Which would you choose to pay for your crimes; capital punishment or
life imprisonment? Of course, this is a question that us teens don't
usually think about because it's not part of our average every day lives.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, has been around since
the first forms of government existed. In the United States, there are
many kinds of executions including lethal injection, lethal gas, the
electric chair, and in a few states, shooting squads, and even hanging.
The question is, that is commonly debated everywhere from its beginning,
and to this day, is capital punishment moral? And the answer to this is
quite clear; capital punishment is wrong because nobody had the right to
take a human life, the possibility that somebody may be innocent and is
killed, and that if someone's crime was really atrocious, then they should
receive life imprisonment.
What gives people the right to take the life of another, and
especially in a country that is supposedly based on strong morals?
Usually, malevolent homicides in the third degree are the transgression
that results in sentences of execution. So the murderer convicted to
execution would perish, but two wrongs still don't make a right. It was a
corrupt act in which the killer took the life of another, but it's still
depraved to rob the criminal of life. Capital punishment, and its
enforcers and supporters are just as equally immoral as the homicidal
offender. The violator could have been a bloodthirsty slayer, but he or
she is still human, and is still "somebody's baby." It's true that
murdering someone is an inhumane act, but in capital punishment, a murder
is taken place in execution. What makes murder legal? Nothing. Who is
allowed to murder? No one in this world. Nobody on this Earth has the
authority to destroy a life, and is given special permission to murder as
an accepted exploit.
It gives a bone chilling feeling to think of a situation such as
this: what if the person being innocent? There are many
examples of films and literature in which this is exemplified, like in the
film, The Green Mile, and A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. If
putting someone to death wasn't bad enough, it's even more horrific if the
person was completely innocent. No one deserves death, and especially the
people who haven't even committed a crime. Mistakes are made everyday; it
is the human error, and it's not surprising that courts have made the wrong
decisions in sentencing execution. Could you imagine the feeling and the
momentum behind the families of the victims of human error? They would be
devastated by the loss of their family member or friend, and especially
since it was of unfair judgment or just being at the wrong place at the
wrong time. It is not only unfair "treatment" to the condemned person, but
to his or her family and friends, when they mourn the killing of someone
they loved. In a world that we seek justice and fairness, we should not
eliminate a life and risk the possibility of that error or potential
innocence.
Capital punishment isn't exactly the worst sentence that can be given
to a murderer, either. The life sentence is a far agonizing penalty than
capital punishment, because you suffer for a long period of time, rather
than dying instantly. If a killer really deserved something terrible for
what he committed, then he should get the worse punishment possible, and
that is the life sentence term. It's worse to spend a torturous lifetime
in jail, living a life that was taken from your control in a confined
place, and better to end the torment at once in an execution. It's a
choice that many in films and literatures have also been faced with, and
every time, they would rather take the easy way out and their death than
face the rest of their existence in prison. If the crime and offense was
horrendous and ghastly, then the offender should be faced with the life
sentence, not capital punishment.
We cannot question ourselves now on the reason why this form of
governmental inhumane punishment exists in or legal systems today; it's too
late for that. However, the debate will live on forever, and it's not too
late to change it; we just have to look to the smarter side. Capital
punishment is absolutely immoral and should not be accepted into legality,
and there are many reasons, as talked about previously. No one has the
right to take the life of another and we shouldn't eliminate a life of
possible innocence. If the crime was exceptionally decadent, then the
penalty should be life imprisonment, not the death penalty. There a lot of
things that us teens can do now to support the right decision. We can send
the government our opinion by writing pieces such as this. Maybe one day,
we can see a time where there will be no legitimate and permitted murders
in what we call capital punishment.