Total Words : 1,204

Is the Death Penalty Eligible for justification?

INTRODUCTION:

For centuries, the death penalty has been a crucial feature of refinement and has
undergone modification in accordance with the passing times. It is defined as the
“Execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law,
(Hood, 2021 ) and even dates back from 1792 BC to 1750 BC during the reign of
Hammurabi. (Pickup, 2018) The concept itself is a very controversial solution in hopes
of reducing high profile crime cases in today’s society and tackles various aspects of
not only the justice system but also criminals daily lives. The method has received its
fair share of backlash as well as support from the people as each case is different
from the other while also questioning humanities moral, utilitarian, and practical
judgment as well as taking into account everyone’s values and beliefs. During the
course of this essay, I will be diving into the advantages and disadvantages of the
death penalty using secondary as well as primary resources to elaborate whether the
particular option is justifiable or not. (169)

RESEARCH:

The death penalty is only to be used for serious offences such as murder, rape,
blasphemy, prophecy, armed robbery, repeated drug use, adultery, apostasy, sorcery,
and witchcraft and may be prescribed by any state legislature for the following and
other capital crimes. They may be carried out by beheading, firing squad, stoning and
even poisonous injections. (Robin, 2015) Since this method is permanent and harsh, a
case is meant to be thoroughly examined by higher professionals while considering
the accused’s life history and what made them act in such an aggressive manner or
whether they plead guilty or not. Severe cases can take up to months and years of
evaluation while some might even be ruled early on. (118)

First off, let us consider the perspective, “The death penalty is indeed justifiable.”
Main source materials argue that sentencing the perpetuator to death pays proper
respect to the deceased victim and does not only bring justice but also provides a
sense of consolation for the victims family while also acting as a deterrence to future
potentially harmful members of society, causing them to reconsider their decision
before committing a horrific act. Many also project that it helps reduce the crime rates
in that particular country and that often sentencing someone to death serves as a
cheaper alternative rather than keeping them in life imprisonment. (104)

The validity of these claims are indeed criticisable, as many others argue that the
concept would do more harm than good. It can prove to be highly disadvantages for
people of lower caste who don’t have enough money for a good lawyer and get
scammed or wrongly convicted for a crime they did not commit. People of
determination as well as people of colour are more likely of being sentenced
especially where white victims cases are concerned. For instance, a study conducted
by Professors Michael Radelet and Glenn Pierce in 2011 who examined 15,281
homicides in the state of North Carolina between 1980 and 2007 found that “the odds
of a defendant receiving a death sentence were three times higher if the person was
convicted of killing a white person than if he had killed a black person.” (National
Coalation to Abolish the Death Penalty, n.d.) (138)

Next up, we will consider the perspective, “The death penalty is not justifiable.”
Sources in favour of this opinion argue that this form of severe punishment violates
an individual’s right to live and that criminals can get lower sentences when
considering their background history and the way they have grown up. Other points
such as racial bias, innocent people getting falsely accused, corrupt system, and
causes harm for prison workers as well. “The death penalty is a symptom of a culture
of violence, not a solution to it.” (Amnesty International, n.d.)They say that by giving the
death penalty to the criminals actually prevents the criminal from learning their lesson
and instead encourages battling violence with even more violence promoting a bad
message to the future generations and ensuing higher crime rates. (129)

Of course, these claims can either be rebuked or justified as per the validity of the
case and taking into consideration a criminals behaviour and upbringing. Another
interesting question is raised questioning about why the felonious should be getting
their right to live when they couldn’t even respect the victims right to live in the first
place as it serves as middle ground for contradiction of one of the reasons why the
death penalty is indeed a suitable punishment. Also taking into consideration the
corrupt system and how people in power can easily avoid heavy and lifelong
sentences just because of bribery and corruption in the legal community, this might
contain prosecutors, lawyers, fake claims and even judges to lower their sentence as
per the oppositions status and connections no matter how grave the assault, but, if
the death penalty is implemented permanently and used correctly then people high of
the social ladder will have no shortcuts to take and will be punished according to the
severity of the crime rightfully, hoping to reduce similar offences in the future. For
example, “A comprehensive analysis of nearly 57,000 corruption cases in federal
courts spanning 30 years revealed that fraud and bribery dominated the types of
conduct underlying criminal cases, accounting for 76% of the lead charges in cases
resulting in convictions. Those two unlawful behaviour types, combined with
extortion and conspiracy, broadly informed the lead charges in virtually all examined
corruption convictions in federal courts from 1985 to 2015.” (National Institute of
Justice, 2020) (248)

After evaluating the arguments put forward by either side, I believe that both
perspectives are equally right in their own circumstances however, the perspective
“the death penalty is not justifiable” is the most convincing for many reasons. The
first being that that the sources which support this perspective have clearly rebutted
arguments brought up by the opposing perspective. That being said, I believe that
this perspective is further fortified by using precise statistics and such factual basis
which allows us to believe that the information provided is reliable.

Thus, after reflecting on the proposed question, one can understand the logical
rationale behind the two standpoints addressed. Initially, my view on this is issue was
neutral because of its equilibrium of flaws and advantages. Yet, after the completion
of this essay based on through analysis of a wide range of sources, I can rationalise
with the idea of a future without the death penalty must be recognised. However, it
must be clarified that the research made for this essay is limited and cannot confirm
whether I fully oppose or support the method. In order to strengthen my stance on
this issue, I need to carry out further research into the different requirements needed
to carry out the penalty. Since the topic itself is on a wide scale of influences and
could be researched in a more practical manner, it would also be ideal to analyse the
mathematical element of the issue from a wide scale. Perhaps a more demanding task
in the further research of hosting is that of the validity of the information. Finally, I
believe that removing the death penalty would be a much suitable option for the
future of the criminal justice system serving as a variable albeit primary alternative for
the main issue at hand. (298)
Bibliography
Amnesty International, n.d. Amnesty International. [Online]
Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/
[Accessed 20 8 2021].

Hood, R., 2021 . britannica. [Online]

Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/capital-punishment
[Accessed 11 august 2021].

National Coalation to Abolish the Death Penalty, n.d. National Coalation to Abolish the Death
Penalty. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ncadp.org/pages/race-of-the-victim
[Accessed 16 August 2021].

National Institute of Justice, 2020. A Handful of Unlawful Behaviors, Led by Fraud and Bribery,
Account for Nearly All Public Corruption Convictions Since 1985. [Online]
Available at: https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/handful-unlawful-behaviors-led-fraud-and-bribery-
account-nearly-all-public
[Accessed 21 August 2021].

Pickup, O., 2018. raconteur. [Online]

Available at: https://www.raconteur.net/the-history-of-the-death-penalty/
[Accessed 11 august 2021].

Robin, C., 2015. grin. [Online]

Available at: https://www.grin.com/document/295417
[Accessed 11 august 2021].