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.