The Death Penalty should be Abolished.

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Abstract

            Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty is the killing of an individual as the punishment for the crimes that they have committed. Death penalty advocates argue that the sentence is needed in the contemporary days due to the increase in homicides and serious offenses; hence the death penalty can work as the most robust corrective measure in crime-prone situations. Some people believe that many innocent individuals will be saved by offering capital punishment to the dreaded offenders. Retributive thought that capital punishment is essential to maintain retributive justice where killers get the full consequences they deserve and the utilitarian argument that capital punishment prohibits or is crucial to disable prospective offenders have significantly supported the death penalty in various states. In contrast, the primary argument against capital punishment is that it is unethical, and immoral as it is against human rights. Whichever the case for or against capital punishment, in the use of the law such as the death penalty on a state level it is important to take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of the practice in the country. The primary reasons behind the establishment of capital punishment are the ethical and moral issues associated with it, its efficiency in accomplishing its purposes; and whether there exist other options for achieving similar objectives as that of capital punishment. A lot of arguments have been made for and against; this research paper argues against capital punishment and why it should be abolished in the US.

The Death Penalty should be Abolished.

Problem statement

Love for life is the primary attribute of human behavior. Life is considered the most valuable treasure not just for human beings but also for animals. Everyone desires to enjoy life to the fullest and nothing can be dearer than life; capital punishment is a punishment that snatches this vital property.

Death penalty means a sentence of death which is the severest form of the sentence. Capital punishment is extreme as it diminishes the very existence of human life. The punishment is irreversible and is given to gruesome, antisocial, and horrifying crimes against humanity. However, the definition and extent of such crimes differ with countries and time; the implication of the punishment is death.  The practice has been in existence since time immemorial. According to Hood (2001), out of 128 countries where he based his research, 109 countries resorted to capital punishment for various crimes.

The objective of punishment has always been to protect society against unsocial elements and criminals. The sentence given to the individuals becomes a source of security to everyone in society and aids in instilling fear or apprehension in prospective criminals. For many years, the death penalty has been a dominant punishment and was in practice as an effective measure to reduce crime, and for centuries its legitimacy was never questioned. The early kings believed that if the criminals were leniently let off crimes were bound to increase. The kings were of the argument that the best way to protect society from criminals was to implement capital punishment on them. However, with the advancement of society, the voices against Capital punishment have risen, and since the last century, the death penalty has become a debatable topic from the legal point of view.

In other given cases the measure of punishment is dependent upon the atrocity of the crime, the conduct of the offender, and the defenseless and unprotected state of the victim. Imposing the appropriate punishment is how the judicial system responds to society’s worries for justice against lawbreakers. The courts should, therefore, impose punishment that befits the crime so that the courts reflect public abhorrence of the crime. The judicial system must not only consider the criminal's rights but also the rights of the offended and the society in general while considering the effective punishment — various factors including moral, ethical, economic, and utilitarian need to be put into consideration.

Literature review

Capital punishment is a social challenge that has had numerous debates in the US and around the world.  The capital punishment debate is on whether it should be made legal or abolished in the justice systems of various states. The death penalty is used for atrocious crimes for instance murder; however, in some states, it is also used on crimes against the state including treason, espionage,  violent crimes as well as crimes against humanity. Many questions have been raised concerning capital punishment; however, the question of the main question that stands out is whether capital punishment is morally acceptable. The application of capital punishment has been on the decline in the past decade; however as of today is applied in more than 70 countries while in others it remains a debate (McCafferty, 2017). The Death penalty is an instrument that ensures the criminal will not bring any harm to society. In the US, according to the 8th Amendment, every American citizen is protected from harsh and unusual punishment in the American criminal justice system.  Various justice systems in the past have ruled for or against capital; however, whether capital punishment is morally just or not is still a debate. The death penalty has been strongly supported by the court; however, the public has opposed the ruling citing the punishment should not be applied. Atrocious crimes for instance massacres are the major cases where the death penalty is functional with the minor cases being punishable via jail term. In California capital punishment is applicable for cases like rapes, robbery, and serial murders.  The first death penalty legislation was created in the 18th BC during the reign of King Hammurabi in Babylon. The king intended to punish up to 25 crimes using capital punishment.  By the year 1700 capital punishment had been embraced by various countries, and more than 222 crimes had been approved for capital punishment.

