Capital Punishment
...s should therefore have the rite to execute criminals when they are found guilty of murder. Many persons against capital punishment quote the Bible saying “Do not commit Murder” (Exodus 20:13).However it can be seen that the penalty for breaking that commandment was death itself (Exodus 21:12).The Bible which is the book on which Christians should pattern their life again justifies capital punishment in (Leviticus 24:17) “And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death”. Why should someone who takes the life of another be given a chance to life? He should have his life ended the same way he did his victim. The execution of murders would also at the same time bring a sense of closure to the families of the victims as well as to the society. They would be satisfied to see social justice being done. If criminals were allowed to get away with such a serious crime as the taking of human life, fear and chaos would rule. A sentence of life imprisonment is not substantial enough for criminals who take away the lives of others. It is often said that the punishment should fit the crime and the only punishment that fits murder is capital punishment. Capital punishment is the best way to set an example for potential criminals so they would be aware of the punishment they would face for committing murder. A man planning a murder who thinks about the consequences and realizes he will not be sentenced to jail with a possibility of being released in twenty years would surely re-think his actions. The possibility of execution would give a potential pause in the thought process of the murderer, using fear as an incentive for preventing recurrence or quite possibly the first occurrence of murder. Deterrence is the act or process of discouraging and preventing an action from occurring (Webster’s English Dictionary, pg.307). Capital punishment is therefore a good deterrent and prevention to crime and hence it will help to reduce the crime rate. Many young persons today are getting involved in crime and the crime rate is steadily increasing. However, if potential criminals are deterred from crime this would decrease the crime rate and in fact be saving the lives of innocent persons. There is evidence that capital punishment serves as a deterrent and it being a deterrent is a good enough reason to implement it. The increase in the number of prison inmates causes an economical strain on a country’s finances. Prison populations steadily...