Should Capital Punishment Be Re-Introduced?
Should Capital Punishment be Re-Introduced?
The term 'capital punishment' is derived from the Latin caput, meaning 'head'. It originally referred to death by decapitation, but now applies generally to state sanctioned executions. Capital punishment is a death sentence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. Capital punishment has, in the past, been practiced by most societies, as a punishment for criminals, and political or religious dissidents. Historically, the carrying out of the death sentence was often accompanied by torture, and executions were most often public.
There are two purposes of captial punishment; deterrence and retribution. In order to perform the function of deterrence, a punishment needs to be in some way or another, unpleasant, or at least believed to be so. The other function is retribution, retribution is simply ‘getting even’ with the offender. Just seeing or knowing that the offender is suffering will be considered good. Retribution is just like saying the famous quote ‘an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth!’ The offender committed suffering to the society hence they must receive suffering from the society. All in all, retribution is getting even with the offender while deterrence is doing something to the offender so as to deter him and other would-be offenders from doing the same wrong doing.
In Australia in the nineteenth century as many as 80 people were hanged per year for crimes such as burglary, sheep stealing, forgery, sexual assaults and even, in one case, 'being illegally at large', as well as for murder and manslaughter. Since federation is 1901, only 137 people have been legally executed. Since then capital punishment has been formally abolished in Australia. It was last used in 1967, when Ronald Ryan was hanged in Victoria. Ryan was the last of 137 people executed in the 20th century and prior to his execution Queensland and New South Wales had already abolished
The term 'capital punishment' is derived from the Latin caput, meaning 'head'. It originally referred to death by decapitation, but now applies generally to state sanctioned executions. Capital punishment is a death sentence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. Capital punishment has, in the past, been practiced by most societies, as a punishment for criminals, and political or religious dissidents. Historically, the carrying out of the death sentence was often accompanied by torture, and executions were most often public.
There are two purposes of captial punishment; deterrence and retribution. In order to perform the function of deterrence, a punishment needs to be in some way or another, unpleasant, or at least believed to be so. The other function is retribution, retribution is simply ‘getting even’ with the offender. Just seeing or knowing that the offender is suffering will be considered good. Retribution is just like saying the famous quote ‘an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth!’ The offender committed suffering to the society hence they must receive suffering from the society. All in all, retribution is getting even with the offender while deterrence is doing something to the offender so as to deter him and other would-be offenders from doing the same wrong doing.
In Australia in the nineteenth century as many as 80 people were hanged per year for crimes such as burglary, sheep stealing, forgery, sexual assaults and even, in one case, 'being illegally at large', as well as for murder and manslaughter. Since federation is 1901, only 137 people have been legally executed. Since then capital punishment has been formally abolished in Australia. It was last used in 1967, when Ronald Ryan was hanged in Victoria. Ryan was the last of 137 people executed in the 20th century and prior to his execution Queensland and New South Wales had already abolished