History of Death Penalty
The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. The death penalty was also part of the Fourteenth Century B.C.’s Hittite Code; in the Seventh Century B.C.’s Draconian Code of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes; and in the Fifth Century B.C.’s Roman law of the Twelve Tablets.
Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. In the Tenth Century A.D., hanging became the usual method of execution in Britain. This report will give argument against death penalty while supporting the abolishment movements of death penalty, David (2010)
Should the death penalty be abolished?
Death penalty is a severe and irreversible punishment that raises controversy around the world. In order to discuss the valuable existence of the death penalty, it is might make sense to bring two questions must; whether there is strong reason to implement the death penalty; and whether the death penalty is a suitable method to solve the problem. There are many arguments for and against the death penalty, Sanger and Unah (2012).
First and foremost, death sentence does not make sense it is more of barbaric to deal with murder morally nothing make us better when we kill those who kill. It insincere. Also it is an easy way out for the criminals. It would rather have then suffer in jail for the rest of their life without parole. More so, murders do not fear death so this kind of penalty is not a restrictive. In fact it is cheaper to keep an inmate in prison for life without parole than it is to kill. It does not make sense to spend millions of money on a morally questionable act that has shown no signs of determent, Martin and Michael (2013)
Secondly, death penalty should be abolished. Every year, thousands of people are put on death row for a crime they didn’t even commit. There’s no way of knowing if they actually did or not. Is it worth the risk? It can be seen as a cruel and unusual punishment, which goes against one of our amendments in the Constitution. Crime will always be a part of the world and there will be better ways to handle it. In the United States only it is estimated that total prosecution and defense costs to the state and counties equal $9 million per year. (Gross, Samuel, 2006)
Death penalty is a human rights violation. With the death penalty, you are deliberately deciding punishment by death for a criminal. This is the same concept as eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. It violates human rights by the government forcing the death of a human. Death by capital punishment is not justice meaning not giving them what is rightfully theirs. I fully support imprisonment instead. God says that we shall not decide the length of another human’s life according to the 10 Commandments. In conclusion, the death penalty is killing. (Stephen and Bright, 2010)
Furthermore, it is barbaric, over expensive and innocents often die If you trade an eye for an eye the whole world will be blind – literally, what gives the justice system the right to take the priceless human life? Thousands of people in the world history have been acquitted after death. The death sentence is incredibly expensive and a waste of information on killers and how they operate as well. Advocates of the death sentence seem to tend to appeal to the emotions but at the end of the day this biblical type of revenge that seems so popular is never satisfying, it is just another death among thousands. Poor quality defense leaves many to death sentence, a study at Columbia University found that 68% of all death penalty cases were reversed on appeal, with inadequate defense as one of the main reasons requiring reversal.
Moreover, it is cruel and unusual punishment. We cannot justify killing someone if we are punctuating it by saying killing is wrong. From a young age we teach our children that two wrongs do not make a right, yet the death penalty is trying to do exactly that. Costs are also prohibitive. It costs more to have someone go through the death penalty process than to keep him in jail for the rest of his life. For there is a better way to help the families of murder victims, families of murder victims undergo severe trauma and loss which no one should minimize. However, executions do not help these people heal nor do they end their pain; the extended process prior to executions prolongs the agony of the family. Families of murder victims would benefit far more if the funds now being used for the costly process of executions were diverted to counseling and other assistance. (Baldus, David. 2008)
Mentally ill people are executed, one out of every ten who has been executed in the United States since 1977 is mentally ill, according to Amnesty International and the National Association on Mental Illness. Many mentally ill defendants are unable to participate in their trials in any meaningful way and appear unengaged, cold, and unfeeling before the jury. Some have been forcibly medicated in order to make them competent to be executed. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has decreed that people with ‘mental retardation’ may not be executed, many countries has not yet passed a law banning the execution of the mentally ill.
Suppose death sentence should only really be used for crimes such as 9/11 and people like Bin Laden or the Yorkshire Ripper. But otherwise it should not be brought back and it should be banned in the world for an indefinite time. Police should use guns if needed, if they were dealing with a gun crime. Or in other words, suppose that we should get rid of them altogether. (Martin and Michael, 2009)
Lastly basing with biblical facts, the Bible does not allow people to be killed when we read through the Bible, killing people is a sin. In Old Testament times, it is mentioned that anyone who commits adultery should be stoned to death, as religious societies we disagree with death sentence. We have witnessed so many people have been killed wrongly. The real criminal is not killed though.