Capital punishment refers to the execution of criminal offenders to death after being convicted for committing heinous criminal acts. The death penalty has long engendered a heated debate. The arguments for and against the imposition of the death penalty fall under the following general headings: moral, utilitarian, and practical. With regard to moral arguments, proponents of capital punishment argue that criminal offenders who are convicted of killing or committing mass murders have forfeited their own right to life. This is because the offenders have taken away the life of another individual or individuals. Moreover, they argue that a death penalty is a just "form of retribution." By contrast, opponents of death punishment argue that by "legitimizing the very behavior that the law seeks to repress -killing -the death penalty is counterproductive in the moral message it conveys" (Susapien, 2018). Furthermore, proponents argue that it is immoral to use the death penalty for less serious crimes because it is totally disproportionate to the harm done. Other arguments presented by opponents of capital punishment include violating the offenders' right to life and is fundamentally unacceptable and inhuman. With regard to utilitarian arguments, proponents of the death penalty argue that capital punishment has a unique deterrent effect on possibly violent criminals for whom the threat of life in prison is not sufficient restraint. Opponents of the death penalty, however, cite the evidence presented in research studies that generally have demonstrated that life in prison is a more effective deterrent than capital punishment. With regard to practical arguments, proponents and opponents of capital punishment dispute on whether or not the death penalty can be imposed in a way that is consistent with justice. Proponents argue laws and procedures can be fashioned to ensure criminal offenders who commit the most heinous crimes are executed. By contrast, opponents maintain that the death penalty is not operated retributively. Moreover, proponents of capital punishment outline a wide range of factors that impede the likelihood that the death penalty can be justly applied. Some of these factors include a lack of access to good legal assistance by poor and ethnic and religious minorities and errors in the justice system. Proponents of capital punishment argue that these factors may lead to the execution of people for crimes they have not committed. Having outlined the contemporary arguments for and against capital punishment, the paper will discuss my position on capital punishment. But first, the paper will introduce and summarize an opposing argument.
Summary of an Opposing Argument
According to a 2016 article written by Antle III, there is a need to use other practical methods other than the death penalty to hold criminal offenders accountable for their actions. This includes sentencing criminals who commit the most heinous crimes to life in prison. In the article, Antle III (2016) argues against the death penalty, citing that the U.S. criminal justice system is flawed. According to Antle III (2016), the justice system in America ought to be reformed first to address racial injustices. However, Antle III (2016) states that some crimes are so heinous that there no other punishments for them. He gives an account of Dylann Roof, an American white supremacist and mass murderer, to support his argument. Roof is currently incarcerated and is awaiting execution for perpetrating the Charleston Church shooting in 2015. He confessed for killing, out of hatred, nine Americans in cold blood while they prayed. According to Antle III (2016), a number of objections to capital punishment do not hold in the case of Roof. This is because Roof pleaded guilty to all the crimes he committed. Antle III (2016) writes, "Sentencing Roof to death would not illustrate structural racism. Quite the opposite" (n.p). Instead, sentencing Roof to death would enhance racial justice as well as signify progress in protecting poor and ethnic and religious minorities. Although criminal offenders who commit heinous criminal acts deserve ultimate punishment, Antle III (2016) argues that a government ought to attempt to balance its power and right to enforce capital punishment. According to Antle III (2016), if capital punishment is imposed on all heinous crimes, society would quickly get back to the "norm" of conducting mass executions.
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My Position and Supporting Reasons
Given its diabolic nature, most countries now forbid capital punishment. However, there exist a few nations where it is still the modulus operandi. Although the death punishment appears a worthy punishment for murder in the short term, it is only a cosmetic redress that blinds the society from addressing the deep-rooted social causes of murder like unemployment and mental health problems. Capital punishment is an unacceptable and inhumane practice. There are several other practical methods to hold criminal offenders accountable for their criminal acts. In addition, the U.S. criminal justice system is flawed and favors certain ethnic groups, particularly the Whites. Thus, until the racial injustices in the justice system are addressed, capital punishment is not justified. Also, there are a number of economic benefits associated with removing capital punishment. Simply put, capital punishment should be banned in American due to the following reasons: (I) it is an inhumane approach, (II) the U.S. criminal justice system is flawed, and (III) removing capital punishment has numerous economic benefits.
