Capital Punishment in America – Ridiculous or Reasonable
Capital punishment has been used in some kind of form since the first signs of humanity but was abolished in the UK in 1965, around the same time as many other countries. However, this still continues in many American states such as Arizona, Washington, Utah and 28 more.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the legal killing of someone as a punishment for their crimes. The military and federal government also use this gruesome method. Crimes considered worthy to be put on death row, would be treason, espionage, murder, large scale drug-trafficking, genocide, murder during a kidnapping or attempting to kill a witness, juror, or court officer in certain cases. These are just the main and common reasons. Depending on the seriousness of the sentence and situation, inmates with a death warrant may choose how to be executed. Some of the options include gas inhalation, firing squad and electrocution.
Some justify it with religion, as the Old Testament preaches, ‘an eye, for an eye’ and others, with karma. Another view is that the bad people deserve to be punished and rid from this world. They believe that this is justice – or revenge. However, one of the most popular views is that people will be scared into obedience by self-preservation and a will to live. Without this, they believe that people would not be scared of the consequences of their actions. On the flip side, many Americans do not believe in this extreme form of punishment. They believe that if the offenders were simply imprisoned, then, as many of them would not be in a healthy mental state, they could be helped to become better people, possibly start to show remorse for what they have done and even be proven innocent with more time. Others believe that if you kill someone for murder then you too are the murderer. One man screamed murderers at his executioners before he died in the electric chair, making many people across the world stop to think. Finally, some believe that the death sentence is simply inhuman.
However, it is not only the punishment that is questionable, but the restrictions on it. For example: in a hypothetical situation if someone was on trial for more than 15 murders and could be facing likely death penalty but had potential mental health problems and suffered from extreme depression, would it still be right to deliver this severe punishment? On top of this, if this person was only just over 18 years old and had no family, would you let them off, giving them simply a number of life sentences – or would you make them pay the ultimate price? People as young as 14 have been executed before as the anti-capital punishment law still hadn’t been introduced. Although this dilemma is showing no signs of being solved, 19 states have already aborted this cruel punishment and the forms of it art constantly being questioned.
Do you agree with this barbaric ‘justice’?