FREE ESSAY ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

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.