RUNNING HEAD: SHOULD CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BE ALLOWED?

Should capital punishment be allowed?

Changing communities

Vo Hoang Hung

Centre number: VN280

Candidate number: 34

Vinschool The Harmony

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Introduction

Moses, a great Judaist, once delivered the message of God “An eye for an eye”  and this concept

has become the basis of the world’s justice today (Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2020). The meaning of

this principle is that whoever pains anybody must be punished the equal amount in return

(Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2020). Capital punishment, a penalty that the one who kills must be

penalized by death, executes this law (Hood, 2020). However, there have been controversial

debates whether capital punishment is effective. While supporters affirmed it is necessary to

embrace the death penalty as a deterrence and a method of practicing justice, its cruelty and the

mistakes make it ineffective in achieving its purpose. 

Global 

One significant benefit of capital punishment is being a supreme deterrence against homicide.

Theoretically, after watching an execution, potential killers will consider twice before killing for

fear of death, according to Professor Sunstein at the Chicago University (Muhlhausen, 2020). For

example, Isaac Ehrlich’s research demonstrates with every inmate that was sentenced to death,

seven lives were saved (Muhlhausen, 2020). Ernest Haag, a criminology professor, claimed:

“Whatever people fear most is likely to deter most” (Death Penalty Curriculum, n.d). It can be

inferred that capital punishment deters more effectively more than any other punishment (Death

Penalty Curriculum, n.d). Briefly, serving as a deterrent, the death penalty plays an important

role in discouraging future crimes.

Despite such benefits, opponents of capital punishment complain capital punishment provides no

deterrent effect. Statistical data revealed the opposite effect (Amnesty, 2020). Doctor William

Bowers maintains that the death penalty increases the homicide rate due to the brutalizing
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community it creates (Death Penalty Curriculum, n.d). Take the USA as an example, in states

that abolish execution, the murder rate is 4 percent while the figure is 5 percent in areas where

capital punishment is practiced (BBC, 2014). Additionally, most criminals who attempt murder

simply do not intend to be found or do not properly consider the differences between execution

and life penalty until they act (ACLU, 2020). Murders are sometimes committed by offenders

who abuse drugs and have mental illnesses (ACLU, 2020). 

National 

Nationally, Vietnamese society seems to favor a death sentence as it is a form of retribution.

Logically, once a killer is put to death, no more victims will be created (VnExpress, 2017). In

Vietnam, the law “an eye for an eye” is widely practiced and favored (VnExpress, 2017). People

believe true justice needs individuals to suffer for their crimes in a manner that is proportional to

their offenses (BBC, 2014). When asking about an alternative penalty, life imprisonment, they

are not convinced since life sentences will not ensure safety sufficiently. Offenders may not pose

threats to the public; however, they are dangerous to jail guards and other inmates (BBC, 2014).

Execution will eliminate the risk (BBC, 2014).

Conversely, many concerns occur when practicing capital punishment. One major issue is that

murders need executing proportionate to the seriousness of their offenses, but the anticipatory

pain causes the sentence more severe than just depriving their freedom (Susapien, 2019).

Therefore, it seems capital punishment has violated the principle of retribution (BBC, 2014). The

additional concern lies with wrongful execution because the courts seem to impose unfairly on

those who are marginalized, illiterate and colored-skin (ACLU, 2020). Throughout the case of
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farmer Dang Van Hien, since the court failed to apply mitigating circumstances, the farmer was

mistakenly condemned to death. (Tran, 2018).

Analysis of C&C

The reason why capital punishment is still practiced is that it lowers homicide rate One positive

impact is that several killers will think twice before they act; thus, numerous victims are saved.

However, capital punishment may create a brutalizing society; thereby, the homicide rate keeps

soaring. 

Comparison of C&C

In the two perspectives, there is a difference between Vietnam and many other countries. While

most nations abolished capital punishment, the Vietnamese justice system continues to execute

this punishment. The reason is that unlike other republics, Vietnam has not developed to a

certain high level along with its people’s bad awareness of the law; hence, the death penalty is

their only choice (VnExpress, 2017). 

Solution

Firstly, for countries that execute capital punishment including Vietnam, the main solution is to

improve death penalty systems. Their goals are to offer practical training to justice officials,

advise on judicial reforms and create a forum for sharing experiences (The Common Wealth,

2020). If their actions are completed successfully, fewer cases will be convicted wrongfully.

Secondly, in regions where that abolish death penalty, sentences like incapacitation or exile can

be practiced (ACLU, 2020). They must provide prisoners accessibility to the highest health

standard such as medical support, education, infrastructure and sanitation (OHCHR, 2020).
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Personally, perhaps what I could do is to learn how the justice system functions (Forbes, 2019);

consequently, if there are mistakes caused by the court, I can contribute my ideas for correcting.

Reflection

At first, when I went into this topic, I thought capital punishment should never be abolished. “An

eye for an eye” is a concept that determines justice, in my opinion. Capital punishment will be an

method applying this philosophy. However, after studying about this argument, my thoughts

have altered. Amnesty (2020) revealed there is no correlation between the homicide rate and

capital punishment, which means no deterrent occurs. Moreover, several cases were convicted

mistakenly because of unfair court systems. Most of the reasons were racism, slip-ups from

judicial officials and lack of legal support, according to BBC (2014). In conclusion, I believe that

capital punishment is unacceptable.

Source Evaluation

This article is written by the American Civil Liberties Union and was published in 2020, which

is reliable for its up-to-date content. In this source, the information is abundant with dependable

references. Nevertheless, this article might be one-sided, for it only illustrates the bad side of the

argument. The writer’s writing style is advanced, so it is fairly difficult to understand. Another

source that I use was written by Amnesty USA organization. It was published in 2020, which

ensures accuracy for readers. Although the information is not as plentiful as the first one, it is

well-written and straightforward. This article contains enough statistics and information, which

fits my needs.

Total word count: 1030

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Reference

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Amnesty International. (2019, June 19). 5 reasons some people think the world needs the death

penalty. 

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penalty/

A Clear Scientific Consensus that the Death Penalty does NOT Deter. (2009, June 18). 

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Hood, R. (2020). capital punishment | Definition, Debate, & Facts. 

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System? 

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