The Arguments of Supporters and Opposers of Death Penalty

The death penalty is a widley discussed topic around the world, most comonly in America. While there are many supporters of such act there is also a large amount of opposition. As of may 30th there are 29 states in which the death penalty is legal and 21 in which have abolished the act. Since it is such a controversial there are both strengths and weaknesses which can be looked into in great detail.

One of the cons of the death penalty is that it is a large burdon to tax payers the actual cost of carrying out the death penalty is said to be 2-5 times more expensive then leaving the offender in prison for as many years as posible.The process of reaching the final decision as whether to follow through with the excecution is too long because it entails a large amount of appeals, detailed procedures, as well as legal wrangling which drags the whole process as the criminal can be tried for sometimes longer than 20 years. All this detailed process requires funding to facilitate various court officials ranging from attorney general, judges, court clerks and other vital facilities required in court. Similarly capital punishment is quite unusual and barbaric and more so it violates the human rights each individual has which shouldn't be taken away by the gouvernment as its not their place to. Most methods used to administer the punishment are very cruel for instance hanging the culprit, use of electric chair and even detaining the victim in a gas chamber but more recently the use of lethal injection. Death sentence is associated with psychological torture and stress to the family of the prisoner because it makes the family cease to see one of its loved members an incident that brings double suffering to the affected family.

One of the pros for using this type of punishment is that it helps minimize crime it sends a great warning to other people who may have the motive of acting on capital offences and therefore would help reduce such behavior as there is a more severe consequence for such acts. Likewise death penalty ensures that justice is served in the most appropriate way when applied in the case of murderers because it’s the best punishment that fits such crime, a good example where justice was well served was in the prosecution of former Iraq president Sadam Hussein and his close allies who acted on the killing of innocent Iraq citizens. It also serves as the best form of punishment for prisoners serving life imprisonment because when left he can instigate the killing of others outside of prison who had links with their case It is also paramount to note that death penalty helps in solving overpopulation in prisons and preventing future occurrence of similar crime. It’s known worldwide that if a prisoner escapes from cells he is capable of claiming the lives of many especially the witness to help emerge the winner due to lack of evidence. It’s also agreeable that when death penalty is eliminated then the only option left will be housing the criminal for life in cell, This implies that the resources to cater for these very offenders should be doubled ranging from prison guards, food, clothing and many others.

However another con of the death penalty is the innocence rate (4.1%). In america alone there have been over 600 innocent people who have falsely been accused of capital crimes and 35 convicted and sentenced to death. According to a new study 70% of the trials leading to death have serious mistakes in them this just shows that if 100 people were put to death row, 70 would have had serious mistakes made in their trials which could have potentially led to a false conviction. Furthermore in the past few years over 150 people have been taken off of death row. in some occasions the prosecutors have been withholding exculpatory information going into the trial knowing that the defendant was going through with a guilty plea trial for a crime they had not committed. In many situations the defendants can not afford attorneys so legally the state must provide effective representation. However the appointed attorneys are overworked, underpaid or lack experience required for a death penalty case. For example in the Anthony porter case the council failed to pursue evidence suggesting someone other than Porter was resposible for the murder, failed to fully investigate Porters alibi defences, they failed to prepare two alibi whitnesses that were called to trial and finally failed to meet with Porter except just before and after his trial.

Those who support the death penalty bevieve in retribution and punnishment. Which consists of the beliefs that all guilty people deserved to be punished for their actions, but they have to be guilty with hard evidence so they have truly earned their conciquences and finally that the punishment should be fitting for the crime so if you have murdered someone you deserve the death penalty. It is believed that the punishment should be specific for the crime and case filed against it as each situation is different. It is believed that the death penalty is giving the criminal no chance to prove that they have changed as they will not be leaving prison however there are many examples of people convicted of the death penalty have taken the oppertuinity of time to work before their excution date to work on repenance, work on expressing remorse and have experianced a profound spiritual rehabilitation. By investing in religion it helps pass the time and make the experience of prison more bearable as the inmate has something they can focus on and keep out of trouble.

Conclusively, with or without the death penalty people are still going to commit crimes as much as they have been some studies explaining that the death penalty is an effective form of deterrance, there laks conclusive evidence to prove that people are deterred. The arguments put forward by both people who support and are against the death penalty often put forward the personal opinions and beliefs which are rooted due to personal experiances which are unlikely changed by others opinions. Personally i believe that the death penalty should not be completely abolished but should only be used in certain situations where the criminal is 100 percent responisble for the crime which is commited.