The death penalty is an appropriate form of punishment for people that commit sexual assault of minors. The case of minors specifically is significant because rape cases of older individuals may be controversial. For instance, there are cases when women made fake accusations only to attain financial compensation. If a jury decides that a defendant is guilty, then, if there is a death penalty, a wrong person may be executed. However, minors are not capable of committing fake accusations, and therefore, a convicted individual is indeed guilty. Furthermore, raping minors is an ethical issue because the magnitude of consequences is more drastic than it is with adults.
There are potential psychological and physical consequences for children that were raped, and this aftermath may have an impact throughout the whole life. In other words, the sexual assault of a minor means destructing their lives, which is why the death penalty is appropriate. Many people are against death penalties because they believe that any person has a right to live (George, 2017). However, intentionally ruining someone else’s life should be done only at the expense of their own. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s case is also relevant in this context – he planned and executed a terrorist attack that killed 30 people (ABC News, 2015). Dylann Roof, too, intentionally killed eight people at the church (MSNBC, 2017). In both cases, I would have ruled against them and would favor the death sentence because these people are terrorists that killed intentionally. In the case of killing police officers, the topic may be controversial. A defendant may prove that they were not guilty or suspicious, and the police officer started shooting for no reason and was killed only because the defendant was protecting themselves. Therefore, not everyone who killed a policeman should be sentenced to death, as the case can be complicated than it is perceived at first glance.
References
ABC News. (2015). Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sentenced to death . YouTube. Web.
George, R. (2017). Death penalty: A paradox in a democracy. Journal of Public Affairs and Changes, 1(1), 62-73.
MSNBC. (2017). Dylann roof sentenced to death for Charleston Church massacre | MSNBC . YouTube. Web.