Inhumane Methods Of Capital Punishment example essay topic

An issue that causes much controversy in today's society is whether or not capital punishment should exist. Capital punishment is the legal taking of a life and it is the most severe form of punishment. I am strongly against capital punishment. I feel that it is an ineffective way of dealing with criminals and it should have no place in today's society. I don't think capital punishment is an effective deterrent. In the USA capital punishment still exists and there is a much higher murder rate there than in the UK, where the death penalty has been abolished since 1965, and out of 30 countries who have abolished the death penalty none have reported any decrease in murders.

I think there are better ways to deal with criminals than execution. For example a prison sentence. The death penalty has no place in today's society it belongs to a past time when people believed that punishment should be brutal and harsh. The ending of another person's life should not even be considered. I find it hard to believe that many countries still continue the uncivilised practice of execution. The methods used to carry out capital punishment are inhumane; they include hanging, electrocution, and poison gas.

The methods vary in different countries and states but they are all uncivilised and inhumane. I think that criminals should be sent to prison where they have a chance to be improved and reformed. Capital punishment can also result in the individual getting away with what they have done without any punishment. Juries often hesitate to convict someone for fear that that person is innocent and will face a death sentence unjustly. If capital punishment were not an option then the Jury would be less afraid. Someone can be released from prison if their found to be innocent but they can't be brought back to life.

There can also be cases where racial hatred plays a part in the jury's decision and an innocent person faces on of the inhumane methods of capital punishment because of their race or religion. I think it is wrong that any Jury has the power to decide whether someone lives or dies. There have been too many cases where the Jury makes a mistake and an innocent person is killed. This is a great miscarriage of Justice and a civilised society should not even consider taking a risk as great as this. Also many prisoners are kept on "death row" for decades they are often completely reformed by the time they are executed. This shows that a prison sentence on its own would as effective if not more effective than the death penalty.

However reformed or not the execution goes ahead. The death penalty is also very unfair on the family and friends of the victim. They have done nothing wrong and yet they also suffer greatly when a loved one is sentenced to death. It is the prisoner's family that must cope after the execution while for the prisoner at least it is all over. Despite all the evidence against capital punishment there are still many who argue for it. They argue that it discourages criminals from carrying guns and committing serious crimes like murder and that it is better for society to get rid of such people than pay to keep them in prison.

There are also people who think that as some hardened criminals cannot be reformed and if let out of prison unreformed will be a danger to society. Therefore they think the best option in cases like this is execution. They think that money should not be wasted on criminals to be kept in prison and instead they should just be executed. Although I can see why they favour capital punishment I am still very much against their arguments. I think it is very wrong for any one to be able to sentence someone to death and I think that capital punishment is not only inhumane and ineffective but it is also very unfair on both the prisoner and the prisoner's family especially in cases where the accused is found innocent after his or hers execution.