One of the cruelest punishments in human history is the death penalty. This judgment has been known to society since biblical times. The event’s roots date back to ancient times when the custom of blood feuds was widespread. During this period of human history, the torturer of evil was destroyed without any proceedings about the degree of harm caused to him.
Today, the death penalty is the highest form of judgment and one of the problems that worry society and causes many discussions, controversy, and debate. Garrett (2017) notes that the death penalty is a harsh and just punishment for certain criminals: murderers and rapists. According to this point of view, it is partly unfair if someone who took another’s life remains in the world. The above shows that people who have committed serious crimes should not live since they pose a danger to society.
However, the death penalty is always the murder of a human being, and, therefore, it is initially immoral and criminal. The right to life is the fundamental principle among all the other human rights, which no one can take away under any circumstances. In fact, many crimes make one shudder from the cold-bloodedness and cruelty which they were committed with. Nevertheless, nobody has the right to take a life, even the most violent criminals.
It is difficult to determine what is worse, a sentence of life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty. Once Mahatma Gandhi said: “The ‘eye for an eye’ principle would make the world blind” (Shapiro, 2006, p.269). Now the death penalty has been substituted with life imprisonment. Such a measure without parole is often a fairer punishment, and there is time to realize for a person they have done wrong and live with it until the end of the days, without the right even to fresh air for more than 1 hour a day.
Punishment in general and the death penalty particularly are not omnipotent and not the best way to fight crime. Since a felony is multifaceted and deep, which is due to several reasons, measures to combat it must also be comprehensive. At the same time, it is difficult to determine which punishment is stricter: life imprisonment or the death penalty. This philosophical question has remained open and controversial for many years.
References
Garrett B. L. (2017). End of its rope: How killing the death penalty can revive criminal justice. Harvard University Press.
Shapiro F.R. (2006). The Yale book of quotations. Yale University Press.