Internationally, capital punishment is widely viewed as inhumane and anachronistic. In Europe, capital punishment has been abolished both by law and by practice. In Great Britain capital punishment was abolished in 1976 apart from treasonous cases; while Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976. The United Nations General Assembly in support of the abolishment of capital punishment affirmed that ‘it is of importance to continuously limit the number of offences for which the capital punishment is imposed intending to completely abolish the punishment.' As of mid-1995, 18 nations had ratified the sixth protocol to the European Convention on the rights of human beings, making capital punishment illegal in peacetime. 71%of the world's nations have abolished the death penalty both in law and in practice. Out of 58 nations that still retain it, only twenty-one have undertaken known executions as of  2011. The US has been compelled to abstain from signing various international treaties due to its perception of capital punishment.

In the US death penalty dates back to 1601 when the first execution was conducted in Jamestown for treason,  just a few months after the formation of the colony. Twenty years after the execution only a few executions were conducted with approximately three hundred Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans being executed. However, one hundred years later close to three thousand individuals were executed and the number had continued to increase rapidly.  Under the Eighth Amendment there existed different forms of execution including; firing squad, hanging, lethal gas, electrocution, and lethal injection. Constitutional evolution offered a way for exploring more humane ways to undertake the process to replace the ancient methods. The more acceptable execution methods started to come into existence in 1878 when the Court argued that some execution methods were cruel and were bound to be forbidden. A consensus arrived at that capital punishment would be imposed only on heinous crimes; however; in America, there was a dilemma on which crimes were considered suitable for the death penalty. In the last three decades, great milestones have been achieved towards a world free from the death penalty. Until 1980, only 25 countries had abolished capital punishment for all crimes.  

The reasons for capital punishment in the 18th century were to punish the wrongdoers and to deter anyone from committing crimes of the same nature.  Some of the capital punishment imposed was done to instill fear in those who witnessed the execution, for instance in 1700, the governor and council of Maryland took into consideration the fate of two men who had been sentenced to death for stealing. The governor stated that the increased burglary rate was alarming and something needed to be done to work as a lesson to others. The racial and ethnic disparity in the use of capital crime has been of significant magnitude. Out of the executions conducted every ten years, more than half were of minority descent, considering that the whites were more than the minority in American history. Blacks were victims of false charges and convictions against whites.  Civil rights lawyers have spent decades debating that trials were not fair for instance jury being of white descent and inadequate counsel. A study in Georgia found that more than 75 percent of individuals under government death penalty are not white.  Out of the 156 death penalty prosecutions upheld by the attorney general since the year 1988, 74 percent of the defendants were nonwhite.

In the 19th century, capital punishment was dramatically reduced. At this time capital punishment had started to lose popularity. Various states did not commit public executions instead executions were done privately. Pennsylvania was among the first states to take up the trend, while other nations caught up with the trend and abolished capital punishment altogether. In the US fourteen states no longer use capital punishment as a form of punishment. Additionally, many cases associated with capital punishment went to the Supreme Court, where it was argued that capital punishment violated the 18th Amendment and that was cruel and unusual (Meltsner, 2011).  The US of today still practices capital punishment. However, there are various limitations to it. For instance, the execution of mentally handicapped and juveniles is prohibited.

A significant number of individuals are in support of capital punishment on the grounds that it holds criminals accountable for their actions. Justice requires punishing those who are found guilty of committing various atrocities; therefore the death penalty system takes death as the utmost form of deterrence and preserver of judicial retribution. According to Ernest van Den, it is great to let down the court of a country if offenders are left unpunished for the retribution of their atrocities. Ernest further argues that the death sentence acts as a strong deterrent for criminally minded individuals to shun crimes. Sparing dreaded criminals would pose a greater risk to many more innocent lives, therefore by permanently eliminating the criminals from society people are assured of safety.

The global trend, however, is for the abolishment of capital punishment as it is considered inhuman on the part of the state regardless of the crimes committed. States that have abolished capital punishments believe that lax talons (eye for an eye) are no longer appropriate in contemporary society with many people questioning the practice (Lambert et al. 2014). The death penalty encourages racial and ethnic discrimination. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, most capital punishments are imposed on minority races such as African Americans (Bedau, 2008).  In America like many elements of criminal justice, capital punishment displays a clear bias against the minority groups. For instance, black people account for about 13% of the total US population; however, they comprise 42% of the 2,906 individuals currently on death row (Bedau, 2008).  Clear patterns of discrimination have been found in capital punishment applications across every state that uses the death penalty. Society has a norm of racial discrimination because individuals like to be in a group that has a similar race. If there is an outsider more often he is treated differently which not only happens in society but also in the judicial system. More often when the judge and the jury are making a decision, they have a bias when deciding the punishment as everyone has discrimination and prejudice.  Therefore supporting capital punishment consequently promotes racial discrimination in a biased judicial system.

