Death Penalty Should Be Abolished
THE DEATH PENALTY SHOULD BE ABOLISHED
Dating back to the 16th century BC, the first historically recorded execution was conducted in Egypt. In those times, executions were conducted in numerous ways that ranged from sawing the accused, neck lacing (a common practise during the apartheid era in South Africa), burning and flaying (skinning the accused). Now, over 3510 years later the death penalty is still a common practice, according to Amnesty International,”95 countries (49%) still have the death penalty in their constitutions, in 2012 China executed the most people with an estimated figure of 1,718. They also go on to state that in 2012, Iran conducted at least 346 executions, the USA 111, Saudi Arabia 102 and Pakistan 36”.However the methods have been made “less cruel”, with executions being conducted through lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad and hanging. This essay aims to discuss the various pros and cons of the death penalty and shed some light on why this practise is inhumane and why it should be abolished. Although some people believe it is a deserved punishment for cruel crimes such as murder, rape, and terrorism only to mention a few, the death penalty should be abolished because it is immoral, results in irrevocable mistakes and the cost of executing a criminal is much higher than that of imprisoning them for life without parole or pardon.
First and foremost the issue of the death penalty is a very immoral practise. It is a system which clearly believes two wrongs can make a right. In principle it is immoral, and it is unfair and discriminatory in practice. No one deserves to die and no one should give themselves or be given the power to choose whether another human being gets to live or die. When governments’ pass out vengeance disguised as justice, they stoop down to the killer’s level and devalue human life and human dignity just as the killers and other criminals do. Our society is civilized such that we reject the
Dating back to the 16th century BC, the first historically recorded execution was conducted in Egypt. In those times, executions were conducted in numerous ways that ranged from sawing the accused, neck lacing (a common practise during the apartheid era in South Africa), burning and flaying (skinning the accused). Now, over 3510 years later the death penalty is still a common practice, according to Amnesty International,”95 countries (49%) still have the death penalty in their constitutions, in 2012 China executed the most people with an estimated figure of 1,718. They also go on to state that in 2012, Iran conducted at least 346 executions, the USA 111, Saudi Arabia 102 and Pakistan 36”.However the methods have been made “less cruel”, with executions being conducted through lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad and hanging. This essay aims to discuss the various pros and cons of the death penalty and shed some light on why this practise is inhumane and why it should be abolished. Although some people believe it is a deserved punishment for cruel crimes such as murder, rape, and terrorism only to mention a few, the death penalty should be abolished because it is immoral, results in irrevocable mistakes and the cost of executing a criminal is much higher than that of imprisoning them for life without parole or pardon.
First and foremost the issue of the death penalty is a very immoral practise. It is a system which clearly believes two wrongs can make a right. In principle it is immoral, and it is unfair and discriminatory in practice. No one deserves to die and no one should give themselves or be given the power to choose whether another human being gets to live or die. When governments’ pass out vengeance disguised as justice, they stoop down to the killer’s level and devalue human life and human dignity just as the killers and other criminals do. Our society is civilized such that we reject the