Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty In Canada

Canada has been a fully abolitionist country since the 10th of December 1998, and has since continued to maintain a strong anti-death penalty attitude (Amnesty, 2015). The last death penalty sentenced under Canada’s Criminal Code was given in 1962 to two convicted felons charged with first degree murder (Amnesty 2015). After the two were hanged, it brought the total number of people executed in Canada to 710, marking the end of an era (Amnesty, 2015). The death penalty has been a fiercely debated topic spanning even before 1867, Canada’s establishment. Notably however, Canada’s Prime Ministers have long opposed the death penalty starting with John Diefenbaker (Amnesty, 2015). Only the second most recent Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has

Unlike popular belief, the cost of sentencing someone to death is actually more expensive than a life sentence in prison. In Washington, since the death penalty was reinstated 5 people have been put to death costing taxpayers roughly $120 million, that's roughly $24 million per case (Seattle University, 2015). A reason that people advocate strongly for the death penalty is because they believe that they should not have to pay for the costs to keep criminals fed, sheltered and imprisoned. In fact, 56% of Canadians surveyed believed that the one time cost of a lethal injection is cheaper and will allow their money to go towards something more advantageous like healthcare or education (Angus Reid). This is actually quite different from the truth, in fact is estimated that it costs $740 000 on average to put someone in prison for life. It is also estimated that it costs roughly $1.26 million to sentence someone to death (Seattle University, 2015). (There seems to be a discrepancy between how much a single case costs and how much Washington spent since the death penalty has been reinstated, but I could not find evidence to why that is). Among the reasons why the death penalty is so expensive is the fact that the time in courts is quite lengthy. Jury trials averaged 40.13 days in cases where the death penalty was being sought, but only 16.79 days

In order to mediate everyone’s views I believe the current situation should be slightly altered. The first thing that should change is the punishment facing murderers and rapists. Currently, 1st and second degree murder charges are have a minimum sentence for life in prison if charged. But for sexual assault, it ranges from 6 months to a max 25 years in imprisonment. Sexual assault, especially aggravated sexual assault deserves to be punished with harsher sentences. There should be fines as well as to compensate the victim and pay for reparation charges. Victims will usually face severe trauma and will need to have counseling done in order to once again feel comfortable and safe. As people believe that the death penalty is most needed for crimes such as murder and rape, there should be harsher environments in where they go to jail. Now, I not advocating abuse or cruel and unusual punishment but a system where these types of criminals will be further punished in order to appease the public, deter future criminals and help society improve could be used effectively. This system would be heavily focused towards paying back society in terms of jobs and labour that could be performed by inmates in exchange for improved