The Death Penalty: A Just Punishment

Extract

[...] The high possibility of death as a punishment at the commission of a crime serves as a warning to criminals. According to statistical data, there is a marked increase in the number of murders in relation to the decrease in the use of capital punishment. Data shows that in executions in the US reflected 9,149 murders. However, the suspension of the death penalty in 1972-1976 resulted in the registration of approximately 20,000 murders in 1975 alone. In 1980, when the death penalty was finally reinstituted, two executions for that year yielded over 23,300 murders (Lowe, 2011). [...]

[...] In 1966, McDuff was sentenced to die for the murder of three young people. However, the death penalty was suspended in 1972 until 1976. The suspension of the punishment resulted to the sudden influx of inmates and overcrowding within correctional facilities. As for McDuff, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The worsening conditions prompted the authorities to pardon criminals that were considered as already reformed. Mduff was released yet upon joining society went on a killing spree. He went on to murder more until he was caught and finally executed (Lowe, 2011). [...]

[...] In his testimony, Vera admitted that he shot Velez because he knew that he "wouldn't go to the chair." In response to the fact that life sentence is the highest punishment a person will be given despite the degree of atrocity of the crime, Koch states that "Had the death penalty been a real possibility in the minds of . murderers, they might well have stayed their hand. They might have shown moral awareness before their victims died" (1985). Indeed, there is truth in Koch's argument. Many criminals commit crimes because the punishment will always be lesser than the crime committed. Yet if they are aware that much is at stake, their actions may be prevented. Abolitionists of the death penalty often cite that there is no conclusive evidence that shows capital punishment deters crime. [...]

[...] The Death Penalty: A Just Punishment Human life, among all societies and since the dawn of civilization, has been regarded as sacred and in need of protection. However, coinciding with society's continuous movement towards advancement and innovation is the ever-present threat of crime which may range from the simple to the brutal. It is for this very reason that laws have been created to protect and promote the welfare of people by punishing perpetrators against innocents. Yet with the coming of modernity was the emergence of new ideas that denounce capital punishment as barbaric, ineffective, and outdated. [...]

[...] It is not surprising for the family to seek the offender's punishments as deemed fit by the justice system. Even less surprising is to see the family grieve and feel more pain had the offender been released or given a sentence incompatible with his actions. Oppositionists to the death penalty often state that taking the life of a criminal serves no purpose in bringing back lost lives. However, it must be noted that while the punishment does not indeed resurrect, the fact that a criminal is punished does give a sense of justice which may be what families and friends of victims need to preserve their faith in the justice system. [...]