The death sentence does not eliminate the devious in society; hence it is not a viable form of controlling crime. In contemporary society, every individual is enlightened to follow the rules and avoid committing crimes. However, not everyone is knowledgeable about forgiving sins. Although crimes happen, the offenders should be given a chance to change their behavior and thinking.  Killing the devious is not a solution; instead, the offenders should be taken to correction centers (Dieter, 2014).  Based on research to determine the effective methods of reducing violent crime, the police chiefs ranked capital punishment as the least effective form of crime control and advocated for longer sentences, gun control as well an increase more officers on the streets(Dieter, 2014). The murder rate in Canada dropped by 44% after capital punishment was ended; similarly, the South has the highest murder rate despite conducting 81% of total executions.

Wrongful executions are bound to occur, unlike other crimes punishment capital punishment is irreversible. Although advocates of the death penalty argue that its merits are worth the occasional execution of innocent individuals, there should not be any justification for killing innocent people in the name of seeking justice.  Since the year 1973, more than 159 individuals have been exonerated from the death penalty in twenty-six states out of their innocence. In the US at least one individual is released for every ten that are killed. These are lives that would have otherwise been ended all for a practice that is presumed to increase public safety. Some innocent individuals have been killed due to the bureaucracy and deficiency of the United States judicial system.

            Capital punishment is dear compared to other forms of punishment. Research indicates that the expense of capital punishment is much higher in comparison to other forms of sentences. According to Mandery 2005, the additional costs of capital punishment are making the states less secure, and the practice puts the country in great danger of financial liabilities and economic crises.  Mandery observed that California state which had limited finances for important projects of importance to the community spends more than $90 million yearly on the death penalty whereas Texas which spends approximately $2.3 million on capital punishment per case has the most murders in the country (Dieter, 2014). The data indicates that there is no cost-benefit for the large amounts of finances spent on conducting capital punishment.

In comparison, the cost of capital punishment and life imprisonment, the latter is less expensive. Mandery observes that death trials take more time and consequently are dearer than any other murder case. Pretrial motions, jury selection, expert witness investigation, and two trials make capital cases very expensive, and this is before appeals.  According to Barkan and Bryjak, capital punishment cases consume a lot of time and expensive than life imprisonment cases as they encompass many protocols at the pretrial and the trial stages, compared to non-capital cases. An additional appeal that follows the conviction becomes mandatory in capital punishment cases. All the above arguments are concrete proof that the United States can benefit enormously from the abolishment of the death penalty and large sums of finances spent on death cases can be utilized for the efficient reduction of crime for instance community policing.

Conclusion

Based on the above findings, capital punishment should be abolished in the nation. The capital sentence was in use almost in every country in the past; however today it is prohibited by law and broadly abandoned in practice, in various nations outside the US.  Globally the trend is towards full abolishment of the death penalty. In the United States, opposition to capital punishment is widespread and diverse due to various economic and ethical reasons as indicated in the research. Large sums of money spent on death penalties not only have an impact on the budget system of the local, state, and the US government in general but also have no positive contributions towards reducing crime rates in the various countries that still use the practice. As also shown the death penalty does not aid in reducing further similar crimes from occurring in the US. Instead of capital punishment, life imprisonment without parole is an ideal alternative punishment to the dreaded criminals, and as shown by the studies, life imprisonment is comparatively cheaper than capital punishment and also offers a chance for innocent victims to exonerate themselves. Life imprisonment is more considerable; since the criminals will not have an opportunity to indulge in similar dreaded crimes. The ethical and moral consideration of life imprisonment without parole in place of the death penalty indicates value for human life, ethical codes as well as human rights.

References

Barkan, S. E., & Cohn, S. F. (2005). On reducing white support for the death penalty: A pessimistic appraisal. Criminology & Pub. Pol'y, 4, 39.

Bedau, H. A. (2008). Racism, wrongful convictions, and the death penalty. Tenn. L. Rev., 76, 615.

Dieter, R. C. (2014). The future of the death penalty in the United States. U. Rich. L. Rev., 49, 921.

Garland, D. (2005). Capital punishment and American culture. Punishment & Society, 7(4), 347-376.

Hood, R. (2001). Capital punishment: A global perspective. Punishment & Society, 3(3), 331-354.

Lambert, E. G., Clarke, A., & Lambert, J. (2004). Reasons for supporting and opposing capital punishment in the USA: A preliminary study.

Lynch, M. (2002). Capital punishment as a moral imperative: Pro-death-penalty discourse on the Internet. Punishment & Society, 4(2), 213-236.

McCafferty, J. A. (2017). Capital punishment. Routledge.

Mandery, E. J. (2005). Capital punishment: A balanced examination. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Meltsner, M. (2011). Cruel and unusual: The Supreme Court and capital punishment. Quid Pro Books.

Van den Haag, E. (1986). The ultimate punishment: A defense. Harvard Law Review, 99(7), 1662-1669.