Death penalty
Introduction
Capital punishment refers to a legitimate process in which an individual is sentenced to death by the justice system as a remedy for the crime committed (Arthur & Paula, 2002). The real procedure of terminating the person who is guilty of murder is execution. Crimes which lead to execution are often referred to as capital offenses. It is important to note that capital punishment has been practiced in society for a very long time but its practice has of late come into criticism so some countries have abolished or limited its practice. This is because it has become an act of controversy as political ideologies in these different countries change. Another factor contributing to the diminishing application of the death penalty is the rising concern from civil rights activist who argue against the punishment saying that it goes against morality in society. The use of capital punishment should be abolished because it goes against the theory of deterrence, moral values, it is expensive, emotional cost involved and it goes against public opinion.
Theory of deterrence
The theory of deterrence is that the offender should act as an example to the general public and deter them from committing such act. Studies have shown that capital punishment does not deter potential offenders from committing crimes (Arthur & Paula, 2002).. This is due to the fact that a general consensus does not exist as to whether execution is the ultimate deterrent to committing murder. Furthermore, capital punishment has been applied sparingly in all nations in the world. Those who use it still to record a smaller percentage of execution compared to the people who are sentenced to death by the courts. It is clear that apart from a death sentence, there are other factors that contribute to people committing crime. In some countries potential offenders are driven by the poor economic situations and neediest gain of status in life, in several cities all over the world, gang members commit crimes for recognition and mission accomplishments. This shows how varied the factor leading to the commission of crime, more specifically capital crimes. Another argument that is against capital punishment is the increase in the number of crimes and homicides incidences across city streets (WMA News, 2010). This shows that the existing evidence to support the execution of capital crime offenders is not only fragile but lacks substance.
On the other hand deterrent effect is significant in cases that execution of those sentenced occurred. There is a significant relationship between the execution rate and the rate of crime reduction. Those who are in favor of the punishment have come up with new methodologies that give evidence of deterrence effect. This is done through analysis of the existing cases of capital crime execution against reports of new crimes being committed. The results though disputed show some proved deterrence (Phillips, 2009). Complicated study methods by scholars give evidence of correlation effect between murder cases and capital punishment. But the opponents of the issue argue in different tones. They believe that the new methods of econometric analysis are too complicated to give substantial results so there are many flaws. This implies that the flawed results hold no sound basis upon which conclusions can be drawn. The law enforcement officers are against the act of capital punishment. They reason that the execution can be a motivation factor for those who would want to terminate their lives through the commission of murder.
The police rank execution last in their list of factors that deter potential offenders from committing certain crimes (Terrence & George, 2012). To the police, drug abuse features prominently as a factor that ;leads to individuals committing murder and other violent crimes. It is logic that the reduction of drug abuse will deter offenders from committing these crimes and not capital punishment. The police concurs ,with the opponents of death penalty. They believe that given good economic conditions that offer job opportunities to the people, crime rates could be reduced considerably rather than use of the death sentence. Putting all arguments in mind it is apparent that the use of the death penalty does not affect the causal effects of committing murder so its use should be abolished.
Moral values and retribution
The use of the death penalty has not been effective in some cases in many countries. It still carries with it controversy. This is because of the intend with which the penalty is to apply. The justice system is supposed to give justice to the victims but at the same time ensure that there is morality in its ruling. But the application of death penalty beats ,the moral values so its use is ineffective. The proponents of capital punishment argue that capital punishment morally justifies the end result, especially in murder cases. Their reasoning is that when the use is applied in bigger murder crimes such as terrorism, multiple homicides and child murder, the death penalty serves moral duty (William, 2010).
Punishment, they believe should be painful enough to be equal to the crime committed. In the same manner, it will be unfair and unjust not to apply the death penalty in such situations since it will be a continuous painful reminder to the family members of the victims. Use of execution is effective in putting a closure to the family and friends of the murdered person. Putting the person in the prisons will only aggravate the pain in the family of the victims. The painful memories will be a thing of the past and healing sets in. Payback is always the justification of this view. The law of the jungle states that we reward those who are grateful to society and condemn those who are cruel and sadistic in society. The act of committing murder, the proponents of retribution, believe is a cruel act against society and the remedy is to face death penalty. The law should then punish and society should resent them. In the view of retribution the society inflicts equal pain to the criminals as they deserve it. The view is that the death penalty punishes while at the same time limiting the punishment. The justification is that the capital punishment acts to inflict equal measure of pain to the criminal perpetrators. Retribution believe in eye for an eye and no more than that.
Those against this say that retribution serves the same way revenge is and the moral value of the penalty is foregone. But the difference of retribution and revenge is that the former limits the pain whereas the latter does not limit punishment. This means ,that revenge, unlike retribution is unjust in its application. The fact that retribution in its application supports the courts in ruling not to give death penalty to mentally retarded, juvenile and rapists. The biblical teachings especially in the old testament applied the rule of death penalty. The proponents believed that the effective use of death penalty resulted in justice being delivered in society and acted as a measure to curb immoral behavior. Moral values condone crimes and thus to prevent it the use of capital punishment was applied. Capital punishment brings obedience and order in society. If a man leads to disintegration of humanity, he ceases to be protected by the same moral values but face its wrath. This is done by the justice system and not the victims’ relatives.
On the other hand morals state that people need to uphold moral values. Morally, there is no eye for an eye. Moral values celebrate and regard humanity with uttermost respect. This implies that if the death penalty is applied it goes against morality. The death penalty has been applied with a bias to favor the rich while oppressing the poor in society. There is no point in lamenting the act of murder yet in your punishment execution takes place. Whatever the case death penalty needs to be abolished and instead other measures applied to reduce these crimes. The intend of morality is to correct and rehabilitate offenders and not punishing them through execution. There is no pleasure in taking a person’s life however justified it may be-what will be the teaching then? The constitution gives the right to life as the most fundamental right, so death penalty goes against the constitution when used. The act inflicts and violates the human rights and should be shunned.
