One topic from the reading on the Criminal Justice System is
the death penalty. I disagree with the death penalty for a couple of reasons.
One reason I disagree with it is because of the chance of false conviction. As
science progresses year after year, we keep finding new ways to test evidence
in court cases. In recent years, DNA testing has proved some criminals to be
innocent that were previously convicted as guilty. If a person were convicted
of a crime and their life was terminated due to the death penalty, there is a
chance that we could find out due to technological advances in the future that
this person had really been innocent. Taking the life of a person who even has
a chance of being innocent is too much of a risk, in my opinion.
However, the main reason that I disagree with the death
penalty is because I think that this gives a truly evil person an easy escape
from the consequences of their action. Lets say, for example, that a 20 year
old committed a mass murder and took the lives of many innocent people. If they
were sentenced to life in prison, this would give them 60-80 years to spend
every single day paying for the actions that they chose. I think that this is a
much worse punishment for a criminal than the death penalty gives them.
I see your point, but what about the victims? In criminology, we're taught that one of the reasons for the death penalty was so society can "get it's pound of flesh". To be forced to pay for the continued care of a prisoner on top of being their victim is a harsh blow to some because those funds come from taxes. The only way they can get close to dispersing the punishment themselves is to allow the state to do so in the form of death (and some people are not satisfied with the prospect of "life" in prison only to have the person responsible for their pain to be released on parole due to overcrowding or budget cuts...Right now there are alot of upset people in CA for that reason.) Even if they don't feel better afterwards (as they seldom do), it's better than feeling fear for the rest of their lives or having to give up pay/vacation to attend a parole hearing every few years (or sometimes every year depending on the number of defendents) to keep a person in jail (and sometimes they are still released). You have to count the victims into the equation, too, don't forget. It's not fair to make the victims' and/or their family suffer to keep one guy/girl alive. And some criminals thrive in jail. Jail is not necessarily a punishment to them. So please take that into account. :(
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I had never thought about it from that point of view. I was looking at it from the angle that the person might suffer more for their crimes and that this would help the victim. However, I had never thought about the fear and suffering that the victim gets from the criminal actually staying alive. Thank you for the new perspective!
ReplyDeleteTaking the life of a person who even has a chance of being innocent is too much of a risk, in my opinion. This is really a difficult one to justice.
ReplyDelete