Why The Death Penalty Should NOT Be Allowed

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Why the Death Penalty should NOT be allowed

Introduction

In the American Society, death penalty raises two concerns: whether it is founded on

retribution or out of disregard for human rights. In fact, the debate for death penalty invites

scholars to determine the purpose of punishment in the society. From international legal

instruments and recent court decisions, death penalty is considered barbaric and a violation of

human rights. Moreover, researchers believe that death penalty is meaningless since there are no

indicators that it deters criminals. This paper will argue that death penalty should not be allowed.

Violates Human Rights

The death penalty violates the fundamental human right which is the right to life. From a

religion and human rights point of view, the death penalty undermines the right to life which is

the fundamental human rights (Bohm 15). International human rights instruments such as the

United Nations Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights provide that death penalties

violate fundamental human rights and should not be allowed (Flanders 550). According to the

Article 3 of the UDHR, every person has the right to life, and therefore, the death penalty is

inconsistent with human rights (Mathias 59). In 2002, the Supreme Court in the case of Atkins v

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Virginia (2002), held that death sentence violates international human rights law. According to

Van den Haag (45), life is given by a divine being and cannot be deprived by non-other than the

Supreme Being.

Does not Deter Crimes

One of the purposes of punishment is to deter crime in the society. In this regard, the

courts tend to assign harsh penalties on criminals to discourage commission of similar crimes in

the community (Steiker 245). Whereas the position on deterrence has been held in the society,

there is no sufficient evidence to prove that harsh punishments deter crimes. If that were the case,

once the first person was sent to the gallows there would be no more capital offenses. Van den

Haag (56), notes that since the death penalty is the harshest sentence to any human beings,

potential offenders should be sacred or deterred. That is not the case since offenses attracting

death penalty continue to increase.

Mistakes

Death sentence is irreversible and may lead to the execution of innocent people due to

few lacunas in the criminal justice system. Amnesty International indicated that since 1973, over

130 innocent people had been executed based on prosecutorial mistakes (Bohm 45). More

importantly, unlike imprisonment where an offender is given close to three appeal levels death

sentence are harsh since once executed, an offender cannot appeal. According to Amnesty

International, there are circumstances where jurors and prosecutors make mistakes leading to

wrongful convictions. In the case of Herrera v. Collins (1993), the Supreme Court was criticized

for failing to recognize the irreversible nature of death penalty.

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Counterclaim

Proponents of death sentence hold that it provides closure for victims. Steiker (247),

states that death sentence for murderer relieves the victim's grief as it marks the end of the

murder ordeal. It is arguable that once a person is murdered their immediate family starts to grief

and the grieving period is likely to end once the perpetrator is brought to justice. “Most murder

victims prefer that the perpetrators face the same wrath as their victims” (Mathias 60). The

thought that a murdering criminal is given a chance to live endangers the witnesses and the

community at large. Research indicated that a capital offender (especially serial killers) is likely

to commit the same crimes even after serving prison time.

Whereas the argument that death penalty allows the victim’s family to move on has been

advanced presented numerous, there is no evidence to support such a claim. Even with such

evidence, the primary purpose of punishment is deterrence, and it cannot be conclusively argued

that crime levels have gone down. More importantly, murders are accorded human rights like

any other human being. More importantly, since the criminal justice is bound to make mistakes,

there are chances that an innocent person may be condemned to death penalty wrongly.

In conclusion, if the death penalty is to be accepted it must demonstrate that it serves the

four pillars of punishment that is deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation. As illustrated, there

is little evidence to suggest that death sentence reduce capital offenses and should not be

allowed. From a human rights perspective, the death penalty is in direct contradiction with

Universal Declaration of Human Rights making it internationally unacceptable.

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Work Cited

Bohm, Robert M. Deathquest: An introduction to the theory and practice of capital punishment

in the United States. Taylor & Francis, 2016.

Flanders, Chad. "The Case Against the Case Against the Death Penalty." New Criminal Law

Review: In International and Interdisciplinary Journal 16.4 (2013): 550-658.

Mathias, Matthew D. "The sacralization of the individual: Human rights and the abolition of the

death penalty." American Journal of Sociology 118.5 (2013): 54-78

Steiker, Carol S., and Jordan M. Steiker. "The american death penalty and the (in) visibility of

race." The University of Chicago Law Review (2015): 243-294.

Van den Haag, Ernest, and John Phillips Conrad. The death penalty: A debate. Springer Science

& Business Media, 2013.

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