The Death Penalty is a Just and Proper Punishment

The Death Penalty is a Just and Proper Punishment

The idea of putting another human to death is hard to completely fathom. The physical

mechanics involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved

in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve

it, is beyond my own understanding. I know it must be painful, dehumanizing, and

sickening. However, this act is sometimes necessary and it is our responsibility as

a society to see that it is done.

Opponents of capital punishment have basically four arguments.

The first is that there is a possibility of error. However, the chance

that there might be an error is separate from the issue of whether the

death penalty can be justified or not. If an error does occur, and an

innocent person is executed, then the problem lies in the court system,

not in the death penalty. Furthermore, most activities in our world, in

which humans are involved, possess a possibility of injury or death.

Construction, sports, driving, and air travel all offer the possibility of

accidental death even though the highest levels of precautions are taken.

These activities continue to take place, and continue to occasionally take

human lives, because we have all decided, as a society, that the

advantages outweigh the unintended loss. We have also decided that the

advantages of having dangerous murderers removed from our society outweigh

the losses of the offender.

The second argument against capital punishment is that it is

unfair in its administration. Statistics show that the poor and

minorities are more likely to receive the death penalty. Once again, this

is a separate issue.

It can't be disputed sadly, the rich are more likely to get off with a

lesser sentence, and this bias is wrong. However, this is yet another

problem of our current court system. The racial and economic bias is not

a valid argument against the death penalty. It is an argument against the

courts and their unfair system of sentencing.

The third argument is actually a rebuttal to a claim made by some

supporters of the death penalty. The claim is that the threat of capital

punishment reduces violent crimes. Opponents of the death penalty do not

agree and have a valid argument when they say, "The claims that capital

punishment reduces violent crime is inconclusive and certainly not

proven."

I am not refuting this accusation. In fact, statistics show that the

death penalty neither lowers or raises the incidence of violent crimes.