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Thursday, April 24, 2008
4:37 PM
Capital punishment- Application Question 2
For or against death penalty? That’s a difficult choice which many are torn in between. Yet, I have decided not to sit on the fence. I am a supporter of the death penalty, but only in certain unique contexts. I believe that death penalty should be meted out only after considering the circumstances and situation in which the crime is committed.
For example, murder can be classified into two groups, homicide and premeditated murder. In the case of homicide, the murders are usually unintentional and accidental. It is most likely the pressing situation in which the person is placed in that causes him to make such a decision. As we all know, people break under pressure. Thus, it is understandable that people commit murders under pressure, but of course, this is not totally justifiable. One common situation which leads to homicide is that the life of the murderer is a stake. This signals to us that the murder was commitd on basis of self-defense. If so, we cannot penalize the person for trying to safeguard his own life. Hence, I feel that in such cases, death penalty should not be the punishment. In this context, rehabilitation would be more appropriate as it would help the criminal learn how to deal with pressure and extreme situations, as well as how to control their emotions. This way, the criminal can once again integrate into the society. Like what is stated in article 2, ‘punishment should not only be retributive, but should also try to rehabilitate the criminal, enabling him to live in society again.’ Since their intention of murder was not premeditated, I believe they should be given a chance to live again.
This brings me to my next point, and that is premeditated or planned murder should not be tolerated. In these cases, the death penalty is justifiable because the murder already had a motive from the beginning, and that is to kill. This reflects the unsound mindset of the murderer. If allowed back into the society, or even if kept alive, they would pose a gregarious threat. With a higher probability of committing crimes again, I am strongly against them being allowed back into the society, as they may incur even more harm to the innocent. Article 1 stated that, ‘if the execution of one saves three other innocent lives, or even two, it would still be an attractive trade-off and a persuasive benefit-cost ratio’. In addition, article 3 states that ‘if no death penalty is imposed, then most criminals would face life imprisonment without parole’. This might further aggravate the situation as life imprisonment without parole would mean that prisoners would have no aim with nothing to look forward to. When this happens, they would be emboldened and spurred to commit more murders as there end result would still be the same- life imprisonment. Thus, death penalty is an effective deterrence against potential criminals.
In conclusion, death penalty can bring about positive benefits if implemented in the right context. Many would argue that that would be a breach of human rights. However, what right does the criminal have in taking away the lives of others? If they do not respect the human rights that their victims have, then why then should the same liberty be extended to them?
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