Capital Punishment
... people support it despite the facts. “...all the evidence taken together makes it hard to be confident that capital punishment deters more than long prison terms do.” (Cavanagh, 1995) Can you really see a man about to commit murder sitting down first and weighing his options? This might sound a little facetious but it’s true Educating the Public on Capital Punishment Little to no education on capital punishment must come into play as to why most people support it. Surely if people could see the facts and the figures they would rethink their position. Then again people’s opinions if strong enough won’t likely be changed with knowledge. “…death penalty attitudes are not based on rational considerations at all, but are fundamentally symbolic attitudes, based on an ideological self-image.” (Bedau, 1997) This means that people’s opinions are based on strong emotions and what they feel is justice. People’s emotions override their rational thinking so no one even considers learning more about capital punishment; they just want as harsh a punishment for their pain as possible. Our book gave an example that when a sample of 420 people in Alabama were given example of different crimes ranging from burglary to murder that out of 23 cases they chose to punish 18 with prison or jail time. But when shown a tape showing alternatives to sentencing such as probation or community service they chose only to sentence 4 of the 23 cases. This is hard proof that with the right education people’s minds can be swayed. Retribution and Incapacitation Some other reasons for this penalty are retribution which is just punishment for a crime, and incapacitation which gives the public peace of mind that while the criminal is locked up they can commit no more crimes. Retribution allows for the severity of an act to be punished with an equally severe consequence. The rationale is that the people who do these atrocious crimes have given up their right to a God given life when they themselves took away someone else’s. But then this brings the controversy that the state or government is playing the role of God when no one has that right but God himself. The man throwing the switch or injecting the arm has violated a religious norm. He then in some people’s eyes is just another form of murderer and he too is breaking one of the highest commandments, “thou shall not kill” period! Innocence Innocence taken to death is a scary thought. No one wants to see their brother or cousin or anyone else they love falsely accused and sentenced to death. How this could happen ranges anywhere from an incompetent defense team to false eyewitness testimonies. “Since 1973 one hundred and eleven people in twenty-five states have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence.” (Innocence, Nov. 03, 2003) It’s scary to think that anyone, you or me, can one day be sitting in prison awaiting our own death because evidence was tainted or perhaps someone was too scared to come forward with more evidence. Governments shouldn’t be able to use homicide as an instrument of social policy. Redemption Who is to say a murderer or rapist is never capable of redemption? Yes, this may sound a little contradictory but it’s really not. That is just giving up hope on your own kind. Everyone is capable of change whether it takes two months or twelve years we could be spending the millions of dollars that we do to kill these people on reforming them. “…when we execute a human being what we are acknowledging is that we have failed to find even a shred of redeeming quality to that person’s life.” (The Machinery, 1995) Many argue that capital punishment goes against the 8th amendment which is the prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.” It is thought of as not only cruel but also unusual. Cruelty is defined as willful infliction of physical pain on a weaker being in order to cause anguish and fear. Yes, the people on death row have done just this but so is the state that is holding them. This too inflicts anguish and fear into the hearts of the prisoner to a point unbearable. This punishment only continues a cycle of violence that will never cease unless someone stops it first, whether that is the government or the criminals, and we all know it’s not going to be the criminals. Obviously those that are truly heated enough to kill or hurt are going to do so. In the heat of the moment does one really stop and think, is this the right thing to do? Abolishing capital punishment is the first logical step to breaking this cycle. “To inflict the death penalty for crime was perfectly logical in the days when nobody doubted that criminality was voluntary.” (Banner, 2002) But there are studies that show that there may be outside factors that we don’t control that are also involved, saying that it’s possible it’s not always voluntary after all. According to sociologist Harry Elmer Barmes, “The human animal has his conduct and his thoughts absolutely determined by the combined influenced of his biological heredity and his social surroundings. There is not the slightest iota of choice allowed to any individual from birth to grave.” (Banner, 2002) This doesn’t exactly confirm that there is no free will involved at all it only confirms that there are outside forces involved too, it’s also personality traits built up through interaction of heredity and environment. Many would argue this is saying that if that is true you are born a criminal and there is nothing you can do about it. No one wants to believe they are born with this seed of hate within them that can take over at any time. Cost Let’s talk about the cost of the death penalty. “The total cost of death penalty is 38% greater than the total cost of life without parole sentences.” (Financial, Nov.03, 2003) “Criminal justice process expenses, trial court costs, appellate and post-conviction costs, and prison costs, perhaps including years served on death row awaiting executions…all told, the extra costs, per death penalty imposed, is over a quarter million dollars, and per execution exceeds two million.” (Cavanagh, 1995) Look at all the money we as tax payer who had nothing to do with these people and their crimes are paying just to murder them ourselves. The cost of a twenty year prison term, life, is about three hundred thousand dollars, look at all the money we would save! Yes, they don’t deserve to be able to walk around and breathe the air that the person they hurt is deprived of, but it’s not the same. The freedom and the right to life that everyone else has, criminals don’t. Why do we have to kill them too? They’ve been deprived of all of the joys in life we experience. They aren’t even allowed to see the sun shine or feel the rain upon their face. They need permission for everything which is a horrible degradation in itself. Victims One of the most important reasons for capital punishment may possibly be closure to the family or to the actual victim of a crime. Many of them will never feel safe while the person who violated them is still alive even though he may be locked up somewhere it’s not enough. Shouldn’t we think of the people who are broken apart because of these merciless acts? What is more important to any person on this planet than their family and loved ones and when that is taken away from them what else do they have left except justice for their loss? They are relying on the trial to give them the only peace of mind that they will ever get from this person, the only way they will be able to sleep at night knowing this person got what he deserved. Without the Presence of Capital Punishment An 18th century French diplomat once said, “All grandeur, all power, and all subordination to authority rests on the executioner: he is the horror and the bond of human association. Remove this incomprehensible agent from the world and at that very moment order gives way to chaos, thrones topple and society disappears.” (Debate, Sept. 23, 2003) In that case by not administering this penalty we are throwing our society into chaos and letting criminals do as they please. Are we quickly becoming uncivilized in this world? Perhaps capital punishment is the only way of stopping that. “Some people argue that the absence of capital punishment in this country is the mark of a civilized society. I believe we are rapidly becoming uncivilized. Some of the things that happen on our streets and in our homes certainly do not constitute civilized behavior.” (Debate, Sept. 23, 2003) To some families who have lost someone to a violent act think this penalty isn’t even enough. It can never bring back their loved ones or give back the innocent lives cut short in cold blood. If we don’t join together to defeat crime it’ll eventually take us over. But does this mean we should continue the cycle? Summary and Conclusions The research I have conducted on this ...