Argument: capital punishment

Should dangerous criminals be executed?

Many countries in the world have a system of capital punishment but others, like Britain, have abolished it. What are the pros and cons of capital punishment?

One of the main arguments against used to be that there was always the chance of a judicial mistake, leading to the execution of an innocent person. There is also the moral argument that if killing is wrong when perpetrated by an individual, how can it be right if ordered by a judge. There is also, in many countries, a widely-held belief that capital punishment has no place in a civilized society. In Britain, MPs take the view that, just as we earlier abolished public executions as barbaric, to return to capital punishment would be a retrograde, uncivilized step. So MPs regularly vote against restitution of the death penalty.

There are, however, many arguments in favour. The obvious one is that if you kill someone you deserve to pay with your own life. This is backed by the biblical argument of an eye for an eye. In addition, some crimes are so awful that the perpetrators can never be returned to society and for them a life sentence means life. One of the arguments of the opponents of capital punishment is that criminals can be reformed and have a motive to do so with the promise of eventual release. But releasing convicted murderers back into society is fraught with danger and has on occasion led to further tragic murders. Another argument in favour is that nowadays, with DNA evidence, there is very little chance of a wrongful conviction. Finally, there is the expense of looking after killers for a long period in jail;why should hardworking taxpayers have to foot the bill?

There are some moral arguments against capital punishment but,in my opinion, in addition to the pros outlined above, the ultimate sanction is a strong deterrent to all potential transgressors.

317 words