Defending Death: My Stance on the Death Penalty
The death penalty has long been considered a controversial subject: Is taking another person's life a form of justice or is it an act of immorality that should be abolished? Because justice demands death for some serious crimes and because the death penalty increases the net benefit to society, I ultimately agree with the death penalty.
The death penalty brings peace of mind to the overall community. Knowing that an offender will no longer commit a crime gives the community a sense of comfort and relaxation, for those who are put to death under the death penalty no longer have a chance to commit any crimes. While the death penalty may not restore a damaged family, it brings closure to the offender's actions and to the victim's family.
Human life is important; that is why we must strive to protect it by enforcing the death penalty. By using the death penalty, society saves more lives than it loses; more people are apt to think twice about committing a crime if they know their life may be forfeit if they are caught. By deterring crime, the death penalty prevents many of the feelings of pain and anguish that families of victims often feel after an offense is committed and preserves the life and integrity of a family and community.
Moreover, the death penalty does not commemorate the human disregard for life but rather stands as our testament to it: Were we not to use the death penalty, it would mean that we do not consider the value of human life so great that a murder by one person does not deserve the murderer's death.The death penalty is not the blind killing of criminals; rather, it is a legal form of justice by which we may uphold the importance of life we hold dear.
Perhaps, too, the death penalty can be considered more humane and more efficient than life in prison; wasting away in prison, a criminal with a life sentence no longer really experiences life, and, perhaps, death would be a greater act of compassion.
Justice is the concept of righting a crime or wrong-doing. It involves
the consequences and the penalties of one's actions and the resolution
of the fears and tensions of the offended party. Ultimately, justice demands the highest form of payment for some crimes, and that payment is the life of the offender.
One of my issues with the death penatly is the length of time it takes to actually put a criminal to death. I'm not expert and have not done any recent homework, but last I heard, it took years to actually carry out the sentence. Does this not increase the chances of some masterminds to escape? How long does it have to be to get the peace of mind you talked about in this post?
ReplyDeleteHi TinaAnn,
DeleteThanks for your response. I'm not an expert either, but allow me to try to explain your concerns:
First of all, yes, I do believe quite a bit of time elapses between someone being sentenced to death and the actual death of the criminal. I don't quite know why this is so, but I presume that it's a humane ideal in that it allows the criminal to reach closure within his or her mind. I also think that there's such a long period of time because sentences are appealed over and over again.
The community obtains pieces of "peace of mind" or comfort in a variety of ways. First, when the criminal is captured; second, when he is convicted; third, when he is locked away; finally, when he is dead (and thus unable to escape or cause any more damage). While I'm not exactly sure if masterminds condemned to death are capable of escaping prison while awaiting their sentencing (though I'm sure it's possible), my point was that comfort is brought to the community via the steps enumerated above.
Finally, I find it important to point out that some communities never achieve an ideal "peace of mind" or sense of closure. Rather, we hear stories about those who are "scarred" or forever haunted by the remembrance of a child or friend whose life was changed forever by a particular criminal. Closure is hard to obtain when a serious crime is committed, but I believe the death penalty is an important step in administering justice and in restoring the community.
Once again, thank you for your comment and I hope you enjoyed your stay here at ATWC :)
Owner.ATWC
I believe in justice and I believe murder is wrong, but I don't condone the death penalty,I agree Justice is the concept of righting a crime or wrong-doing, but how is killing someone for killing someone, or whatever the crime may be, how is that righting a wrong, sounds like wronging a wrong if that makes sense, thats more in the sense of a life for a life, but I dare you to think outside the box and consider, the people that are sitting on death row that are wrongly convicted. I believe the system is too screwed up to allow a group of my peers to sentence people to death. I believe the system will convict someone who is innocent as well as it they are guilty if prosecuters and lawyers can manipulate the evidence to look so. I believe the system is so off balanced to where it will let a lady (Casey anthony) walk, just because they couldn't find her babies body, when all evidence points to her as the killer, We live in a time where a self proclaimed neighborhood watchman kills an innocent teenager and not get even much as handcuffed, because a bs law called stand your ground, when clearly the neighborhood watchman didn't feel threatened to even use this law because he continue to follow and pursue the child, I can go on and on about how the system is so messed up, and how it has convicted innocent people and let murderers walk free. So this is my biggest concern with the death penalty one day if Im in the wrong place at the wrong time and the prosecuters could manipulate enough evidence to accuse, prosecute and kill me of a crime I didn't commit. Every one in jail screams they are innocent and maybe 90% of them are guilty but what about that small percentage that are in there wrongfully, now thats life wasted.
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