Will we ever find a significant excuse to end a person’s life in order to reach justice or satisfaction?
A gas chamber, a gun, electrocution, lethal injection. 1507 men and women have died due to these forms of execution in the United States alone since the 1970s.
Will we ever find a significant excuse to end a person’s life in order to reach justice or satisfaction?
The death penalty is a form of capitol punishment used to bring justice and peace to the family and friends of a victim. It is used towards those who have committed such unlawful acts that results in their own death. The death penalty is still used to this day in a number of state prisons around the globe and still as backlash and discussion has arisen from this controversial way of life there has been no indication of the abolishment of this punishment in a number of countries. We are living in a world where we abide by the rules of society. Our morals and values overturn every action we make which is sending a message to the people in the wider world around us. Do we want our children growing up in a world where an “Eye for an eye” is the acceptable norm? The first perspective I will be discussing is that the death penalty does not abide by correct morals and should be abolished. And my second perspective is that the death penalty is a necessary tool in keeping peace in society and should be used as a form of capitol punishment.
In “And Then There Were None” a man by the name of Justice Wargrave worked in a courthouse and was responsible for sentencing people who have committed offences to their death. An example was when Wargrave was responsible for sending a man whom the jury believed was innocent to be hanged, later we found out that man was guilty of murder and Wargrave was just doing his job. Quoted “Justice comes to all”. This example shows us that it may not be the jury or judges fault in sentencing someone to their death as they are merely doing the job they have been given.
The first perspective that I will be discussing is that the death penalty does not abide by correct morals and should be abolished.
Since 1973, more than 160 people have been released from death row with evidence of complete innocence, many of these being minutes away from their fate.
The torture these criminals have had to endure by being led to their deathbeds is inhumane and no person should ever have to go through with this. How many more of us must die to reach satisfaction? Everyday people are sentenced to death for a variety of crimes, in some countries this can be related to drug offences and in others, counter terrorism and murder. People spend years waiting for their trial and do not know when their last day will come. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, degrading punishment that dates back to this day and should not be continued. “The death penalty is simply a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it”.
The use of the death penalty for under the ages of 18 is prohibited under the human acts law but yet some country’s still sentence and execute juvenile defendants. Since 1990, Amnesty International has recorded and dated 145 executions of child offenders in 10 different countries. At the time of writing, Iran has executed at least 97 child offenders since 1990.
There has been no indication that the death penalty does deter crime. Countries who use the penalty as a away of punishment cite it as a way to stop people from committing that particular unlawful act. But this claim has no evidence that the death sentence is any more effective in reducing rates than a life sentence would be. Another point to make is that the controversial sentence is irreversible, and when mistakes can happen there is no possibility of going back. Execution is the ultimate irreversible punishment and the execution of an innocent person can never be eliminated.
Within the walls of the courthouse the weight of the penalty given can be strongly carried against those with less advantages in social economic backgrounds and ethnic groups. This includes having limited resources to legal representation and having a greater disadvantage in their knowledge of the criminal justice system.
Criminals must have a form of punishment so they are able to recognise the crimes they have committed but the death penalty deprives people of the opportunity to reform. If we treat humans like animals they will act like animals. We need to find a solution to better decrease our crime rates and killing people isn’t the answer.
The second opinion I will be discussing is that the death penalty is a necessary tool in keeping peace in society and should be continued as a form of capitol punishment.
Ted Bundy, America’s most notorious serial killer and rapist of the late 20th century was executed by electric chair in the state of Florida in 1989. What was the crime that lead to this severe punishment. Bundy is known to of murdered at least 36 women but officials believe the number is closer to 100. His killings often followed a gruesome pattern, he raped them then brutally killed, showing no mercy. One of his victims being a girl named Kimberly leach, Kimberly was 12 years old at the time. In trial Bundy fought for his life but was convicted and sentenced to death, spending nine years on death row before his execution. This is just one example in which the crime committed had a fair punishment. No family member, no friend should be able to see their victims killer ever out. The thought that they are living within a state prison may cause serious harm to the mental health of others.
The death sentence in the United States is only given to those who have committed such foul crimes that have taken away a person’s life and ability to succeed. The majority of Americans to be correct 54% of the country still approve of executing perpetrators despite the risk that an innocent may be killed. They believe that real justice requires people to suffer for their wrongdoing. The harder the crime the harder the time, and in case of murder this may result in death. Inflicting an appropriate punishment towards the criminal is in the manner in which the Jury responds to society’s cry for justice against the criminal.
Having looked through both perspectives on the death penalty, I truly believe execution from the government does not abide by correct morals and should be abolished. I believe that the values we set for ourselves and the community hinder what future generations may see as right. I do not want this form of capital punishment to go on for any longer as there has been no evidence in it actually working for reducing rates in crime and it seems to be more of a threat to society than a real solution. “There is no justice in killing in the name of justice”.
In conclusion of this speech we have discussed two totally different perspectives for and against capitol punishment of the death penalty.Weve discussed how crime rate does not decrease due to this punishment, how offenders are stripped of their right to reform and what values we believe in in society to bring us to this penalty. We know a bit more about Ted Bundy and his right to die due to the penalty as he took away a large number people’s right to live. We found the significance in the novel “And Then There Were None” where Justice Wargrave was just completing his duty to sentence people to death. Ive exaplined my own perspective in believing wrong in the death penalty how this is not the correct way to stop rates and how the real solution is yet o come.
Now I will ask you one last time, Will we ever find a significant excuse to end a person’s life in order to reach justice or satisfaction?
Thank you.