The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

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Capital punishment is perhaps the most debated and widely discussed issue on international platforms. This is because it touches the most sensitive issue governing the very basis of civilization – i.e. Human Life. Capital punishment, also known as death penalty, is meted out to convicts of extreme offences such as murder and rape. It aims at deterring others from committing similar crimes. Death penalty has been in existence for a long time and it is surprising that such a barbaric and inhumane act is still enduring in the apparently civilized world we live in today. This paper discusses why death penalty should be banned and whether it has been successful in reducing the rates of crimes that it is meant to deter. Since life is extremely valuable, …show more content…

If evidence found after a death sentence proves the innocence of the condemned, there is no hope of reconciliation, as the dead cannot be brought back to life. There is always a chance that innocent individuals may be convicted for a crime they did not commit. About 130 individuals who had been wrongfully convicted in death rows have been released in the US since 1973, and in 2003 alone, there were 10 releases (“Death Penalty and Innocence”). Examples of such individuals include Ray Krone who was released in 2002 after spending ten years in prison. Ray Krone was proven innocent based on DNA testing, which was unavailable earlier. Technological limitations, racial prejudice and many other factors cause such wrongful convictions. Very often, a large number of innocent persons are wrongfully convicted, and the fact that some of these individuals are given a death sentence further multiplies the injustice done to them. It does not reduce crime and murder rates, but only adds further to the death count of innocent individuals. All punishments should be such that they can be revoked if future evidence proves that the condemned offender is not guilty. A death sentence cannot be revoked once the offender is put to death. Therefore, capital punishment should be banned to avoid the murder of innocent

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