Death Penalty

The severity and finality of the death penalty is appropriate to the seriousness and the finality of murder. If there were no death penalty and a convicted murderer was sentenced to life without parole, they would not only soon adjust to prison life, but would have the potential to escape and kill again. There are countless testimonies to this fact. As legal expert Ernest van den Haag explains:

The threat of 50 lashes deters more than the threat of 5: a $1000 fine deters more than a $10 fine; 10 years in prison deters more than 1 year in prison—just as, conversely, the promise of a $1000 reward is greater than the promise of a $10

reward, etc. Is it fair to take a bad situation and make it worse?

The death penalty will never sweep away the emotions and feelings of grief that the relatives and friends feel. Conrad, The Death Penalty: A Debate (New York: Plenum Press, 1983). The heart may say: “finally justice has been made and respect has been shown for the victim! Capital punishment has therefore an atoning influence on citizens; it rehabilitates humans in general but especially the relatives of the dead victims. Most victims and relatives to victims have of peace of mind if the death penalty were allowed. , The Death penalty in America: Current Controversies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997)

Blumstein, Cohen, Nagin, Deterrence and Incapacitation (National Academy Press January 1978)

It is more reasonable to utilize the death penalty than to abolish it. The death penalty should not be abolished because (1) it deters people from committing murder and (2) because the death penalty gives peace of mind to the victims and their families and puts an end to the crime. It is understood that the death penalty will not totally take away the emotions and feelings of the relatives, however the death penalty will ease those pains.

Bibliography

Van der Haag, Ernest and John P. It is understood that capital

punishment isn’t a cure for the crime.

The argument to the above is that the death penalty does not bring back any victim to life, therefore, unnecessary.