Opponents of death penalty reflect on it as a questionable social and biblical behavior. The mercy of God and societal morals rebuke the use of capital punishment this is because the family of the criminal would undergo torture the same way the victims. An avoidance will ensure that peace prevail. Nevertheless death penalty is incompatible with the moral obligation so its use should be abolished and alternative punishments to be applied.
Expenses
Capital punishment is costly when applied. The criminal offenders make several appeals to the court system to prove their innocence even when they are guilty. They often do this to drag the process so that they live longer. The appeal process would require a trial. In the trial, judges are required, clerks of the courts , the jury need to be present. The human resource in the delivery of the rulings requires to be paid. The government need to appoint the prosecutor and he too needs allowances, this means that the use of the death penalty would require more taxes on the citizens. The family of the victim has to be present during all the proceedings making it more expensive as they have to pay the lawyer. The system works in a way that all legal proceedings have to be finished before the person is executed so more cost. The proponents of the penalty argue that it is illogical for capital punishment to be more costly than a life sentence.
The imprisonment infarct is the most expensive since the state has to give constitutional rights to the individual which will be expenses for his lifetime. This would have been avoided through the use of capital punishment. Life sentences require that the offenders be put under tight security and more attention in terms of personnel be given to them. This amounts to misuse of resources. It is against the spirit of the constitution to think of justice in monetary value, justice is supposed to be fair and the reference to money brings unfairness. It is evident that death penalty the resources put in life imprisonment are meant to protect life and rehabilitate the offender , but in the application of capital punishment, money is wasted in trying to execute a person which is cruel so the use of the death penalty should be abolished.
Effectiveness
Those opposed to death penalty argue that inflicting death is not a reason enough to control crime. This is because criminal offenders are judged so that crime rates can be reduced. The punishment given to wrong doers is meant to act as a lesson for those intending to involve themselves in crime. In lieu of the argument they suggest that alternative penalties should be imposed to correct the crime rates all over the country.
Imprisonment for life can be an effective correction to the criminals. It will keep them away from normal life and that is daunting enough to ,make them change their behavior. This can be the best way of expressing community’s condemnation of the crime and disregard for law. According to Beccaria the certainty of a penalty rather than severity, is the effective method of crime prevention. However. The proponents of the death penalty countered this argument by claiming that it served its purpose for the criminal offenders . This is because it gave a complete condemnation of the act. Furthermore they believed that the killing of the offender was a special way of crime prevention. They were convinced that death sentence was the most effective deterrent as people fear death and the other alternatives are mere restrictions.
The effectiveness of death penalty still rages on. The proponents and opponents engage in bitter arguments on which ways are the best. Scholars in different fields especially the social sciences did intensive research on the effectiveness by comparing the crime rates before and after death penalty became obsolete. What is alarming is that the statistics collected show minimal or no relation to these two variables. Crime rates thus are influenced by other factors within and outside our grasp. Those opposed to the penalty point out that the same studies refute the existence of deterrent in cases applied. The deterrent view of the proponents is seen as a negative outcome and hold no waters. On the defensive side, proponents maintain that since the capital punishment is imposed on the worst criminals, data of their effect might not be made public. This might be the reason for studies not yielding any conclusive results. The effectiveness of the death penalty cannot be proven or refuted, but what is certain that the efficiency of capital punishment is questionable.
Public opinion
A unique fact that comes into play about the modern debate on the death penalty is the inclusion of human rights activism. The civil society is more concerned about the human rights violation rather than offering alternative ways of dealing with this kind of criminals. Majorly, the increase awareness of the human rights comes from the temperatures of political situations that was characterized by assassinations (Bing, 2012). The public’s argument against the death penalty have been aggravated by the abolitionist group regarding many levels of society , including ethnic and racial segregation, issues surrounding the eye witness, false confession, application of the punishment sparingly and complications that characterize the use of DNA. This argument has come out prominently more so in the legal and and scholarly community. But sill some members of the public maintain their support of the death penalty.
The support though has considerably reduced over the recent past due to the emergence of life imprisonment. The police and the judicial system are increasingly following the masses in rebuking the penalty. Their attitudes towards the sentence are in favor of abolition, though like the public have some proponents due to their emotions. The general costs and the societal wrongs that are attached to death penalty leaves no doubt that it is a bad precedent in practice, so another alternative penalty should be used to punish the criminals.
Conclusively the use of capital punishment should be abolished. The law enforcement and the justice system have ethical and moral values to uphold. They should have therefore committed to ensuring that all persons get a fair share of justice which does not involve use of the death penalty. It is apparent that however effective the death penalty is applied, it does not deter potential offenders from committing crime.
References
Arthur, L. & Paula M. (2002). Executive The Will of The Voters ?: A Roadmap to Mend or End The California Legislature’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Death Penalty Debacle. Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 44, 224-41.
Bing, Z. (2012).Improvement of Rights Protection of Criminal of Death Penalty in China. School of Law Journal 8, 44-40.
Phillips, S. (2009). Criminology: Legal Disparities in Capital of Capital Punishment.Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 99, 717-755.
Terrence P. & George F. (2012). A Tale of Two Towns: Why Relying on Aggravating Circumstances to Support Capital Punishment among Law Enforcement Has Become So Aggravating. International Journal of Business and Social Science 3, 111-103.
William, W. (2010). Ending Death Dangerousness A Palm to The Abolition of The Death Penalty. Arizona Law Review 52,924-889.
WMA News, (2010). White Paper On Ethical Issues Concerning Capital Punishment. World Medical Journal, 87-82.
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