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Death penalty has been an inalienable part of human society and its legal system for
centuries, regarded as a necessary deterrent to dangerous crimes and a way to liberate the
community from dangerous criminals. However, later on this type of punishment came to be
regarded as a crime against humanistic ideals by many, and its validity in the legal system has
been questioned. Until now, the debate rages on. This resulted in a wide discrepancy of laws on this
issue. Some nations including China, the US, Iran, Belarus, and others preserve the death penalty as
an option, while others like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and almost all European nations have
abolished capital punishment. This article will examine this topic firstly by considering the cause of
death penalty and ways to overcome it.
Sentencing prisoners to death would no doubt cause some problems. An example of such
problem is that innocent people could be killed. If a person is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to
death, they won't get a chance to prove their innocence and will be killed even though they never
commit the crime. Recent studies have shown that around 4% of death row inmates in the United
States are actually innocent. Another problem caused by death penalty is that the death row
inmates do not get a chance to change their ways and turn a new leaf. There would be no point for
the prisoners to attempt changing their life because they will die either way. They wouldn't get a
chance to enroll for parole and become a functional member of society. The final concern with the
death penalty being implemented is the cost to carry out death sentences are abnormally high. For
example, California has spent 4 billion USD since the year 1984 to carry out death penalties. The
money should have been invested for much better uses such as for improving the education or
infrastructure of the country.
The usual causes of crimes committed that leads to death penalties are as below. Firstly,
mental illness or disorders that includes a wide variety. Criminals with mental illness aren't
capable of thing straight and logically, thus committing acts that oversteps the boundaries of law.
Other than that, people who are stressed in life such as from the aspect of family, friends, work so
on and so forth. These type of people would often express their stresses in the wrong and immoral
way such as committing serial homicides. Furthermore, people might also disregard the law and
commit crimes out of jealousy or vengeance. Lastly, crimes can be committed with beneficial
reasons. For example, they aim to acquire their parents property and money, especially the second
generations of the rich.
Crimes that have been committed could not be condoned or excused. There is no denying
that guilty people are obliged to receive punishment and justice must be served. However,
punishment should be proportionate to the gravity of offences committed without going as far as
taking one's life. Studies have proven that there is no conclusive evidence of the deterrent value of
death penalty. Therefore, there are a few alternatives to hold offenders accountable and to protect
society from further harm at their hands. First of all, death penalty should be replaced with life
imprisonment. This is due to the fact that life imprisonment is swift, severe and certain
punishment. For instance, it provides justice to survivors of murder victims and allows more
resources to be invested into solving other crimes and preventing violence. Other than that, a
solution to death penalty is to educate and embed moral values into children since young. Children
should be taught to distant themselves from crimes as well as fighting against them. Consequently,
death penalty could be prevented with the reducing crime rates. Moreover, authorities should also
enforce the law. As a result, people would not take the risk to commit crime. In conclusion, there are
a lot better alternatives for death penalty in penalizing the criminals and keeping the safety of
citizens.