Capital Punishment

Capital punishment should be outlawed in all countries

                                           

Capital punishment is a form of legal punishment which involves executing those who did wrong. According to current statistics only 20% of countries throughout the world currently use capital punishment. We are lucky here in Australia as capital punishment was abolished many years ago. The Christian faith teaches that a life is a life no matter what, and should be held sacred in all circumstances.  

Capital punishment is used as a form of punishment for many different types of crimes. The most common crime where the death penalty is used as a punishment is when a murder or mass murder has occurred. The justification of this happening for many people is that, the criminal has taken a life so they deserve to have their life taken from them. 

The problem with this justification is that by a government taking the life of a criminal it brings them down to the same level of that criminal. As the saying goes two wrongs do not make a right. In other instances where capital punishment is used, such as drug trafficking, death seems to be a bit of an overkill. Here in Australia people caught with drugs often do not even serve jail time, so why is it that other countries such as Bali feel the need to punish drug related crimes with death? For the members of the Bali 9 (who were Australians caught with drugs and on death row in Bali) the existence of capital punishment has greatly affect them and their families. This goes to show that putting people on the death penalty not only affects their lives but the lives of all those who knew them. 

Capital punishment is still used by some countries as it is thought to be the greatest of all deterrents to crime. This; however, is not true. Studies have found that the death penalty does not in fact reduce crime rates compared to countries where life in prison is the harshest penalty. So this asks the question as to why the death penalty is still used. In most countries where the death penalty is used, it actually costs the government more money in legal fees and document processing to execute someone than it does to lock them up for life.  

Finally the biggest problem with capital punishment is that there are no second chances or take backs. If a mistake is made and someone innocent is executed then there is no way of setting them free. It is estimated that there were between 50 – 100 innocent people executed in Australia during the time when the death penalty was used. For the families of these people they have no way of getting their loved one back. This is why the capital punishment is an unjustifiable penalty to give anyone and should be completely abolished in every country throughout the world.  

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