Capital Punishment Removes Rehabilitation from Incarceration

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Capital Punishment Removes Rehabilitation from Incarceration

Capital Punishment refers to the sentence or decision to

a capital crime such as murder, rape, or assault. Many times,

the sentence is life in prison or execution. Currently, the

United States is the only western democracy that still has

execution on the books. An alternative to execution is life

imprisonment, which is common throughout the world. There are

many features, however of life imprisonment that are debated.

Treatment of offenders of capital crimes is questionable in

certain prisons. Also, the safety of society is a question at

hand when discussing life imprisonment assuming the prisoner

could be up for parole or escape. Lastly, the rehabilitation

process of offenders of capital punishment is a big question

mark. Many wonder what success it brings, just how effective it

really is, and what its purpose is for criminals who've

committed such horrible crimes as homicide, or other capital

crimes.

The Article "The Wrong Man" by Alan Berlow points out

some of the wrongs about the death penalty. There are numerous

stories of men who spent their life on death row, only to be

released days or hours before their death because of being

proved innocent. In his article Alan talks about "the growing

number of innocent prisoner being discovered on death row" and

how the government needs to "wake up"(Berlow 7). This means

that more and more cases are being rushed to execution without

all of the facts. Remember, in order to give a sentence, the

client must be guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and it seems

that this is sometimes ignored as unclear cases are being

pushed by officers and lawyers to executions. Another p...

... middle of paper ...

...verage of at least 75% of their

sentence, a drastic improvement over the years. Rehabilitation

services like this seem a good idea, helping society that much,

so services liek this one should be popping up in other parts

of the country soon. This rehabilitation is exactly what the

U.S Catholic Bishops mean when they say it is the most

important part of prison.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Ahlers, Julia and Michael Wilt. Christian Justice: Sharing

God's Goodness. Winona: Saint Mary's Press, 1995. 30- 40.

Berlow, Alan. "The Wrong Man." Atlantic Monthly. Nov. 1999.

Erskine, Michael. "Dozens of Killers in Medium Security." The

Commercial Appeal. June 1999: A1.

O'Neill, Heather. "Programs Offering Alternatives..."

Connecticut Post. August 1999.

Pilcher, James. "Inmates Enjoy New Quarters: Tents." The

Associated Press News Service. August 1999.

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