The Capital Punishment - Essay Example

Capital punishment has been applied to both genders at all levels of competency. It has affected the lives of adults, juveniles, and nearly all races of mankind. The continuation of capital punishment raises several arguments. Capital punishment was a volatile issue in the 20th century and continues to be a morally divisive topic in the 21st century. The underlying ideology of those who support capital punishment appears to be the notion of retribution and the concept of a safer society based on the theory of general deterrence.

The following questions need to be examined when determining the validity of that premise: (a) is capital punishment a general deterrence to future criminal activity, (b) is it morally acceptable to take a life in the name of justice, (c) is the capital punishment a form of cruel and unusual punishment And (d) should an offender with a mental deficiency be a candidate for execution surveys conducted by the Pew Research (Robert, 2007) reveal that public now support the capital punishment more than ever before (see table 1 below) Source: Pew ResearchAlthough the arguments offered against the capital punishment have some weight and logic, it must be remembered that there is another party besides the murderer involved in every murder, and that is the victim.

By the unjustified taking of another's life, the murderer has forfeited his own. Hence, we are not obligated to support murderers for the rest of their natural life. If one murderer is granted life in prison while another is executed, it is only because of the extraordinary degree of leniency that we have in our American system of jurisprudence, and not because of any intrinsic unfairness. It is also argued that there is no visible deterrence effect of capital punishment visible. This argument does not seem to be based on any factual grounds as it is impossible to prove the effect of something that didn't happen.