WizardTrubbish
much more beastly
Last night the governor of Maryland signed a bill officially outlawing the death penalty in the state of Maryland, making Maryland the 18th U.S. state to abolish Capital Punishment. This got me thinking about capital punishment, and I decided that it was time Serebii would have a debate on the death penalty.
It's a simple enough question: Is it acceptable for the government to take a person's life as punishment for their crimes, and if so, when?
I am 100% against the death penalty for ANY reason. I can't think of any sort of scenario where I think death is the appropriate punishment. Below, I outline a few reasons as to why I oppose capital punishment.
I know I'm not the only one with this position, and I know plenty of you are going to disagree with me. So, discuss and debate the simple, yet so controversial, question I've previously stated: Is it acceptable for the government to take a person's life as punishment for their crimes, and if so, when?
It's a simple enough question: Is it acceptable for the government to take a person's life as punishment for their crimes, and if so, when?
I am 100% against the death penalty for ANY reason. I can't think of any sort of scenario where I think death is the appropriate punishment. Below, I outline a few reasons as to why I oppose capital punishment.
1. The Death Penalty is Immoral
I'll start of with the most obvious one: that the death penalty is unjust. How can the state ever have the power to end somebody's life? And how can you be 100% sure the person you're executing is guilty? If a single innocent person is executed, that's one too many. If years after the person is convicted, new evidence comes to light proving their innocence and they're in prison, they can simply be released. If they've been executed, than there's absolutely nothing to be done, and the state just murdered an innocent person. Even if the person is guilty, what purpose does this serve? I believe that you need a much better reason to end someone's life than just revenge, which brings me to my next point.
2. The Death Penalty is Pointless
Perhaps I could grit my teeth and put up with the death penalty if it served some sort of practical purpose, but alas, it does not. Absolutely nothing is accomplished, except for revenge, and as I've already said, I don't consider a good reason, to say the least. "But wait," you might say "Doesn't the death penalty deter crime?" Nope. The death penalty doesn't work, because when you commit, typically, you either (a) aren't thinking of the consequences (b) don't plan on getting caught or (c) don't care about the consequences. While I'm sure that there are exceptions, the vast majority of crimes fall under these three categories. Don't believe me? States without the death penalty have consistently had lower murder rates than states with the death penalty.
3. The Death Penalty is Expensive
My third and final argument is that the death penalty is costly. "What?" you may say "How is executing someone more expensive than putting them in prison for life and having to use tax payer dollars to keep them alive?" I've seen that argument used several times in debates on other sites, and the reality is the exact opposite. Executing someone actually costs more than keeping someone in prison. Seriously. Five years ago, the governor of Maryland used that exact argument to justify the abolition of the death penalty. How is that possible? To avoid putting an innocent man to death, we go through an elaborate trial to ensure their guilt. It ends up costing more than just keeping the criminal in jail for life. Take California, for example. If they got rid of the death penalty, it would save them 170 million per year. I could thing of plenty of places those tax payer dollars would be better spent.
I'll start of with the most obvious one: that the death penalty is unjust. How can the state ever have the power to end somebody's life? And how can you be 100% sure the person you're executing is guilty? If a single innocent person is executed, that's one too many. If years after the person is convicted, new evidence comes to light proving their innocence and they're in prison, they can simply be released. If they've been executed, than there's absolutely nothing to be done, and the state just murdered an innocent person. Even if the person is guilty, what purpose does this serve? I believe that you need a much better reason to end someone's life than just revenge, which brings me to my next point.
2. The Death Penalty is Pointless
Perhaps I could grit my teeth and put up with the death penalty if it served some sort of practical purpose, but alas, it does not. Absolutely nothing is accomplished, except for revenge, and as I've already said, I don't consider a good reason, to say the least. "But wait," you might say "Doesn't the death penalty deter crime?" Nope. The death penalty doesn't work, because when you commit, typically, you either (a) aren't thinking of the consequences (b) don't plan on getting caught or (c) don't care about the consequences. While I'm sure that there are exceptions, the vast majority of crimes fall under these three categories. Don't believe me? States without the death penalty have consistently had lower murder rates than states with the death penalty.
3. The Death Penalty is Expensive
My third and final argument is that the death penalty is costly. "What?" you may say "How is executing someone more expensive than putting them in prison for life and having to use tax payer dollars to keep them alive?" I've seen that argument used several times in debates on other sites, and the reality is the exact opposite. Executing someone actually costs more than keeping someone in prison. Seriously. Five years ago, the governor of Maryland used that exact argument to justify the abolition of the death penalty. How is that possible? To avoid putting an innocent man to death, we go through an elaborate trial to ensure their guilt. It ends up costing more than just keeping the criminal in jail for life. Take California, for example. If they got rid of the death penalty, it would save them 170 million per year. I could thing of plenty of places those tax payer dollars would be better spent.
I know I'm not the only one with this position, and I know plenty of you are going to disagree with me. So, discuss and debate the simple, yet so controversial, question I've previously stated: Is it acceptable for the government to take a person's life as punishment for their crimes, and if so, when?