Friday, May 4, 2007
Capital Punishment
"The death penalty is not a deterrent, it is murder." Do you agree?
Capital punishment, commonly known as the death sentence, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. In Singapore, some of the capital offences are premediated murder, possession of arms, treason, kidnapping and drug trafficking.
Some countries have abolished capital punishment(eg. Canada, Australia) and it is getting more popular among other countries. One reason why capital punishment should be abolished is that it prevents innocent people from being executed. Furthermore, the death penalty is irreversible. Between 1973 and 2005, 123 people in 25 US states were released from death row when new evidence of their innocence emerged. Therefore, there may be many other innocent people who have been "murdered" legally. Even if they were found to be innocent later after they were executed, it would be too late as they cannot be brought back to life.
The use of capital punishment may serve as a deterrent to others. However, it may backfire, especially when there is much publicity about the case in the media. Some people may treat the criminal as a celebrity or idol and imitate what he does, such as kidnapping and murders. This may instead cause more unrest in the country. It may lead to a chain of other capital crimes like murders.
Many criminals who commit capital offences cannot think rationally at the point when they are committing the crime. Therefore, some people argued that it is unfair. Capital punishment also violates the criminal's right to life. Often, criminals who commit capital offences do so because of their background and their mental state of mind at that point of time. For example, in the recent Virginia Tech shootings by Cho Seung-Hui, he had a history of incidents at the school, including allegations of stalking, referrals to counseling,and a 2005 declaration of mental illness by a Virginia special justice.
On the other hand, capital punishment serve to act as a deterrent to the people so as to reduce the crime rate in the country and ensure peace and security. Some people say that the penalty is legalized murder because it is like “an eye for an eye”. Most people have a natural fear of death. It is because the judiciary system cares too much about the rights of criminals, sometimes more than the victims, that crime rates may have increased. A study has claimed that murder increased by 7% from five years before the abolition of the death penalty period to the five years after the abolition.
Executions today are very different from before too. Executions are not made public like before. A public execution warns the people that they will have to pay for the crimes that they commit. Thus, it would not be as effective as before in deterring others from committing the same crime.
"It was a fanfare ritual back then. Now it is just an unseen deed done at prisons. We should bring it back into the open so that everyone can see the consequences of your crimes." -- Debate Over Capital Punishment - A Pro Stance
Personally, I am in favour of capital punishment, especially for those who plan what they do and is clearly aware of what they are doing when committing the crime. These criminals should be well aware of the punishment for their actions before they do it. In the case of murder, the death penalty is not enough. It cannot bring back the loved ones to the families that have lost them. With many advanced equipments, together with the knowledge and wisdom of law enforcers, the probability of murdering an innocent man is very small.
