Capital Punishment Essays (680 words) - Capital Punishment, Penology

Capital Punishment Essays (680 words) - Capital Punishment, Penology Capital Punishment Capital Punishment Capital punishment is a very controversial topic because of all the different perspectives it could be viewed by. Over 4,000 prisoners in the United States have been executed between 1930 and 1989. It does not seem like the best way to detter violent crimes and the courts should decide on alternative methods of punishment for serious types of offences. Politically it may seem like the right thing to do for various reasons including overcrowding of the jails; the system in the US is steadily increasing in population and the number of people that go through it. So as an effective solution to this problem, capital punishment may seem fitting. Another reason may be as a show of great authority on the government's behalf. They try to show other potential murderers what will happen to them if they commit a similar crime. This is not the way to do it though. Murder is defined as the killing of an individual intentionally and unlawfully. With every murder there is a trigger that provoked an uncontrollable anger in the aggressor. Capital punishment therefore is also murder. The murder of the convict is allowed because what he did aggrevated society. On this standpoint it does not seem that justice is being served. From a moral standpoint, using a violent method of punishment to deter violent crimes doesn't seem to fit properly. It is the same as reprimanding a child who hit someone by giving him/her a smack in the mouth. This teaches the child and the rest of the observers that hitting is ok when they are older. They don't see it as much as a punishment but as a display of power. This is a very dangerous thing to teach young children if used improperly. And there are times when parents sometimes punish the wrong child for something they did not even do. Capital punishment is also subject to error of this kind. It is almost impossible to find out the exact number of people who have been executed in the United States that were wrongfully convicted. There is also not a 100% guarantee that even 12 jururs will be able to accurately say that someone is guilty and deserving of the death penalty. Jesus tought us that killing in any way or in any form is unjustified. But not everone in the world is Catholic, or even Christian for that matter. This is why the bible should not be interpreted to fit peoples own beliefs on the issue of capital punishment. Jesus also taught us to turn the other cheek, but how is that possible in certain situations in which a persons life is taken? For someone who commited a brutal murder what would turning the other cheek do in this case? The person cannot be let free so he can build up his anger and do the same thing again to someone else. So if we cannot interpret all of Jesus' teaching then how can we only take certain parts of the bible and change then into our own beliefs as some people do. Thou shall not kill, some people in the world are bound to kill so what do we do to them? An Eye for an Eye, might mean that we should take this person and execute them, But if Jesus' teachings say otherwise then what do we make of these? This is why religion should not be interpreted into the issue of capital punishment. Capital punishment can be a dangerous instrument to our society. There have been many cases where justice was not served. Since capital punishment is liable to be abused by faulty humans, it should not be considered a valid form of punishment. We should not look at it from a religious point of view or by what was done in the past but only by observing our present day, Modern, Civilized society and determine a more effective means of dealing with these crimes other than death because in our modern world we are no longer barbarian cavemen, we are considered civilized.