Introduction
Capital punishment, sometimes referred to as the death penalty, is the legally warranted death as a form of punishment for serious crimes committed that warrant death as an equal and justified punishment (Ashworth, 2005). For a long time, many nations embraced the use of capital punishment in execution of prisoners who had committed serious crimes, the practice was however abandoned with the US, Japan and South Korea being the only nations that still uses capital punishment. In the colonial times, capital punishment was used only in situations whereby there were no other ways to punish the criminal; the view of capital punishment has been under reforms until recently, the public and various organizations had different views concerning the use of capital punishment as a means of administering justice and punishment. In the United States, reports indicate that in duration of 10 days, a state government issues a death penalty to a prisoner (Austin & Christian, 2005). By the dawn of April 2008, the death penalty had been authorized in almost thirty seven states, the US federal government and the United States Military. The death penalty has been for a long time subject of contention, with some states refusing to authorize it on grounds of violation of constitutional rights of a prisoner or offender. In some warranted crime situations, the death penalty is justified; however it is still a cruel method of administering punishment to the criminal.
Reasons against the use of death penalty
Firstly, punishment should serve as a correctional measure that aims towards the behavioral rehabilitation of the criminal. Punishment is only deemed correctional if it gives the offender a second chance to examine and change his behaviors and the way he associates with the society. This therefore implies that the death penalty as a form of punishment doe not give the offender a second chance to correct his behaviors. For instance, most of the cases that attract death penalty are always violent related such as violent bank robbery, homicide, rape cases and murder; what the criminal justice fails to address is the root cause of such criminal behaviors. The effective way of preventing crime should start from addressing the root cause rather than from addressing the aftermath (Austin & Christian, 2005). To prevent a crime does not only involve taking down the criminal, rather it involves analysis of the various events and the people that led to the crime happening. It is illogical to claim that punishment is being administered in a usual and justified manner if the offender is not given a chance to correct his behaviors failure to do so then; the required necessary steps are taken.
The criminal justice system is of the view that death penalty is only administered when there are no other alternative forms of punishment that can be administered to the offender. In deed, forms of punishment can never be exhausted; there are alternative forms of punishment such as sentencing the offender for life, long jail terms under stringent conditions, tight probation schedules and others. The criminal justice is also of the view that the death penalty is to prevent further harm to the community. Community safety can not only be guaranteed through elimination of the criminal through death penalty, life sentences serve the same purpose (Bosworth, 2009). The cruelty and unusualness of the death sentence is depicted in the lack of the criminal justice to explore other viable alternatives to administer punishment compared to death penalty. Therefore, the use of the death sentence can deemed as a justifiable way of administering punishment to a criminal offender (Ashworth, 2005).
The use of death penalty in the punishment of criminals does not warrant as a justifiable punishment possibly due to future evidence that would otherwise contradict the already passed judgments on the criminals. The judges are subject to errors and sometimes are compelled to make wrong judgments on criminals. In the case of a criminal that has been sentenced to death, and then new evidence emerges that would possibly lower his sentences or eliminate the charges against him completely, if such a criminal had been already subjected to death chambers, the execution is not warranted (Bosworth, 2009). The possible alternative towards the avoidance of such circumstances is to deploy alternative methods of punishments such as life sentences. The criminal has a slim chance of being let off the hook in case the new emerging evidence turns out to favor him. Death can not be reversed, and administration of death penalty in such situations is therefore not warranted, and appears as cruel and unusual form of punishment that is not administered basing on the facts and truth. Any form of justice or punishment should provide for the possibility of errors during the criminal justice process or the emergence of new evidence that may turn out in favor of the convicted criminal (Cavadino & Dignan, 2002).
Another major issue of concern is the effectiveness of the use of capital punishment in crime prevention and control. There has been rising concerns in the United States if the use of capital punishment really deters criminals. People always commit crimes under subjection to different contexts and the effectiveness of the capital punishment primarily depends on the situations under which the crimes were performed (Cavadino & Dignan, 2002). Some of the murder cases where the death penalty does not deter homicides include in cases of domestic violence, when people kill under the influence of drugs such as alcohol, hit men and assassinators who are under contract killings are never arrested, mentally ill individuals who does not have concern for human life and other individuals who commit serious crimes without their rational mind coming to play. In such situations, the issuance of a death sentence can not deter other like minded criminals from committing the same serious crimes. It is therefore illogical to use capital punishment on such like minded offenders (Ashworth, 2005). There are also some indicators that the death penalty actually has no influence in reduction of serious crimes. For instance, during the two decade period from 1976 to 1996, the number of death penalties issued rose from zero to almost sixty, yet the rate of homicide and murder crimes increased during the same period (Easton & Piper, 2008). A study by the United Nations stated that the there is no scientific proof that capital punishments could cause crime determent compared to life sentencing. The study further concluded that such proof was unlikely in the near future. Its ineffectiveness to control crime therefore does not warrant the justification of its use as a form of punishment, since punishment is primarily directed at reducing crime rates in the United States (Gottschalk, 2006).
