Society has been debating the controversial use of capital punishment to deter crime for decades, but to no avail. The death penalty has always been a touchy subject around the world because of its extreme nature and irreversable affects. Even so, most people have little understanding of all the drawbacks and consequences that come with this method of retributive justice. The concept goes against human rights, and can put innocent people at risk. The most common argument in favor of capital punishment is that is prevents crime, when in actuality, statistics show no correlation between the two. The use of the death penalty to reduce crime is an ineffective strategy because it denies human rights, can put innocent lives at risk and has no real effect on the deterrence of crime.
Whenever the death penalty is considered, there is no way to guarantee that an innocent person isn’t wrongfully executed. This risk is always present and hard to eliminate for various reasons. For example, in America alone, there have been one hundred fifty six innocent people released from death row since 1973. (aclu.org) A safer and more reliable solution would be giving those guilty of felonies, life without the chance of parole. This would ensure that innocent people aren’t killed and would give cases a chance to be revisited in the future. Since death is permanent, it is irresponsible to continue using capital punishment until we abolish the risk of innocent lives being lost.
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Many people view the death penalty as a deterrent, but statistics conclude that capital punishment does not directly impact crime rates. There have been hundreds of studies done, but none of them have come to a consensus. About ten years ago, two professors at the University of Colorado performed a study that found that 88.2% of responding criminologists do not view the death penalty as an effective deterrent. (amnestyusa.org) Along with that, data shows that states with the death penalty actually have higher crime rates than non-death penalty states, suggesting that it does not reduce crime. (amnestyusa.org) Therefore, despite what many people think, the death penalty is not proven to be effective at lowering crime rates.
One of the most obvious reasons to oppose capital punishment is becasue it violates the rights of prisoners and is considered immoral. When we execute criminals, we are violating one of their most fundamental human rights, which is the right to live. (amnestyusa.org) It also violates the right to be free from torture and cruel or unusual punishment. (amnestyusa.org) No matter who you are, or what you’ve done, these rights remain standing, as they are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (amnestyusa.org) The death penalty is also immoral, because there is never justice in taking someones life no matter how you spin it. Capital punishment is an obvious form of revenge, and should not be considered anything more. For these reasons, using the death penalty in any circumstance is wrong because of all the violations that are made.
The use of capital punishment is not an effective deterrent because of all the risks and contoversy that come with it. While many believe that the death penalty reduces crime, statistics say otherwise about this questionable method. We must work to improve our knowledge on what justice really looks like while also displaying messages that support human rights, instead of contradicting them. Executing criminals for the benefit of society is pointless, morally wrong and should therefore be banned all across the globe.
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