Is the Death Penalty Effective? (Essay Sample)

Is the Death Penalty Effective?
Student’s Name
Institution
Is the death penalty effective?
Capital punishment is one of the most debated forms of correction in the judicial systems across the world. Serious crimes like terrorism and mass murders have attracted capital punishment with few options existing for the offender. Death penalty dates back as far as human recordings can trace. According to Korobeev (2013), death penalty is among the most ancient forms of criminal punishment as recorded in the Bible and other ancient monarchies in historical records. Some resonant and egregious cases of extreme murders across the world may need to apply death penalty despite strong criticism from human rights activists. Although capital punishment does not give room for the offenders to reform, it should be applied. Its abolishment can lead to sharp increase of extreme crimes thus it is effective in curbing extremism.
Execution of a guilty person is done to prevent future crimes of the same nature and prevent potential criminals from committing same crimes. Most countries have applied capital punishment in their history in controlling extreme crimes related to humanity. Records say that 60% of the world’s population is found in countries practicing death penalty. Death penalty acts as a way of ensuring justice is done to the victims while ensuring the guilt person does not repeat the crime again (Johnson, 2011). Shedding of blood was viewed as making up for the crimes committed, a view that many people hold in the current society. Offering to jail other criminals associated with minor crimes instills fear on potential offenders. In the Case of McVeigh, the victims of Oklahoma City bombings got their reprieve after handing death sentence to the perpetrator, Timothy McVeigh, who masterminded the crime (Tigar, 2014). This confirms that serious crimes need death penalty to avert similar crimes in future.
The society has a way of classifying crimes in level of severity. The "worst of the worst" crimes are often accorded capital punishment. Crimes like treason, espionage, and murder attract capital punishment especially in the western countries while Middle East countries practice capital punishment for crimes like adultery, sodomy, religious crimes, human trafficking, and drug trafficking (Noakes, 2014). Insubordination in military practices attracts death penalty in many countries. The level of standardizing crimes ensures order in the society since people fear to be executed. Extremism, including radicalization, has produced criminals who do not fear death punishment. To an extent, capital punishment prevents extremism in the society by instilling fear and eradicating guilty extremists.
Modern execution methods like lethal injections, electric chair and killing by firing squad leave the family members in pain. Killing of offenders amounts to revenge for the victims rather than punishing the offender. Objective of death penalty is to eradicate the criminal from society, the same way jail separates them from the free community. Spending life in jails and offering service to community can amount to satisfactory amount of punishment. This ...