Boda 1

Boda Krisztina

Tóthné dr. Espák Gabriella

American Civilization

11/05/2015

Death Penalty

The death penalty is one of the most important moral issues in today’s society. In the
middle ages, different kinds of methods were used starting from the crucifixion, stoning,
burning alive, impalement, to various other types of executions. In present times these
medieval processes are not used anymore. In countries where the death penalty is still in use,
the gas chamber, hanging, electrifying and lethal injections are the most “popular”. But how
come capital punishment is such a serious issue in today’s world? In my essay I will cover
two aspects of the death penalty: the miscarriage of justice and the effectiveness of the whole
procedure.

First of all, this is a very controversial topic which has been argued over endlessly.
Committing a murder is one of the most serious crimes which must be punished accordingly.
However, executing the criminal is an inhuman act that should be avoided. The fundamental
question is whether the death penalty is the most efficient way of punishing somebody,
compared to lifelong imprisonment. Those whose family member or close acquaintance was
killed, will usually demand the death of the criminal too. They are driven by anger and the
pain of the lost person. Their point can be understood to a certain extent, but we must take the
other side into consideration.

Capital punishment is an essential question because the final word is basically in one
person’s hand, they are the judges. When a person is sentenced to death, they will be killed
within a few days. But what if justice made a mistake? That life cannot be brought back to life
and neither the act can be undone. That judge will suffer for his/her whole life, carrying the
guilt of killing an innocent man. In modern society, one innocent person’s death is not worth
killing all the other criminals. In other words, wrongful execution would cause more damage
than good. Even though 99 criminals would be killed, that one innocent person’s death is not
worth introducing capital punishment. It is an inevitable consequence of this kind of
punishment and it would put an incredible pressure on the judges’ shoulders. With the lifelong
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imprisonment, at least a permanent solution can be done if the person turns out to be innocent.
They will probably live a rough life after they are free from prison, but still, the chance is
given to them. By killing the innocent person, his/her life will not be brought back. That is
why we should not be concerned about the death penalty is the most efficient way of
punishment.

I am personally against introducing death penalty not just because of the miscarriage
of justice but also because I do not think it is a significant deterrent to the criminals.
Statistically, having the capital punishment is not a real threat to those who want to commit a
crime. What does deter them is the high percentage of catching them after the crime. If a
criminal has a 20% chance of being caught, he/she will probably not think about committing
that crime even though death penalty is among the possible punishments. However, if the
chances of getting caught are around 80%, he/she will consider carrying out the crime. All in
all, introducing capital punishment will not decrease the rate of murders as the numbers show.

In conclusion, I would say introducing the death penalty would not help lower the
current crime rate. We should understand that being a developing and wealthy country, crimes
such as murder would still occur. We can punish criminals with life imprisonment, which is a
more humane act than killing them, if only to stop that one innocent person from being
executed. It is a type of punishment that we as a civilized people should protest the use of,
since we already know of more humane ways of punishing a criminal.