Sunday, August 12, 2007

At first thought,it seemed completely logical to deprive a person of his or her life for some unforgivable offences that he or she might have committed. Furthermore, the death penalty probably kept people in line over the centuries. However, coming to think about it all over again,i believe firmly that death penalty is unacceptable in modern society.

First and foremost, we have to agree unanimously and see that most punishments are meted out to offenders in order to rehabilitate them.That is exactly why criminals are locked up for long periods of time to assist them in learning how to adapt and return to society as useful citizens.If the ultimate reason for punishments is rehabilitation,then it seriously makes no sense to execute someone.Only if the society dares to admit that the shameful purpose of punishment is retribution and revenge,and that everyone is able to accept retribution and revenge as a principle behind the act of punishment,then the death penalty is logical and acceptable.

Secondly,just as the article has pointed out,many advanced countries like those in Europe and some states in America have done away with the death sentence.Also,the argument put forward in these countries where the death sentence has been discontinued is that the criminals are not always responsible for their acts and the fact that sentencing(let's say)a murderer to death will never bring the victim back to life.In fact,there are people who believe that a lifetime in prison in much more unbearable and painful than a quick death at the hands of the executioner.Therefore, there seems to be good arguments supporting the stand that death penalty should simply be done away with.

Yet,i think the main reason some countries are still keeping the death penalty is because it is believed to be effective in deterring people from committing serious crimes.It is often argued that the presence of death penalty and the putting to death of a few criminals under it,will deter like-minded criminals from committing the same crime.Though this argument does have merits in the sense that it will probably work and might have probably worked for some countries,it still seems rather unfair to the criminal.

All in all, i totally disagree with the existence of death penalty in Today's society and that it should be abolished as soon as possible.