Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Capital punishment is morally wrong
Capital punishment is morally wrong      Among some of the most controversial issues of our lives today, no question pops up as frequently as the question of the ethics concerning the Death Penalty. Capital punishment according to the website legal-explanations.com is â€Å"the death sentence awarded for capital offences like crimes involving planned murder, multiple murders, repeated crimes, rape and murder etc where in the criminal provisions consider such persons as a gross danger to the existence of the society and provide death punishment.†     With its origins in Latin ‘capitalis’ meaning ‘regarding the head’, a capital crime was originally punished by severing of the head. The first death penalty laws were established as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. It was also a part of the 14th century B.C.’s Hittie Code; in the Seventh Century B.C.’s Draconian Code of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes; and in the Fifth Century B.C.’s Roman law of the Twelve Tablets. Death Sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. (Deathpenaltyinfo.org Part I: History of the Death Penalty)      There are many arguments both for and against the application of the death penalty. Many people in favor of the death penalty would argue that it serves as a strong deterrent to potential recipients of such a punishment and therefore helps maintain a safer society. While numerous such arguments exist on both sides, I will be discussing why the death penalty is morally, ethically and fundamentally wrong, and try to present counter-arguments to claims made by the advocates of the death penalty.      One problem with the death penalty is that it is simply uncivilized. Most of Western Europe no longer retain s the death penalty. On top of that, when Turkey recently made an application for admission to the European Union, the Union’s committee made a recommendation against it, citing that â€Å"Turkey retains the barbaric practice of capital punishment.â€Å"American countries like Mexico and Canada have abandoned the death penalty. The parliament of Europe also passed a resolution ugring the United States to abandon the death penatly. A magazine, now in international circulation says, â€Å"Throughout Europe in particular, the death penalty is thought of as simply uncivilized.      â€Å"That its practice is said to be problematic for a leading nation. German Justice minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin has argued, â€Å"The Americans do not hesitate, proud as they are of their democratic tradition, to reproach other countries over human rights violations.â€Å"I think that great cost is desensitizing us to death and to using violence as an instrument for civiliz ed society.      Another one of the biggest ethical problems associated with the use of capital punishment is its irreversibility. Death penalty, unlike conventional punishments is absolutely final. When a person, innocent of his charges is awarded the death penalty and after he/she is executed, there is no going back if advances in medical/forensic technology provide solid evidence in favor of the condemned’s innocence. The court or the executioner cannot give back a life, so why should they be able to take it? The researchers Radelet and Bedau (1992) affirm that, â€Å"no less than twenty-three people have been
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