Capital punishment is too harsh discipline, no matter what the person has done. It was invented in ancient times for the legal destruction of hazardous criminals and all people who did not fit into society for any reason. An experimental theory of solving global problems took root cause of society’s lack of development. The death penalty does not help a community because it violates moral norms, does not stop people from committing crimes and may be mistaken.
The court may pass the wrong verdict and execute the innocent person. Before capital punishments, professional investigators search and collect evidence, but even specialists can make a mistake. According to Bibi et al. “many wrongful convictions are eventually reversed in appellate courts, but innocent individuals have faced torturous death cell conditions for decades” (2019, p. 48). People tend to make mistakes, and judges are personalities too. Even if the trial takes place, considering the jury’s opinion, the number of votes can reduce the right to error, but does not exclude mistakes. It is irresponsible to give a person’s face to a group of other people.
Capital punishment does not restrict people from committing bad things. When a person commits a crime, men realize that they can be punished. However, research shows that criminals hope to avoid any judgment. It means that the offender does not see the difference between imprisonment and the death penalty in violation of the law. In addition, in the case of capital punishment, the perpetrator may think that they already have nothing to lose. The culprit will do what they want anyhow since there is no more terrible punishment. For example, terrorism involves the risk of death; a person who goes for such action is ready to die. The death penalty can induce a person to commit crimes, as men are either prepared to die or think that they will not be caught.
Violence breeds violence because people see that others can kill; hence they can too. The punishment methods of “lulling” were much more severe in the past than they are now. People gathered in the squares to see how someone is being deprived of life; it could be beheading, hanging, or burning. In addition, the perpetrators suffered severe torture before death, such as being sprayed with tar or impaled. By that time, the crowd did not experience negative emotions like compassion or pity; even the kindest people liked this sight. In the atmosphere of harshness, new crimes are committed only more often. People change a lot depending on the environment; if violence rules around them, they become tough and ready to commit crimes.
For unlawful killings, the state allows lawful killings because capital punishment is also murder, only permitted by authority. It leads to the fact that the attitude towards murders among civilians is twofold. People think it is possible to kill sometimes if it undermines moral foundations. Therefore, if a person decides that their enemy has committed a crime and the law does not help, they can kill the foe because of saving the world from the villain. The executioners are legal killers, which does not make them better than illegal killers because all people adhere to society’s morality.
The death penalty is a consequence of illegal behavior, but the state does not eliminate criminals’ causes by killing a person. The significant reasons for crime are increasing poverty, inequality, lack of education, and mental disabilities of specific people. The state can fight crime based on logic, for example, to stabilize the level of social life, provide more education opportunities, and introduce mandatory psychological testing at certain stages of a person’s life. The government chooses the wrong strategy in solving the problem by supporting the death penalty; it would be more effective to understand the causes and eradicate them.
Someone may say that criminals who have served in prison commit a crime again, and capital punishment will protect society from such actions. According to Harris and Teasdale, “psychopathy may also be an important predictor of repeated violence for individuals with serious mental disorders” (2017, p. 697). However, if a person is mentally ill, the state should send him to a psychiatric hospital and heal, not to kill them. There are also psychologists in prison who help more or less healthy people to realize their mistakes and change. As mentioned earlier, execution undermines moral norms and creates misunderstandings in the minds of an entire society that leads to more severe consequences than the unlikely re-crime of one person.
Capital punishment is an outdated penalty that only gets humans in trouble. Discipline does not reduce the number of crimes and does not stop people from committing them. By allowing such actions, the state undermines the morality of the entire society, forming double standards. The justice system is not perfect, fate can make a mistake, and then a person will be suffering. People with mental disabilities should be treated for not committing re-crime. The death penalty is not suitable for today’s civilized society since people should have learned long ago to solve problems in more humane ways.
References
Bibi, S., Hongdao, Q., Ullah, N., & Khaskheli, M. B. (2019). Excessive use of death penalty as stoppage tool for terrorism: Wrongful death executions in Pakistan. Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, 81, 42–52. Web.
Harris, M. N., & Teasdale, B. (2017). The prediction of repeated violence among individuals with serious mental disorders: Situational versus dispositional factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(1–2), 691–721. Web.