Portfolio entry # 13 - Argumentative Essay: Death Penalty

Death Penalty

The death penalty has always been an issue of controversial debate. It is a practice that has been used all over the world and consists of executing someone because of the crime which the accused has committed. In the last two years, one hundred and forty countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice, while the number of retentionist countries ascend to fifty-eight being China, India,Indonesia and the United States some of the countries that conform the latter group. The question would be: Can we teach a child not to hit by hitting him? The abolition of capital punishment has to be adopted by all the countries since it is unethical, irreversible, and it does not deter crime.

According to the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, every human being has the right to life. Sentencing a person to death would be violating this basic human right and taking a life back would be revenge not justice. Of course the victim has also been deprived from this inalienable right, but capital punishment is an extreme and unique measure that applies to all, killers, rapists, and every criminal. It is a primitive and cruel punishment that tortures the condemned, not only for the practice itself but for the waiting of the death. Alternative measures such as imprisonment for life with no option for parole or community work should be taken into consideration as the death penalty has no turning back and the offenders should be given the possibility of restoring their bad behaviour. Besides, the death penalty is a discriminatory practice that takes primarily, the life of black and poor people. In the southern states of the United States, eight per cent of the black criminals get the death penalty while only one per cent of white criminals get capital punishment. In addition, a study released by researchers from the University of North Carolina demonstrated that the race of the victim was a crucial factor in who received the death penalty. As regards the social class, people who can afford expensive and experienced lawyers have better opportunities to avoid capital punishment than those who cannot have access to a good legal assistance.

Irreversibility is another key aspect in favour of the abolition of the death penalty. Nobody deserves to die, nor those who have killed for fun neither those who have killed for self profit; and under no circumstances those who have committed no crime. Mistakes or failures in the judicial system may kill innocent people. For instance, imprisonment is the only way to partial compensations for those who can prove their innocence. It can be argued that  the chance of making a mistake is quite low; However once the death penalty is put into practice, there is nothing that can be done to repair the punishment if the alleged perpetrator turns out to be innocent.

Still Capitall punishment will not prevent criminals from murdering, raping, or having any kind of condemnable behaviour. Offenders do not always think or act rationally, or they do not fear being caught or punished. A research released in 1988 and updated in 1996, failed to prove that executions were more effective than life imprisonment to control crimes. Imprisonment is the only chance to deter crime and to offer the offenders the possibility to make up for their crimes.

To conclude, the death penalty do not ensure the safety of the society. The threat of an extreme punishment is not the solution to decrease the crime rate and nobody should be dispossessed from his right to life. Violence should not be counter with violence. Resurrection is not possible, so the abolition of capital punishment is the guarantee that innocent people have to continue enjoying their lives once their innocence has been proved. 

Sources

“Abolitionist and retentionist countries” (2016). Retrieved from Death penalty information center website: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

BBC (2014). Ethics: Capital Punishment. Retrieved from BBC website: http:// www. bbc. co.uk/ethics/ capitalpunishment/

“Capital Punishment Essay: Benefits of the Death Penalty.” (2016). Retrieved from 123HelpMe website: http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=3686

McCann, E. B. (2016),”Death penalty.” Retrieved from Amnesty International website: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/

Michael, F. (n.d) “The Death Penalty.” Retrieved from Teen Ink website: http: //www.teenink.com/opinion/all/article/11085/The-Death-Penalty/

Mohanty, S. P., (n.d.) “Advantages and disadvantages of the Death Penalty.” Retrieved from: http://www.finanacecareonline.com/2013/07/advantages - and- disadvantages-of-death.html

“Should the death penalty be restored in the UK” (2016). Retrieved from English for university.com website: http://englishforuniversity.com/academic-writing/example-academicessay/