Position Paper

Should Capital Punishment be given?

Team Sensato, TAPMI

Topic: Should Capital Punishment be Given?

Position: No (should NOT be given)

Argument:
The most common rationale used for justifying the provision of capital punishment, is that
it can as a deterrent for similar nature of crimes. However, extensive
research and documentation has revealed that all convicts who indulge in acts
qualifying for capital punishment upon capture, are aware of the consequences (before
they act). So, does it really reduce the number of such crimes in the state?
Not in the slightest.

Instead of analyzing the convict’s act and his/her judgement /views in context of his/her morality,
we prefer to strictly restrict ourselves to a cause-effect analysis on the subject.
In the name of justice, courts empower the victims and their kith and kin to seek retribution across
all types of countries alike.

And that is because a person contemplates and executes a crime primarily based on these
two factors - “opportunity” and “desire”. The severity of the punishment plays almost no
role in impeding their actions. On the contrary, extra caution is taken to commit such
crimes, thoroughly removing all evidences of crime, and at times even the trace of the
victim/s. Therefore, the rationale to support death penalty, although celebrates idealistic
vision of law and order, certainly does not govern the motivation/drive of the offender in
reality.

Yet another argument in the favor of the death penalty, is the burden on the tax-payers to
sustain a criminal life with no scope for rehabilitation. The truth is, instead of making the
streets safer, this line of thinking fuels exploitative measures undertaken by governments
(such as privatization of state-run prisons in USA, under the management of Corrections
Corporation of America {currently Core Civic)) which in turn leads to a higher rate of
incarcerations (as the private body signs long term contracts with terms mandating them
keep the prisons 90% full at all times). This results in a bigger hole in the pocket of the
exchequer, as more lawyers, psychiatrists, other services need to be appointed by the
state to facilitate the additional supply of inmates.

After understanding the shallowness of these arguments, if one chooses to stand by

“death penalty” as a form of punishment, then indeed that person believes in higher
morality, and it is not a dimension worthy to be addressed with any seriousness in our
opinion.