The issue on capital punishment
Over the years, crime has been a constant factor in all aspects of society. There have always been few individuals in a community who opt not to abide to the status quo and choose to engage in ways that are considered criminal depending on the laws in use at that given time. Since crime has always been in existence, society has come up with various ways of punishing those who break the law and ensuring that justice is served. While most modes of punishment have been generally accepted by the public, capital punishment has received a great deal of controversy as to whether it is an ideal form of punishment. Since there is a significant number of people on contrasting sides of the issue, it raises the question as to whether capital punishment should be used as an acceptable form of punishment. This paper will thus focus on answering the question by highlighting the benefits of using capital punishment and why it should be implemented.
In this day and age, technology has taken over and anyone can accesses information from the media on various devices. With such advancement, one is able to get news on various occurrences among which is the issue of crime. This topic matters to me because I believe that the prevalence of crime deteriorates society and all measures possible should be taken to eradicate it. Often times, people commit heinous crimes and in some cases get away without facing punishment for their crimes. Other times, the punishment given is too lenient and does little to make the criminal to change their ways and go back to a life of crime (Brady, King & Nelson, 2016). Law enforcement agencies and the judicial system have a responsibility to ensure that they do all they can to make the community a safe place and one way of doing so is deterring, if not completely doing away with crime. While various methods have been used over the years, I believe that the use of capital punishment will go a long way into reducing the amount of crime, if not doing away with it completely.
Before commencing with my research, I thought that capital punishment as an option had been outlawed and no longer practiced. I was of the notion that the various methods currently in use for punishing criminals were ideal and thus capable of not only punishing criminals but also deterring them from crime. While evaluating the various issues that could be addressed in relation to crime, I discovered that these methods were not only ill suited for meeting the purpose they were intended for, but also that they contributed, to some extent, to the issue of crime being prevalent in society. Prison sentences only led to the housing of inmates who would either commit crimes while in prison or go back to their life of crime soon after they had served their sentences (Kramer, 2011). This raised the question of why capital punishment was not considered as an ideal form of punishment especially for those who commit heinous crimes such as rape and murder.
Normally, my process of research involves conducting general searches on various websites. This method is ideal as it leads to the discovery of various materials that contain helpful information for any topic I am researching on. For this paper, I combined my usual research method with a resource provided for in the course material. It gave me a better understanding of how to best utilize the online database and widened by research area as I was able to access various journals, books and other relevant materials. The materials were very helpful as they provided vital information which was useful in supporting the implementation of capital punishment.
According to Elsworth (2003), capital punishment is ideal as it helps the victims to find closure. A death sentence sees to it that the victims feel a sense of justice being served and they can finally move on with their lives because the criminal is no longer alive to remind them of the harm brought to them on his or her account. Bedau and Cassel (2005) add on this stating that capital punishment is the most suitable way to close the chapter on the crime committed and thus helps the victims to find closure. Philips (2000) also supported the idea of implementing capital punishment on the basis that it is a deterrent to crime. According to Colucci and Tyner (2015), criminals engage in crime to benefit themselves as it is faster than working for what they desire. The existence of capital punishment will therefore deter crime because it will discourage people from engaging in crime out of fear of losing their life.
In relation to the CARS model, I was able to evaluate the sources I used to ensure that the material used for the paper was factual and accurate. All the sources used were credible in that the authors were qualified for writing on the topic in question. They were also affiliated to credible organizations known for the quality of work they produce. The sources were accurate in that, other than being recent, they were not biased and told both sides of the issue on capital punishment. This made them reasonable in that they not only proved facts that I already knew but also provided new information both positive and negative. They also had citations which indicated other sources that were used to support ideas presented in the materials that I used as the source of my research.
References
Bedau A. H and Cassell G. P. (2005) “Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case” Oxford University Press
Ellsworth P. C (2003) “Public opinion and capital punishment: A close examination of the views of abolitionists and retentionists” Crime & Delinquency
Kramer, M. H. (2011). The Ethics of Capital Punishment : A Philosophical Investigation of Evil and Its Consequences. Oxford: OUP Oxford.
NELSON, K., BRADY, T., & KING, D. (2016), “The "evil" defendant and the "holdout" juror: unpacking the myths of the aurora theater shooting case as we ponder the future of capital punishment in Colorado” Denver Law Review
Philips, (2000) “The deterrent effect of capital punishment: New evidence on an old controversy” American journal of sociology
Tyner, J. A., & Colucci, A. R. (2015). Bare Life, Dead Labor, and Capital(ist) Punishment. ACME: An International E-Journal For Critical Geographies
