Can Capital Punishment Ever Be Justified?
Capital Punishment is one of the most controversial topics around the world. There are many people that strongly oppose the idea of reinstating of the death penalty while at the same time there are countless other people that support it. The main question is: Can the death penalty be justified?
Although the side against the capital punishment has a strong argument against it, the opposing side also has legitimate reasons for favouring it. One very common argument that people bring up, is that enforcing the death penalty could lead to executing the wrong person. If the person was still in jail, it was possible to release him, but if he or she has already been executed, then there is no going back because the damage is irreversible. Nobody can revive the dead, but with every system there are always going to be errors. The high claims that capital punishment has a high error rate are myths and it was revealed by studies that there was only one or two mistaken cases and even those were revoked as they were released before undergoing their punishment. Nowadays with the help of science – DNA testing, witnesses, and even guilty pleas from the accused themselves, that error is greatly reduced. Although there is still a slight chance that an innocent man or woman may be executed, we need to understand that every system has a flaw. This should in fact push the authorities to study each case even further, and make sure there is enough supporting evidence to convict the offender in the first place.
Another conflict that arises about this subject is the topic of revenge and the cruelty of the act. Many argue that capital punishment is a very cruel punishment and that nobody has the right to take the life of other people because it violates the ‘right to live’ rule. Some methods to execute a person on death row are questionable such as ‘hanging’ and ‘electrocution’, because it is possible for somebody to end up strangling themselves to death instead of quickly breaking
Although the side against the capital punishment has a strong argument against it, the opposing side also has legitimate reasons for favouring it. One very common argument that people bring up, is that enforcing the death penalty could lead to executing the wrong person. If the person was still in jail, it was possible to release him, but if he or she has already been executed, then there is no going back because the damage is irreversible. Nobody can revive the dead, but with every system there are always going to be errors. The high claims that capital punishment has a high error rate are myths and it was revealed by studies that there was only one or two mistaken cases and even those were revoked as they were released before undergoing their punishment. Nowadays with the help of science – DNA testing, witnesses, and even guilty pleas from the accused themselves, that error is greatly reduced. Although there is still a slight chance that an innocent man or woman may be executed, we need to understand that every system has a flaw. This should in fact push the authorities to study each case even further, and make sure there is enough supporting evidence to convict the offender in the first place.
Another conflict that arises about this subject is the topic of revenge and the cruelty of the act. Many argue that capital punishment is a very cruel punishment and that nobody has the right to take the life of other people because it violates the ‘right to live’ rule. Some methods to execute a person on death row are questionable such as ‘hanging’ and ‘electrocution’, because it is possible for somebody to end up strangling themselves to death instead of quickly breaking