Introduction
There is impeccable proof that capital punishment does not have any significant help in deterring people from committing acts of crime. Capital punishment is simply a very cruel and cold-blooded means of treating the convicted criminals. It is quite inhuman and does not give the criminal or offender the chance to correct and become a reformed person. There are many cases where people have been killed through capital punishment only to be found innocent later. Therefore, capital punishment should be abolished from the justice system.
Reasons for the need to abolish capital punishment
There are various reasons for the need to abolish capital punishment from the justice system. The reason capital punishment should be abolished is the fact it is inhuman and against the ideals of humanity. Capital punishment simply involves taking away the life of a human being through very inhuman means. Some of the inhuman methods used to implement capital punishment include hanging and shooting. In countries like the United States of America, electrocution, injections and gas chambers are some of the means used to execute the capital punishment (Brugger, 2014). These are all very inhuman means. It is important to note that life is given by God hence every human being has no right, whatsoever, of killing another person (Rade et al., 2017). Moreover, capital punishment is against the basic human rights provided by the international law. Capital punishment is against the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in the year 1948. Article 3 provides that all human beings have the full right to life. This right to life includes the protection against being killed by any other person under whatever circumstances.
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The capital punishment has to be abolished because it poses the risk of executing very innocent people. As mentioned earlier, there have been cases where individuals are killed only to be realized later that they were innocent (The Editorial Board, 2016). Once such a person is killed, the act is irreversible even when it is noted that he or she was innocent. Moreover, capital punishment does not give the convicted the chance to reform and become a resourceful person in the society. People have to be allowed the chance to become better citizens. They may be of great use in the society in future.
Moreover, it has been established that the death penalty does not deter people from engaging in crime. People still engage in acts of crime despite the presence of capital punishment. Many advocates have been using this argument in the courts citing the lack of a single or even the slightest proof that capital punishment has a significant input in the deterrence of crime.
However, it is important to note that there are people, particularly the policy-makers who advocate for capital punishment practice. The argument for capital punishment practice is that criminals and offenders who attack and kill others need to be murdered in return. The argument for capital punishment is always focused on the terrorists who use weapons of mass destruction to kill many people. Such people deserve capital punishment. This argument misses to recognize the fact that a mistake can be in any form and people can correct if given the chance to do it.
Conclusion
Capital punishment should be abolished. Capital punishment is a breach of the basic human rights enshrined in the United Nations international law. Capital punishment has also failed to deter crime. Moreover, capital punishment must be abolished because it increases the risk of killing innocent people. It has been established that there are many individuals who are killed and later realized to be innocent. Capital punishment is inhuman.
References
Brugger, E. C. (2014). Capital punishment and Roman Catholic moral tradition . Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.
Rade, C. B., Holland, A. M., Gregory, J. B., & Desmarais, S. L. (2017). Systematic review of religious affiliations and beliefs as correlates of public attitudes toward capital punishment. Criminal Justice Studies , 30 (1), 63-85.
The Editorial Board (2016). The Death Penalty Endgame. The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March, 2017 from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/the-death-penalty-endgame.html?_r=0 .
