I would sentence a murderer to the death penalty because someone who has taken a life (a murderer) should not be allowed to carry on with theirs. My reasons for this opinion are that it will deter other people who are contemplating killing someone from doing so. Also each criminal should get what their crime deserves and in the case of a murder what their crime deserves is death. It can also give closure for the victims’ families. Most importantly it is most definitely safe to say that those who are executed for their crimes cannot commit further crimes. I think the aim of the punishment should be:-
Protection – Society must be protected from criminals like murderers. Some criminals need to be protected from vigilantes, people who take the law into their own hands. To protect society – criminals go to prison and lose their freedom.
Retribution - Based on the Old Testament saying – “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. The criminal is punished and made to pay for the crime that was committed. The punishment fits the crime. An example of this is capital punishment where a person is killed of they commit murder.
Deterrence – This is meant to put the criminal of re-offending, to stop them committing a crime again and going back to prison. It also puts other people off crime because they realise they will be punished.
Reform - This aims to change the person when they are in prison so that they will not return to crime when they are set free, this is often called they Christian aim because Jesus taught that we should forgive and love our enemies.
Vindication – This aims to show that law breaking will not be accepted in society, the law is to be respected and if you break it you will be punished.
Other people will disagree and would not sentence a murderer to the Death penalty because it is up to God when someone’s life should end. Their reasons for this opinion are that