Death Penalty - Should it be brought back

Bring Back the Death Penalty!

The death penalty has been used throughout history; it has evolved from being stoned to death, to being hanged and finally being injected with 3 substances that will kill the victim without pain. Many ideas have developed over the years on how to take a criminal’s life and the lethal injection seems to be the most humane method but the fact that the death penalty has been abolished altogether in Britain is in my opinion appalling. Criminals all over the UK are committing atrocities constantly and getting away with minimal jail sentences and it’s an outrage; murders, rapes, kidnapping and a manner of other serious crimes and I think it’s about time Britain consider bringing the death penalty back.

Another obvious reason why the death sentence should be brought back is that in Britain it costs over £23,000 to keep a prisoner in jail for life but don’t you think this money could be put to better use? Instead of feeding and sheltering these criminals who frankly don’t deserve it, why isn’t this money being put to better things? This money could be used for; Medical research, it could buy soldiers, nurses, doctors; it could be used to fund homeless shelters as well. Do you think a murderer deserves 3 meals a day while people are stuck without food, water or shelter?

Moreover, people who are sentenced to death usually committed 1st degree murder to end up on death row awaiting the lethal injection but in Britain people can be let out after as little as 15 years with the chance that they will commit atrocities again on the public, if the death penalty was brought back to Britain then it would stop these people getting back out onto the streets and making us all unsafe, the streets would be safe to walk, people could feel safe and the country would generally just be a better place and that’s why the death penalty should be brought back especially with the increase in prison overcrowding.

Evidently prison overcrowding is becoming an increasing issue in this country; overcrowding and reoffending rates are just a fact of life in modern day Britain despite the opening of two new prisons with 2,500 available cells. Even with those new prisons opening up this year, 59% of prisons in England and Wales are working at an overcrowded level. There are 7,294 more people in the prison system than there should be at the moment and some of these people are; murderers, rapists, child molesters, kidnappers and many more. In mine and 56% of the world’s opinion the death penalty should be brought back for the people who deserve it.

The bible states that “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is a fair system and this is a familiar saying around the death penalty subject; this is where people believe that if you take someone’s life, you should have your life taken from you. The death penalty has been given to some who kill just for a few dollars and the “eye for an eye” situation around cases like this is the most obvious. In the United States of America there was a case not long ago where a man broke into someone’s house and beat them to death with a metal baseball bat in the hope to obtain some money but instead he only got something around $20 from the poor woman’s purse, pointless isn’t it? Taking a life for something as little as $20 it makes no sense. In Britain people are robbed and killed in a similar situation but the perpetrator of the crime will receive life in jail which is not always what it seems, the prisoner can sometimes receive parole, which is the provisional release of a prisoner in which they agree to certain circumstances e.g. an electric tag but for taking a life this punishment is not enough.

In addition to an “eye for an eye”, the death penalty also provides a sense of closure to the victim’s family and friends, they now know that whoever took their friend or loved one’s life has been dealt justice. The victim’s family and friends might not be over the whole situation completely yet but at least they know that the murderer can’t get out to harm anymore loved ones or anyone else at all for the matter.

Lastly, the death penalty is the best answer to murder; if someone has taken a life for no reason then they have basically given up their human right to live themselves and in my opinion, murderers get off easy with the lethal injection because they simply drift into sleep and that’s it but they will never know the pain their victim or victims felt when they were killed in cold blood. The punishment fits the crime in this situation; wouldn’t you feel safer if these kinds of people were no longer with us instead of being out on the street with the rest of the public, not feeling worried, not feeling scared, not feeling that your life is in danger.

In conclusion the death penalty needs to be brought back to Britain because; I want the country to be safe, I don’t want people to worry about killers on the streets and I want a safer country in general. The death penalty has been abolished for far too long and it’s needed back to deal with certain kinds of people in this country. Justice needs to be dealt to the killers, rapists, child molesters and kidnappers of this country and the death penalty will see to that, everyone will be safe, no one will need to worry and it would make the country a safer place.

By Kyle Thomson S4 Persuasive Essay

Word count = 970