenes the provisions of the constitution concerning human rights. According to recent statistics released by Amnesty International for the year 2015, 1634 convicted criminals were executed in 25 countries globally. In the United States alone, 28 state executions were sanctioned which were seven fewer than the previous year (amnesty.org). Most of the death row convicts were exonerated signifying a positive development towards the total abolishment of the practice. This paper contends the death penalty as an effective crime deterrent tool as opposed to other forms of retribution such as life imprisonment.
It is indubitable that human life is precious and that death is an irrevocable process. With this in mind, most of the abolitionists contend the morality of state-sanctioned killings. Their assertions are that murder is an abhorrent act. Therefore, any state that justifies the killing of another individual as chastisement for a crime whether heinous or not violates the constitution’s proscription of unusual and cruel methods of castigation. As ratified in the constitution’s Fifth Amendment Act, all citizens are entitled to equal protection by the state. Additionally, the state should observe the due process of law before prosecuting any person for whatever crimes they are alleged to have committed. In their study of the constitutionality of capital punishment in the United States, Money & Lee (1999) dismissed state executions as acts that exemplified the tragic efficacy and barbarousness of violence when applied as a solution to intricate social problems. Recently, more than fifty national organizations came forth to form the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, the modernistic vanguard in the campaign to pressure the government to rescind the use of capital punishment. They strongly oppose the use of the death penalty since it has failed in its cause as a crime deterrence tool.
In this modern era, the death penalty is considered as an anachronistic and inhumane tradition. Contrary to the outlooks of policy makers, a plethora of evidence collated from various surveys suggest that none of the methods employed in executions are humane. Execution is carried by electrocution, hanging, lethal injection, firing squad, or lethal gas. If not properly executed, there are high risks of bungling which would translate to the horrendous physical torture of the convict. In the past, such mishaps have been witnessed for example; during the electrocution of John Evans in 1983, failure to apply the appropriate amount of voltage subjected him to an agonizing death that lasted for more than ten minutes (Van den Haag & Conrad, 2013). Where the chosen method is the gallows, the correct height of the drop must be accurately determined in order to avoid decapitation or strangulation. Statistics provided by the Death Penalty Information Center indicate that lethal injection and lethal gas have recorded the highest percentages of botched executions (Van den Haag & Conrad, 2013). Such incidences only prove that the assertions professed by policy makers that these methods are purely humane are flawed. No method can be assumed as a sure way of killing a person humanely, which certainly implies that, the death penalty is not the best method to punish capital criminals.
Among the numerous arguments posited against capital punishment, perhaps the most cogent contention is the arbitrariness associated with the justice system. Erroneous convictions have been the norm owing to the numerous flaws that plague the justice system. In the United States alone, current statistics indicate that 1414 convicts on death row have been executed since the high court lifted the moratorium on executions in 1976. On the other hand, an incredible 156 commutations have been granted after newly found evidence challenged their wrongful convictions (Roberts‐Cady, 2010). Most of the fresh evidence mainly uncovered by private investigators is said to have been overlooked at the time of their trials. Besides, a majority of the state officials and offices involved in these capit