Zach Schwarz

Senior English

Miss Schimmel

11/03/20

Why Capital Punishment it Ethical

Many people have their own opinion of whether capital punishment is ethical or not.

There are several different reasons given for both opinions. Some think that it is a waste of

human life to kill them while others think that it is for the good of society to get rid of bad

people. It is used throughout the world still, and it should not be taken away. There are many

reasons why capital punishment is ethical. One reason is that the Bible supports it in many

passages. Other reasons are that it discourages people from murdering others, it gives the

victim’s family closure, they have a lot of time to appeal, and it makes plea bargains work. No

matter what others say, the death penalty is ethical, and should in fact be carried out.

One proof that the death penalty is ethical is that the Bible supports it. There are many

times in the Bible where people are stoned for terrible sins. Men were stoned by the church for

blaspheming God’s name. Also, as seen in the book of Joshua, God commanded the people of

Israel to stone Achan when he sinned by taking the spoils from Jericho when it fell. This shows

us that capital punishment cannot be wrong, but in fact should be used by all states. It would not

be taught in the Bible if it was wrong. Another example from the Bible is found in Exodus 21:12

which reads, “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.” This is a perfect

example of capital punishment in the Bible. It can be seen that the death penalty is not only

allowed in the Bible, but in fact it was commanded by God. It cannot be the case that it was okay

back then, but that it is murder now.

 Another proof that the death penalty is a very effective measure to be used by the courts.

Having it in place in certain states reduces the number of people who commit murder. If they

know that murdering someone will result in their own death if they get caught, it will make them

think twice before doing it. If they just think the worst that can happen is they go to jail for a

long time it will not stop near as many people from taking someone else’s life from them. It

cannot be said for sure that it does stop people from doing this, but is it worth saving criminals'

lives just to put innocent people at further risk? That is a question that has to be asked to people

who think it is wrong.

A third proof that the death penalty in many cases is the only effective way to give the

family and friends of a victim closure for their loss. If they have to live the rest of their life

knowing that the person who killed their loved one is still alive and could even get out some

time, they will never have closure or peace. If capital punishment was used on the criminal, the

family could get comfort that the murderer had paid for what they did, and would never do it

again. Why should the victim's family have to suffer even more just to save the person who

caused them this suffering? The answer is very simple. They should not have to. Capital

punishment gets rid of the person who caused their family so much suffering.

Finally, the last reason why they should keep capital punishment is the amount of time

they get and plea bargains. If a terrible criminal did something so bad to deserve the death

penalty they still have a chance to get out of it. Criminals get put on death row for a long time,

giving them many chances and opportunities to appeal their sentence and even prove their

innocence. They are sometimes given years to do this. Also, when a horrible criminal is caught

and is not cooperating with the police, they can be offered a plea bargain. This means that if they
help the police out they will get a lighter sentence. When a criminal has the possibility of the

death penalty hanging over their head they will be way more willing to help the police.

All of these reasons on why capital punishment is ethical should be enough to convince

anyone. This will not be the case though because many people like to base their opinions outside

of the facts. The fact is that the death penalty makes this world a safer and better place for all of

society. If society abolished the death penalty, it would be going against the Bible, more murders

would occur, victim’s families wouldn’t have closure, and plea bargains wouldn’t be as useful

for the police.