Capital Punishment Should be Abolished

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Capital punishment is the punishment of death for a crime given by the state. It is used for a variety of crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and treason. Many countries also have the death penalty for sexual crimes such as rape, incest and adultery. The lethal injection, the electric chair, hanging and stoning are all methods of execution used throughout the world. Capital punishment has been around since ancient times; it was used in ancient Rome, and one of the most famous people to be crucified was Jesus Christ. Capital punishment is now illegal in many countries, like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, but it is also legal in many other countries such as China and the USA. There is a large debate on whether or not capital punishment should be illegal all over the world as everyone has a different opinion on it. In this essay, I will state arguments for and against the death penalty, as well as my own opinion: capital punishment should be illegal everywhere. Firstly, many believe capital punishment should be reinstated in the United Kingdom because of the financial cost of prisoners. Annually, it costs about £26,978 per prisoner when they are in jail . If a criminal is sentenced to life in jail, then the cost of their imprisonment would be many times this. In the USA, the average cost per prisoner annually in jail is $29,000 . The cost of the drugs used for the lethal injection is believed to be $86.08 . This is far less than the cost of keeping a prisoner in jail, and would save the government money that could be used to try and make the community a better and safer place. Secondly, many believe that capital punishment is right because of the justice given to the victim’s family. These family members feel l... ... middle of paper ... ...r chance to reform and make themselves a better person. Works Cited http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/prison-probation-performance-stats/prison-costs-summary-10-11.pdf http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/02/us-usa-prisons-idUSTRE5215TW20090302 http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/methods.htm http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8856277/Joanna-Yeates-family-statement-in-full.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/18/mexican-prisoners-jailbreak http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/deterrence-states-without-death-penalty-have-had-consistently-lower-murder-rates http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-and-innocence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Bentley_case#Attempted_burglary_and_murder http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/international-law

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