In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson will be executed if he was convicted of a capital offense, rape. On this, Jem said, “maybe rape shouldn’t be a capital offense…” The only thing that separate capital offenses from other offenses is the punishment used, capital punishment, the death penalty. Indeed, the question of capital punishment had come under fire many times, sparking numerous debates worldwide. Thus, I will share my views on capital punishment.
The two most common arguments against the death penalty are human rights – essentially, a human’s right to live – and the value of life. The human rights arguments states that the death penalty violated the basic rule of human rights – a human’s right to live – which is included in the constitutions and documents of most countries and international organizations, such as the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, while the value of life argument place the emphasis on the value of a human life, and argued that the human life is so valuable that its value isn’t affected by even the most brutal murders, and therefore even the most brutal killers should not be deprived of their lives.
As for the for camp, the best argument for the death penalty is retribution - the argument that criminals need to receive appropriate punishment for their crime according to the crime. The retribution argument states that in order for justice to be done, each criminal have to 'get what they deserve', and in the case of homicide and drug-related offenses, the criminals deserved death. Another argument is that it deters potential murderers from committing the offense, and that it will remove any possibility of the murderer murdering people again. By executing murderers, then, we would have saved the lives of more innocent people, which justifies the death penalty under the utilitarian view, as even if death penalty is replaced by life imprisonment without parole, the murderer would still be a danger to fellow inmates and prison staff.
In my own opinion, I support the use of capital punishment. Although in certain cases, such as that of Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, who tried to escape because he feared being executed, wrongful executions may occur, objectively, capital punishment will deter more potential murders and stop convicted murders from committing murder again, and therefore, from the utilitarian perspective, capital punishment will save more lives than it will end, and should thus be used. This is proven by the case of Singapore, which had one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and is one of the only five developed countries that still permits the death penalty.
As for the for camp, the best argument for the death penalty is retribution - the argument that criminals need to receive appropriate punishment for their crime according to the crime. The retribution argument states that in order for justice to be done, each criminal have to 'get what they deserve', and in the case of homicide and drug-related offenses, the criminals deserved death. Another argument is that it deters potential murderers from committing the offense, and that it will remove any possibility of the murderer murdering people again. By executing murderers, then, we would have saved the lives of more innocent people, which justifies the death penalty under the utilitarian view, as even if death penalty is replaced by life imprisonment without parole, the murderer would still be a danger to fellow inmates and prison staff.
In my own opinion, I support the use of capital punishment. Although in certain cases, such as that of Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, who tried to escape because he feared being executed, wrongful executions may occur, objectively, capital punishment will deter more potential murders and stop convicted murders from committing murder again, and therefore, from the utilitarian perspective, capital punishment will save more lives than it will end, and should thus be used. This is proven by the case of Singapore, which had one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and is one of the only five developed countries that still permits the death penalty.
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