Capital punishment is an unacceptable and inhumane practice. Inhumane treatment of criminal offenders is not the best way to treat the misdeeds of criminals or those of humanity in general (Mbah et al., 2019). There are several other practical approaches that can be used to punish criminals. The best approach to holding a criminal accountable for his or her crimes is reformatory rather than punitive. For example, Life in prison is a better, humane approach that not only surfaces societal rot but also gives convicts a chance to reform. For example, according to a 2014 article written by Ridgeway and Casella, life imprisonment is more effective in holding criminal offenders accountable for their actions than the death penalty. To support their argument, Ridgway and Casella (2014) give an account of William Blake, who was convicted of killing a police officer. Blake is currently in solitary confinement and is serving life imprisonment. In the article, Ridgeway and Casella (2014) describe the psychological effects Blake has endured while serving his sentence. Thus, in order to ensure criminal offenders who commit the most heinous acts suffer for their actions, life imprisonment is the punishment that should be considered; a quick death will be too easy. So as to develop a human rights culture, there is a need to abolish the death penalty and inculcate a sense of common humanity as well as the notion of human values among people.
In America, the death penalty is not operated retributively. Only a small minority of murderers are actually sentenced to death. For example, according to a study conducted by Grosso et al. (2020), the administration of the death penalty in Hamilton County, Ohio, is influenced by race. According to the findings of the study, "a black defendant with at least one white victim faced odds of receiving a death sentence that were 5.33 times higher than in all other cases" (906). In another study, Urbina and Peña (2019) document the racial bias and issues Latin Americans face in relation to capital punishment. According to Urbina and Peña (2019), the history of capital punishment in the U.S. is "shaped and reshaped by race and ethnicity of the offender and victim" (1762). Thus, the imposition of the death penalty on a "capriciously selected random handful" of criminals necessitates the need to remove the death penalty. Since the U.S. criminal justice system does not operate death sentence retributively, it is not appropriate to use retribution to justify the death penalty.
Lastly, there is a wide range of economic benefits associated with removing capital punishment. When executing a criminal offender, states usually incur several costs, from police investigation to burial. These costs include "investigation costs, trial and sentencing costs, appellate costs, and execution costs," among other costs (Collins et al., 2016). These costs make the imposition and execution of death sentences very costly. For example, between 2012 and 2013, "the average U.S. state with the capital punishment would have saved $46,474,823 had the state eliminated the DP (death penalty) and replaced with LWOP (life in prison)" (Gross et al., 2016). In another report, Amnesty International (2017) reported that death penalty cases cost roughly $1.26 million from police investigation to execution, and non-death penalty cases cost $740,000 from police investigations of the end of incarceration. The imposition of capital punishment is a burden to taxpayers. Thus, capital punishment should be removed to relieve taxpayers from the financial burden associated with death sentences.
Conclusion
To sum up, the debate over death sentence and life imprisonment remains as controversial today as it was in the past. Given its diabolic nature, a number of states in the U.S. have abolished capital punishment. However, a few states are still practicing it. Although the death sentence appears a worthy punishment for murder in the short-term, it's only a cosmetic redress that blinds society from addressing the deep-rooted social causes of murder like unemployment and mental health problems. Therefore, life in prison is the better, humane alternative that not only surfaces societal rot but also gives convicts a chance to reform.
References
Amnesty International. (2017). Death penalty cost. [Online]. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.amnestyusa.org/issues/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost/#:~:text=Recent%20Cost%20Studies&text=Death%20penalty%20case%20costs%20were,incarceration%20(median%20cost%20%24740%2C000)
Antle III, J. (2016). Dylann Roof is the best argument we have for the death penalty. [Online]. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://theweek.com/articles/666541/dylann-roof-best-argument-have-death-penalty
Collins, P. A., Boruchowitz, R. C., Hickman, M. J., & Larrañaga, M. A. (2016). An Analysis of the Economic Costs of Seeking the Death Penalty in Washington State. Seattle Journal for Social Justice , 14 (3), 10.
Gross, E., Strain, S., & Blalock, J. (2016). The economic impact of the death penalty on the state of Nebraska: A taxpayer burden? [Online]. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://files.deathpenaltyinfo.org/legacy/files/pdf/The-Economic-Impact-of-the-Death-Penalty-on-the-State-of-Nebraska.pdf
Grosso, C. M., O'Brien, B., & Roberts, J. C. (2020). Local history, practice, and statistics: a study on the influence of race on the administration of capital punishment in Hamilton County, Ohio (JANUARY 1992-AUGUST 2017). Columbia Human Rights Law Review , 51 (3).
Mbah, R. E., Pruitt, T., & Wasum, D. F. (2019). Cruel choice: the ethics and morality of the death penalty. Research on humanities and social sciences , 9 (24), 14-22.
Ridgeway, J., & Casella, J. (2014). What death penalty opponents don't get. Marshall Project .
Susapien. (2018). Why should capital punishment be banned on earth? [Online]. September 28, 2020, from https://medium.com/@Susapien/why-capital-punishment-should-be-banned-on-earth-6cac68f71fed
Urbina, M. G., & Peña, I. A. (2019). Capital Punishment, Latinos, and the United States Legal System: Doing Justice or an Illusion of Justice, Legitimated Oppression, and Reinforcement of Structural Hierarchies. UCLA L. Rev. , 66 , 1762.