Another critical issue concerning the use of death penalty is the present trends that the practice has taken. The capital punishment is being presently directed to a few individuals who are socially unacceptable, who are sometimes extremely poor and can not afford to defend themselves in the present criminal justice system; which arguably form the largest number of the minority groups (Garland, 1993). The capital punishment is not being used fairly and uniformly, instead it is being enforced to a selected few minority groups. Another issue is the barbaric approaches that are being used to administer capital punishment, for instance the use of lethal injections and electrocutions, these basically violates the general societal decency standards of the United States of America. Even on religious grounds, capital punishment is an undermining of the human life as it should not be taken in a predetermined manner (Hudson, 2003).
The authorization of capital punishment is bound to have an effect on the way the American society views those who have wronged. For instance, if the law punishes criminals by killing them, an individual is more likely to approach another individual who may have wronged him from the same perspective. The criminal justice should therefore be careful in the process of administering capital punishment to offenders.
Reasons for the use of capital punishment
The criminal justice system of the United States is of the view that the death penalty is morally and constitutionally right to be administered on serious offenses. Despite some opposition towards it use, the federal government and the majority of the general public are for the use of capital punishment as a form of administering justifiable punishment (Roberts & Cole, 1999).
For the sake of justice, a punishment should be administered to match the gravity of the crime committed. Capital crimes attract capital punishment. A criminal who commits murder can only be punished in an equal capacity by subjecting him to the same criminal activity that he committed, therefore justifying the use of capital punishment in crimes such as murder, homicide, robberies that are violent and many others. Certain criminal activities are so terrible that it only sound logical through the execution of those involved in those criminal activities. Majority of the population of the US are of the view that killing of murderers is the only justifiable way of administering justice to them and therefore capital punishment is logical in such like crimes (Ashworth, 2005).
On a religious account, and in particular Christianity, the Bible clearly states that death penalty should be applied to a number of crimes such as evil sorcery, adultery and murder just to name a few. The bible passages are still used as framework to administer capital punishment to those offenders who have committed murder. In order for justice to prevail, punishment should be of the same capacity as the offence and this therefore justifies the use of death penalty for murderers, homicide crimes and other crimes that are serious and yet there is no equal punishment that can be administered to them, for example violent robberies, rapists and other serious offenses. This therefore implies that the use of capital punishment is a justifiable form of punishment that is applicable to murder crimes and crimes that have no other alternative forms of punishment that can be administered (Rusche, Otto, & Melossi, 2003).
One key objective of the criminal justice system is to ensure public safety. Public safety is paramount for the peace co existence of a society. The only way to fully guarantee this is through the elimination of criminals who have committed serious crimes and there is a chance of a repeat crime. In such cases, the capital punishment is justified as a means of ensuring public safety. The killing of one person to ensure the safety is many more others is logical and therefore serves as an effective way of ensuring public safety from being victims of serious offenses such as murder, rape, violent robbery and others (Rusche, Otto, & Melossi, 2003).
The value of human life can not be measured under any circumstances. It is the most supreme element of the human nature compared to every other thing. Ashworth (2005) argues that any capital crime that involves the taking of human life or any other crime that attempts to undermine the value of human life can de dealt with through the use of the highest penalty possible, which is death penalty. It is through using the highest form of punishment that we conserve the highest values associated with the human life. Capital punishment serves as form of respect to the supreme human life and therefore n has the authority to commit a crime that takes away human life or undermines the value of human life (Rusche, Otto, & Melossi, 2003).
Another reason for supporting the capital punishment is in terms of capital punishment is in terms of the federal costs. Arguing from this point of view, it is less costly to administer a death penalty on a convicted criminal that to maintain him in the federal prisons for his entire lifetime. In orders to avoid such unnecessary costs, it is therefore justifiable to use death penalty in criminal offenses where death is warranted (Gottschalk, 2006).
Conclusion
The rationality underlying the cruelty and unusualness of the capital punishment however depends on the context of arguments for instance in terms of violation of constitutional rights, the societal decency in execution, federal costs and so on. Both the proponents and opponents of capital punishment have their reasons to justify their positions. However, one thing is notable; the criminal justice system embarks on punishment as a corrective measure towards the criminal in order to help reduce criminal rates in the United States. Majority of United States Citizens endorse the use of capital punishment. One of the key requirements of constitutional law is that it should address the desires and feelings of community, whether it is morally right or wrong. Despite the endorsement by a majority of American citizens, the use of capital punishment is a cruel and an unusual form of punishment (Rusche, Otto, & Melossi, 2003).
References
Ashworth, A. 2005. Sentencing and criminal justice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Austin, S., & Christian, B. 2005. The cultural lives of capital punishment: comparative perspectives. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.
Bosworth, M. 2009. Explaining U.S. Imprisonment. New York: SAGE.
Cavadino, M., & Dignan, J. 2002. The penal system: an introduction. New York: SAGE.
Easton, S., & Piper, C. 2008. Sentencing and punishment: the quest for justice. London: Oxford University Press.
Garland, D. 1993. Punishment and modern society: a study in social theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gottschalk, M. 2006. The prison and the gallows: the politics of mass incarceration in America. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hudson, B. 2003. Understanding justice: an introduction to ideas, perspectives, and controversies in modern penal theory. New York: McGraw-Hill International.
Roberts, J., & Cole, D. 1999. Making sense of sentencing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Rusche, G., Otto, K., & Melossi, D. 2003. Punishment and social structure. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
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