Ashley Callen

Professor Reynolds
ENG 1201
10/24/2021

Who is right in the debate on capital punishment?

The topic of capital punishment has been very widely debated for centuries. Some see it as

cruel and unusual punishment while others deem it as a fair response to certain crimes. Who is

right in the debate on capital punishment though?

To begin with, let’s look at the origins of the death penalty. According to the article Early

Death Penalty Laws from the Death Penalty Information Center, the death penalty can be traced

“as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which

codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes.” Over the years though, it evolved and changed

into what it is today, around the world. It is important to note that the capital punishment is not

strictly given as a punishment for murder, either. For example, in Vietnam, the death penalty may

be imposed upon someone for drug related crimes (Luong).

Now let’s look at arguments against the death penalty. Many feel the death penalty is not

actually an “eye for an eye” response. In fact, there are plenty who view it as inhumane or a

violation of human rights (Petrovici and Dean). “It is not proven anywhere that killing murders

would stop other people to commit an upcoming crime” states one article (Singh). These are the

people who ask “is it ethical?” Other arguments against the death penalty (taken from 9 Arguments

against the death penalty) include that it is racist, biased against the poor, responsible for killing
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innocent lives, that it does not actual lower crime rates as supposed, that it does not allow for

reformation of criminals and that it may be biased against the mentally ill.

Finally, there are those who firmly believe in capital punishment. One example is a direct

contradiction to our last paragraph, stating that “the death penalty is an effective deterrent.” (Head)

The pro-capital punishment group also seems to not believe in mercy, that just because someone

is guilty of a heinous crime, they should just be put to death, because the deserve it. They firmly

believe it is Biblical because and “eye for an eye” is just how it is supposed to be. The only sound

argument the pro-death penalty crowd seems to have is that by receiving the death penalty, the

family of the victims are able to receive closure. (Head)

Both sides of the capital punishment debate clearly have their reasonings, but the anti-

capital punishment group is actually taking the person being convicted into consideration while

the pro-capital punishment crowd seems to be more concerned about logic or finances. As

previously stated, the anti-capital punishment group explains how the death penalty is actually

unfair and designed to set up minorities for failure while the pro-capital punishment group can

really only argue for it from a financial standpoint or with an attitude of “well he deserves it

because he killed someone”.

The arguments made for abolishing the death penalty are grounded in mercy for the sake

of humanity. Those that seek to end the death penalty acknowledge that it is unfair, often targeting

people who are a disadvantage due to mental handicaps, lack of finances, race and so many other

things. They understand that subjecting a person to the death penalty may mean years of

psychological torture as they await their time to die at the hands of the government is cruel and

unusual. While an individual who has committed a heinous act deserves to be punished, they know

that there are better ways than death. The arguments for the death penalty are relatively flimsy.
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The only argument they can really stand on is that the victims of families deserve closure, closure

that may only be provided by the execution of the person who murdered their loved one, but that

does not seem like a strong enough argument just to keep capital punishment in effect. Because of

this, it is my opinion that the death penalty be done away with.

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Works Cited
“Early History of the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center,
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/history-of-the-death-penalty/early-history-
of-the-death-
penalty#:~:text=The%20first%20established%20death%20penalty%20laws%20date%20as
,codified%20the%20death%20penalty%20for%2025%20different%20crimes.

“9 Arguments against the Death Penalty: Are There Any Pros?” End The Death Penalty!, 18
Sept. 2019, https://nodeathpenalty.org/get-the-facts/six-reasons-oppose-death-penalty/.

PETROVICI, Iasmina; DEAN, Ivan. Postmodern Openings / Deschideri Postmoderne. Dec2020,

Vol. 11 Issue 4, p309-322. 14p. DOI: 10.18662/po/11.4/237. , Database: Central & Eastern
European Academic Source

Luong, Hai Thanh. In International Journal of Drug Policy. June 2021 92 Language: English.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103132, Database: ScienceDirect

“Capital Punishment ‘an Eye for an Eye’- Human Rights Perspective.” Legal Thirst, 4 July 2021,
https://legalthirst.com/capital-punishment-an-eye-for-an-eye-human-rights-perspective/.

Head, Tom. “These Are the Most Common Arguments in Favor of the Death Penalty.”
ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 20 Jan. 2020, https://www.thoughtco.com/arguments-for-the-
death-penalty-721136.