The Death Penalty Debate

The Death Penalty Debate

To kill or not to kill. That is the question. Some people think it is

wrong; however, a close look into the matter will show it is the right

thing to do. The Bible states "thou shall not kill" but it also states

"an eye for eye". The death penalty is the worst and most deserved

punishment for those who choose to take a life. There is no excuse for

a life to be taken; therefore, the murderer should be punished to the

full extent. Imagine a loved one of yours is brutally murdered; how

would you feel? How much pain would your family have to go through?

How would you be able to sleep at night knowing the murderer has not

been given the death penalty, knowing he could walk out of jail any

time. This is most definitely an unnerving thought, and one that

no-one shouldn’t have to deal with this. With no death penalty and

only life without parole (LWOP), there is no deterrent for LWOP

inmates killing others whilst in prison or after escape. Certainly,

there is actually a positive incentive to murder if a criminal has

committed an offence worthy of LWOP and had not yet been caught.

Currently there are a number of inmates who have killed numerous

people in prison or after escape. Their punishment could not be

increased because there is no death penalty… therefore they will never

be punished for those crimes… Obviously, those executed can’t murder

again. “Of the roughly 52,000 state prison inmates serving time for

murder in 1984, an estimated 810 had previously been convicted of

murder and had killed 821 persons following their previous murder

convictions. Executing each of these inmates would’ve saved 821

lives.” (...

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...Like the emperor's new clothes,

the flimsy notion that the death penalty is an effective law

enforcement tool is being exposed as mere political puffery" (Murphy,

1995). The claim that deterrence of crime is an effect of capital

punishment is statistically incorrect. The death penalty violates the

American constitutional guarantee of the identical protection of the

laws. It is applied aimlessly at its best and unjust at its worst.

To summarise, I believe that the Death Penalty is morally unjust and

that it has no clear or obvious system. Some of the points made by the

party against the reinstatement of the Death Penalty are valid and can

be dignified, but in my eyes, capital punishment can’t be morally

justified, and only God has the power to give and take lives, so who

are we to meddle with business that isn’t ours?