should capital punishment be banned?

Capital punishment is the death penalty given by the government of a country, to people who have committed hideous crimes like homicide, rape and so on. Death penalty has been a way of punishing people since ages. Although there are some countries that have abolished death penalty from their law, there are still many which still practise the act of killing a person for crime. Death penalty is prevalent in the US, Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Some of the ways of executing criminals are hanging, shooting, electrocution and giving lethal injections. People have different opinions on the issue of death penalty given to a convict. While some think that death penalty is necessary for those who have committed a terrible crime, there are others who consider it as an immoral act that goes against the values of humanity. Amnesty International reports that 141 countries have, as of May 2012, abolished capital punishment in law or practice. So, should be it universally banned? This will be the object of this essay.

The primary reason put forward to legalise the death penalty is that it is a strong deterrent. A person who has committed a crime like killing or raping another person should be given death penalty, which is as severe punishment as the act. It is said that when a criminal is given a death penalty, it dissuades others in the society from committing such serious crimes. They would refrain from such crimes due to fear of losing their lives. If a criminal is jailed, he may again commit the same crime after being released from prison. Giving him death penalty would make sure that the society is safe from being attacked by criminals. It seems to be an appropriate punishment for serial killers and for those who continue to commit crimes even after serving imprisonment.

Also, keeping criminals in jail is claimed to be a big source of waste of tax-payers’ hard-earned money, which could be used for other more important issues of society, such as funding for