Sunday, May 2, 2010

Capital Punishment

Capital punishment or more commonly known as the death penalty, “is the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences.” This subject is very controversial, but has been practiced by most countries though many no longer use it or have abolished it. Some only use it in extreme cases such as wartime and whatnot. I feel like I do not have much of a say on this issue because I do not really deal with it on a daily basis like I do with the environment. Capital punishment is not something that I can easily be a part of or make a difference in so why would I actually really care about it, but that sounds kind of harsh doesn’t it. Capital punishment I do not think is something that will ever have a right or wrong answer, there will always be critics and there will always be pro-capital punishment people. “In most places that practice capital punishment it is reserved for murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries sexual crimes, such as rape, adultery, incest and sodomy, carry the death penalty.” In a way people who do these kinds of things are not a positive influence on our country and therefore should be taken out. We do not need people in our country that cannot follow the rules and treat others with respect. The other option would be to live in jail for the rest of your life, or a very long time. I mean which would you really rather have? Why would anyone just waste their life away in a jail cell? I guess some could be afraid of death and what comes after, or some hope for release, possibly escape, who knows. I mean definitely the people who do these things more than once should get the plug pulled because they are apparently not learning their lesson, the point is not getting across. Oh this sounds so bad when you’re talking about a human being’s life because is not something you just play around with. “In the U.S., surveys have long shown a majority in favor of capital punishment. About half the American public says the death penalty is not imposed frequently enough and 60 percent believe it is applied fairly. Yet surveys also show the public is more divided when asked to choose between the death penalty and life without parole, or when dealing with juvenile offenders.” There are so many questions to be asked when dealing with capital punishment, and so many varying situations. It is difficult to know when a situation is extreme enough to apply it, but I guess some cases are clear because people are being given the death penalty. I think we should always keep in mind how special life is, and that people are able to change they just need encouragement and support to get through it.

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