Explain The Arguments In Support And Against The Death Penalty (Essay Sample)

Death Penalty
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation
The death penalty is a very contentious and a very serious matter of debate in the USA since very few democracies in the world practice it, yet around sixty-seven percent of public opinion supports it. Some argue that there are other humane measures of punishing the criminal which include life imprisonment with or without parole. Different countries in the world have unique ways of executing people; these may be hanging, stoning, lethal injection as in the US, firing squads, electric chairs, poisonous gases, etc. This article presents a better understanding of the various arguments for and against capital punishment.
Arguments in support of death penalty.
First, it serves as the greatest warning. If prospecting criminals have the knowledge that if they commit murder, they will be sentenced to death, very few of would undoubtedly kill. It is important and almost impossible to ask the question, whether prospecting criminals are cautious of engaging in the crime of murder? In the broader scale, the death penalty remains the greatest warning for all murder related crimes (Dylan & Gatner, 2016). The system of justice in which the criminals know that justice will ensure that they are sentenced to death no matter what might appear or seem dragon like. This makes them not inclined to break the law and engage in crime.
Secondly, it pronounces the end of grief to victims. Once a person has been killed, many people are left as victims of to that single murder. Even if the criminals are caught, beaten, hospitalized and then convicted, the form retribution might be severe, but the deceased has no part in this since they are gone. The killer has already robbed the family and friends of their loved one. Execution of the murderer may not end the grief but brings a feeling of relief of not having to think about the trauma again.
Arguments against.
First, it is an act of hypocrisy. It is odd that a state will proclaim publicly against the murder of innocent citizens but also commit the same act CITATION Joh06 \l 1033 (Johnson, 2006). By this, it is campaigning for the right to life by robbing other citizens the same right CITATION Kov09 \l 1033 (Kovandzic et al, 2009). Opponents of capital punishment claim that murderers like Ted Bunny ought to have been allowed to live a life of liberty free from parole. If the objectives of any retribution, is teaching people things they ought not to do, the system then ought to teach the criminality of murder by denying doing it.
Secondly, it is not convincing. The prior knowledge of any form of retribution is to convince the criminals not to do the crime, the question is, why are there people killing others today? According to statistics from the USA, the rate of murder in 2012 stood at 4.8 victims per 100,000- this translates to 15,000 victims of murder in that year (Dylan & Gatner, 2016). This shows that the death penalty seems not to be changing people's minds about killing innocent people.
There are many criminal justice systems in the USA each of which is unique. The country's constitution prescribes that certain measures be put in place for the implementation of justice for the suspect to be protected from excessive interference by the state. The following description outlines the flow of events in responding to serious criminal activities (Mark D. Cunningham, 2010). One, enforcing the law. Most people do not achieve justice since most of the crimes are not reported to the authorities. Agencies enforce the law know that a crime has happened from citizens, victims, spies, investigation and intelligence activities. If a law enforcement officer is convicted that a crime occurred, they identify and apprehend the suspect so that the case goes through the system. Second, prosecuting the suspect. The police give details of the case and the suspect to the prosecutor who makes decisions whether to initiate charges on the accused or not.
Texas is the leading state in executions in the USA with 536 executions since 1982. Some of the people who have gone through the death penalty in Texas were suffering from mental illnesses. There have been a lot of efforts to champion the non- execution of mentally ill inmates. The supreme court of US in 2002 affirmed that it was not constitutional to execute people who are mentally ill. Up to date, there has been no exclusion of mentally retarded people from executions. Also, the Supreme Court in the USA, 1986 ruled in the case of Ford V. Wainwright that it is not constitutional to execute a person who understands not the reason for their punishment. Each state was to establish the competency for execution. The Texas parliament failed to initiate a statute that would govern the establishment of competencies up to 1999. In Texas, defense upon insanity is not used often and is usually unsuccessful. Various associations like the American Psychological Association have been against the execution of culprits with serious mental problems CITATION Hja09 \l 1033 (Hjalmarsson, 2009).
Identified below are countries regarding executions pe...