SEO Article on "Capital Punishment as it Illustrates"

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capital punishment as it illustrates, this is the lawful imposing of death as a means of punishing. Although in religion is condemned, different countries have found it necessary to impose laws that support capital punishments as a means of dealing with extreme and dangerous criminals. Other parties however condemn the act basing their argument on the fact that these criminals are human being and thus entitled to life. Because this subject is of great concern, it has seen a significant change in reforms over the world in the past, some enacting and others abolishing capital punishment laws (Kronenwetter, 2001). Nevertheless, capital punishment gets rid of capital criminals, as they deserve so and thus finances as a limited resource ends up benefiting the acceptable groups in the society. However, chances are there that some people obtain death sentences that are not comparable to their crimes. In addition, the relatives of those on the death row have extreme psychological suffering in relation to convictions (Mandery, 2005, p. 44). Capital punishment is thus unacceptable practice socially, ethically, spiritually and physically and all should avoid it as much as possible.

Capital Punishment

Capital punishment asserts to be the legal imposing of death sentence as a way of inflicting retribution and ever since the early times is a preferred way of punishment for a significant number of illegal acts. From the Holy Scriptures, death appears as intentional unlawful killing of human being as well as other considerable number of offences such as abduction and witchcraft (Kronenwetter, 2001). For instance in Europe and specifically in Britain in the sixteenth century, the only main and violent crimes were answerable to death. These would include offences like treasons, murder, rape, and robbery with violence amongst others. Throughout the period since capital punishment has existed, the laws of the respective countries have changed because of reforms on those countries. In addition, countries like Venezuela started reforms in 1853 while Portugal in 1867. The arguments were that capital punishment was a certainly unnecessary means seen as enacted through fear and put in place by fateful mistake. These two countries considered capital punishment as not an appropriate method of punishment and they abolished it. Crossing the pacific, in United States of America, the Michigan state became the first to abolish death penalty in 1847. Currently, many countries are abolishing the laws like in Western parts of Europe as well as significant parts of Latin America. However, other parts like in the United States of America, China, Japan including a considerable number in Asia and some in Africa still has death penalty as acceptable conviction in certain crimes and they different enact them dictated by respective countries constitutions ("Capital Punishment," n.d.). As cultures differ from one place to another, capital punishment becomes a complex subject. Capital punishment is thus unacceptable practice socially, ethically, spiritually and physically and all should avoid it as much as possible.

At this point, anyone can be compelled to ask whether capital punishment is acceptable ethically. One should neither wonder nor see it as a complicated issue when he/she establishes that putting people to death irrespective of their crime is highly unacceptable despite the fact that many governments encourage it in one way or another, which might be not conventional. Many states/countries will arm their military forces and put the assumption forward that some individuals will fall victims of bullets as they might put it, country's literal command (Kronenwetter, 2001, p. 88). It is possible that a significant number of governments will wish to enact capital punishment in some categories of crimes through citizens voting (referendums) or other acceptable means the feel so. The majority views of many countries that prefer democracy will still approve capital punishment as an acceptable method of punishment ("Capital Punishment," n.d.).

It will be logical to argue that if majority of the people in any country considering enacting capital punishment, are democratically seeing death penalty as a means of punishing, and their considerations should be valued in this regard. There is the truth that everybody will die one time and despite anti-capital punishment activists, capital punishment makes someone aware of dying which can sometimes inflict great suffering to a victim as well as severe psychological agony. People who suffer from terminal illnesses will probably lie in this category. All the same, many will accept a death punishment/sentence if a physician recommends so without any criminal doing but will considerably disagree/condemn a death sentence resulting from judicial proceedings for an offence like murder or substance abuse, offences that majority of many countries enact capital punishment on ("Capital Punishment," n.d.).

With regard to the above discussion, this subject of capital punishment takes two sides, those supporting it as acceptable method of punishing and those see it as unacceptable practice. First, arguing for capital punishment and considering the crimes that are committed in the society, some will be serious while others will be "fair." Thus, in the effort to remove serious offenders in such a society, capital punishment will be a best method to wipe completely such culprits from the society. After that, the rest of the people in the society will have peace compared to situation where such criminals are in jail, for either short or long-term convictions and finally return to society to terrorize them. This ascertains the fact that deceased offenders will never be able to commit criminal acts it any thinkable way, be it in prison or otherwise, they are simply never there.

Looking at the cost aspect, financial capabilities of majority governments are limited and thus it will make sense if such a limited resource would benefit the acceptable groups in the society like the old, the sick, the young and other development projects as opposed to committing such resources in managing murderers behind bars for life sentences. For instance, looking at American way of doing things, anti-death sentence activists would argue that death executions cost higher compared to life imprisonment. However, despite this being true in the Western country, it results from the long judicial proceedings that render the processes lengthy in terms of appealing and the like as the constitution accepts and it can take as long as 12 years. Other countries like in Europe (Britain) in 1900s the time would take as short as 21 days (Mandery, 2005).

Convicting an offender to execution brings the reality that this is an actual punishment compared to rehabilitation, as the offender suffers equally to the committed offence. Whether acceptable or not the current times, where there could be compromises, it all depends on an individual understanding. Nevertheless, retribution will to majority democratic nations be acceptable as a certain reason to put someone under capital punishment.

If one considers capital punishment as discouraging, he/she would be in a difficult position to ascertain this because in majority of countries that use imprisonment, those who end up in the capital punishment is usually very small. This would thus bring a perspective that in nations that have regular death executions such as Singapore might be having certainly few capital crimes. Therefore, it indicates that capital punishment is deterrent in situations that have execution as being so in practice. In other situations that have formal procedures that give chances for the offenders to appeal, capital punishment will be deterrent while others that involve situational considerations, compromising death penalties might be possible where such could be like in the United States of America (Kronenwetter, 2001).

Where else there are those who consider capital punishment as a just way of punishing based on the above, others put forward undisputed arguments on the disadvantages of capital punishment. It is possible that in the process, some certain innocent people will obtain sentences that are capital (Mandery, 2005, p. 44). Considering this, it will thus be very difficult to pay for damages done on such person due to poor justice. Still in this, a convicted person may understand that he/she has terminated other life, but fail to understand and accept that his action resulted to murder, complicating the matter. In such situations, the accused and the dead only knows what took place and thus the expertise in prosecutions comes to play to decide whether it death resulted from murder or manslaughter (Kronenwetter, 2001, p. 88). These two complicate cases even higher and thus, a person may end up having a sentence for murder where else the crime was equal to manslaughter.

Whenever an individual is in the process of undergoing judicial proceeding that perhaps would result to capital punishment, it usually takes time and the family of the convicted will undergo serious psychological trauma before and after conviction. It comes real that it could significantly take too long for such members to understand that truly their beloved could involve in such extreme criminal activities and his/her life could end in such circumstances, and worse if the convicted is really not guilty (Mandery, 2005, p. 44). Therefore, these families' sufferings are important considerations to make to discourage capital punishment.

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