The Reintroduction Of Capital Punishment

In the US, 85 % of the population over the age of 21 approve of the death penalty

. In the many states which still have the death penalty, some use the electric chair, which can take up to 20 minutes to kill, while others use gas or lethal injection. The second was hanged for murders which, it was later proved, had been committed by someone else.

The first of these was the case of Ruth Ellis who was hanged for shooting her lover in what was generally regarded as a crime of passion.

The pre-hanging lobby uses four main arguments to support its call for the reintroduction of capital punishment. First there is the deterrence theory, which argues that potential murders would think twice before committing the act if they knew that they might die if they were caught. The armed bank robber might, likewise, go back to being unarmed.

The other two arguments are more suspect. The idea of retribution demands that criminals should get what they deserve: if a murder intentionally set out to commit a crime, he should accept the consequences. Retribution, which is just another word for revenge, is supported by the religious doctrine of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

The arguments against the death penalty are largely humanitarian. But there are also statistical reasons for opposing it: the deterrence figures do not add up. In Britain, 1903 was the record year for executions and yet in 1904, the number of murders actually rose. There was a similar occurrence in 1946 and 1947. If the deterrence theory were correct, the rate should have fallen.

The other reasons to oppose the death penalty are largely a matter of individual conscience and belief. One is that murder is murder and that the state has no more right to take a life than the individual. The other is that Christianity advises forgiveness, not revenge.

by: emaly

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