Evidently, there is still a big problem with violence in the US. In reality, hardly a day goes by without news of a murder or other violent crime. Regrettably, criminal laws have evolved to help stop such excessive behavior. We have observed the publication of articles in recent days that advocate the death penalty for crimes carrying the death penalty. But since capital punishment, particularly the death sentence, has far-reaching effects, we must refute that narrative.
A news article in the BBC that presents reasons in favor of the death penalty is one such opinion piece that exhibits a misunderstanding of criminal behavior and the punishment that is appropriate. According to this editorial piece, the death penalty deters crime efficiently than any other form of punishment. The author argues that the only way in which people can pay for the crime they committed is through executing them.
The author’s main points are that all guilty people deserve to be punishment regarding the severity of their crime. Additionally, the author argues that many criminals go back to their misconduct after serving their sentences. Hence, the only way to prevent them is to provide stiffer punishment. With that, the author argues that potentials criminals would get scared to commit crimes and that is likely to reduce crime rates in our society.
Another primary point from the BBC author is that real justice can only occur if people suffer for engaging in a morally inappropriate activity such as murder, violent crime, and robbery with violence. The author alleges that “the society can only get satisfied for justice when the courts respond positively by imposing an appropriate punishment on the criminal. Another point is that by giving criminals capital punishment, we are likely to deter them from killing other people in the society.
However, we can say that the author has misinterpreted this concept of criminal justice. Capital punishment, notably the death policy is not beneficial and has no deterrent effect on the criminal. The author seems to apply the Old Testament concept that states “An eye for an eye.” That implies that offenders should be punished severely according to their guilt, which is something inhumane and comes with a lot of psychological turmoil. We must all challenge the notion of the death penalty since it is an irreversible act and at times, people might have experienced judgment wrongly for committing crimes they were not involved in doing. All in all, capital punishment based on death penalty does not deter criminals. In fact, such a capital discipline has led to the increase in the number of those who engage in murder and other severe violent crimes.
For one thing, capital punishment based on death penalty uses inhumane ways to kill through the lethal injection of highly toxic chemicals, shooting, hanging, and even beheading. Logically, such methods have a significant psychological impact on the victim’s family, and as such, that form of punishment increases cruelty to human dignity, and we should not tolerate it.
The policy intervention that we can use to prevent or stop death penalty as capital punishment is increasing the law enforcement agencies in settlement areas to avoid lawbreakers from committing the crime. We can also mobilize the society by teaching them on the consequences of committing a crime. Moreover, police officers should organize regular trips to jail so that the people can understand where they are likely to land when they commit the capital offense.
Work Cited
"Arguments in favor of capital punishment." BBC, 8 Aug. 2014, www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/for_1.shtml. Accessed 29 Nov. 2017.
