Death Penalty

Death Penalty is a very controversial way of punishment. It violates the right of humans to live, but it is still legal in some areas. Death Penalty can come in the form of guillotines, firing squads, and many other methods. They all violate a human right. Many people agree to implement death penalty. There are valid arguments for this. According to civilliberty.about.com, death penalty is an effective deterrent. If the person is dead, how can he commit any more crimes? Criminals will think twice before murdering, because they will face death. Nobody wants to die. The victim’s family will want vengeance and the only way to do that without them killing the criminal and going to jail. Death penalty is the alternative for this. The killing is done for them.

However, death penalty has many disadvantages and many people oppose the idea and action. According to antideathpenalty.com, death penalty actually costs more to implement than life in prison. About 2 million dollars are used to make sure the criminal gets a fair trial in the form of appeals, security and defense counseling, compared to the 500 thousand dollars used for life in prison. This punishment directly violates the human right to live. Many religions including Catholic, Presbyterian and Amish oppose this punishment. The innocent can be killed for the crime they did not do. Statistics also show that death penalty is not actually a deterrent. The US, which practices death penalty, has a higher crime rate compared to Britain and Australia, who don’t practice death penalty.

I personally oppose death penalty. If someone were to kill a loved one of mine, I prefer them to suffer in prison rather than have them killed. This way, no one kills anyone and no human rights will be broken. The topic of DP is very complicated and people can argue for hours on what they believe in.

The most violated crimes/laws in Indonesia

There are many violated laws/crimes in Indonesia, the country I am living in right now. It is not exactly one of the countries where crimes are not committed very often. There have been quite an amount of cases and stories where crimes are committed. From theft, pick pocketing to attacks, there is an abundance of bad plots in Indonesia. It may be the government’s fault or the police’s fault but we should consider the resources available for them as well as the citizen’s reception when a friend or family is punished. It is be right to punish them but the close ones are usually biased about their thoughts on the verdict.

Pick pocketing is very common in crowded places like the wet market. One will walk into the location and must be very careful. Unknowingly, that person can find him or herself looking for their cell phone or wallet filled with a lot of money, unable to find it. But who is to blame? The pickpockets or the society (including the law enforcers)?  Actually, considering the socio-economic status of the people, they may be to blame. But it may be the law enforcers’ fault too. The poor resource management of Indonesia causes the people to have less money given from the government’s support.

Today, in Indonesia, cases of corruption have caused the nation to be unstable in  terms of its infrastructure and the distribution of money. The poor have no support from the rich, that is why they may resort to crimes.

Has law helped in reducing crime?

In my opinion, yes it has. Why? I think that psychological influence is very powerful. The people’s minds are affected by threats. I personally am affected if someone were to threaten me, I would be scared. The law does not eliminate crime, but it reduces and minimizes crime. There is only a very low chance (if any) of all people being at peace and not committing any crimes.

In one way or another, the law has made Earth’s countries a more peaceful place to be. It may seem to affect us now since we are already experiencing it. But try to think about it, if the law didn’t exist, there would be a million times more crimes than if there was a law. Without law, the poor will become poorer and the rich will become richer. This would be only one of many possible results if there was no law.

The law seeks to punish and prevent and it has been quite successful in its objective. When a criminal is captured, he will be sent to prison or at least give back what he took through community service (depending on the severity of the crime). In this period, the criminal will ponder on what he has done. This will be likely to prevent him to keep doing what he had done because he feels guilty. 

How does the law help in reducing crime?

The law has been around for as long as civilization began.  It has greatly reduced the amount of crimes people committed over the years. Without the law, the world would have been a battlefield. People would attack, kill and rob others just to take what is theirs. Without the law, the world would be a terribly dangerous and corrupt place. People won’t be able to walk outside for even a second!

But how has the law kept order? The law injects fear into society. If anyone attempts to cause a disruption or attempt a crime, they will be reminded that there will be someone to bring him or her to justice. The system’s purpose is to punish and ultimately cause criminals to never commit crimes again. With fear in the minds of the people, they will think twice or thrice before planning an evil plot.

The law has made a need for facilities like the police force and the prison. These facilities are to enforce what the law states. Without police officers and prisons, the law would be useless and just a piece of writing made up by a group of people. It would be scary to think what the world would look like if there would be if there were no laws applied in countries around the globe. If there were  no laws, the situation would be catastrophic.