Rehabilitation, Not Capital Punishment

773 Words2 Pages

Rehabilitation, Not Capital Punishment

The death penalty is the punishment used in 38 states, and many

other countries, as a way of disposing the people in society who are

mentally or emotionally disturbed, love their families very much, have a

bad temper, or just plain made a mistake. These reasons account for many

homicides that take place each year. Capitol Punishment is just not humane

and should not be legal.

The argument most often used to support the death penalty in

former-Soviet republics is the necessity of having a particularly

efficacious deterrent against murders and other common crimes. However,

none of the many studies about the matter have been able to show that death

penalty is more of a deterrent than other punishments. It's completely

wrong to think that most of those who commit serious crimes such as murders

consider the consequences of their actions. Murders are often committed

when the criminal is blinded with passion, when emotions prevail over

reason. They are sometimes committed under the influence of drugs or

alcohol, or in panic moments, when the culprit is discovered while he

steals, as I mentioned already. Some murderers have very serious

psychiatric problems or are mental patients. In none of these cases is it

possible that the fear to be sentenced to death could act as an effective

deterrent.

There is another heavy limit. One who plans a crime rationally can

choose to go on, although he knows the risk he's running, thinking that he

won't be discovered. Most of the criminologists assert that the best way to
...

... middle of paper ...

...cases. There was many times in

my own childhood where I took the last cupcake, or spilled my milk. Not

all of these times was I held accountable for my misdeed. The younger

brother usually received the punishment that I deserved. This can also

happen with murder, only death is permanent and "time out" is not. What do

we say to the families of the innocently punished when such evidence comes

forward to prove that their loved one was wrongly executed? There is

nothing we can do or say to excuse ourselves.

In conclusion, the death penalty is not right because it does not

serve the purposes that it is intended to serve. I have proved that it is

not an effective deterrent, but it also removes people from the world who

can be rehabilitated in a proper institution.

Open Document