Abolishing the Death Penalty

Introduction

Death penalty is considered to be one of the most barbaric practices in the word and countries which still practice it are indeed at a big loss of their legal dignity. The fact that someone is sentenced to death amounts to killing and is outright wrong no matter the justification. If we have to value humanity in Iran, then it is high time capital punishment was scrapped from our penal code once and for all. The following reasons highlight the importance of abolishing death penalty even as our country continues to practice it.

Why Death Penalty should be abolished

Generally, those who object to death penalty have quite a number of good reasons for thinking so. To begin with, death penalty is tantamount to killing and while this inhuman, those who continue to perpetrate this cruel act should realise two mistakes do not make a right (Bedau, 1987). There should an alternative punishment to those who have been proven guilty of capital offence. Additionally, when the moral aspect is put into mind, it is totally inhuman to punish offenders by death penalty. When such happens, it basically implies that we do not uphold to the sanctity which ought to be respected at all times. If we punish by killing, then it means killing itself is permissible especially if the Iran government alongside the justice system can condone it.

Capital punishment is indeed the greatest violation of human rights. It is common knowledge that over 95 percent of the constitutions used in different countries of the world guarantee the right to life (Council of Europe, 1999). Governance systems which do not respect this basic human right also violate all the other rights as provided in the constitution. Taking away human life by such blatant intention is utterly wrong because no single human being gives life hence no one is allowed to take it away; it is such precious! Besides, the psychological trauma which one goes through as he/she waits to be executed is indeed painful beyond description. It should be understood that capital punishment are premeditated acts by the existing authorities and not accidental at all. In the end, the victim will not have suffered psychological pain of awaiting death at a specific time but also physical pain that accompanies the execution. This cannot be differentiated from torture from the state which is supposed to be the custodian of its citizens. The most brutal and distorted ideology of moral justice is seen whenever death penalty is executed on offenders. The distorted ideology here is that which implies “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. This is barbaric and quite uncultured if we can punish a bad deed with such degree of cruelty (Franck, Nyman & Schabas, 2003). As a civilised nation, we should adopt corrective measures rather than punitive ones which only aggravate the already decaying social justice. Furthermore, there are those who argue that capital punishment will always deter the victim from committing another murder. It should be understood that most murders committed by victims are done under the influence of drug or substance abuse or under what may be described as heat of passion. Victims are usually not in the right state of mind and they don’t really consider the possible consequences of their heinous acts (Hood, 2002). Sentencing such individuals is like acting decisively on a person who is mentally challenged.

Conclusion

Evidence gathered all over the world reveals that death penalty has never been a lesson to those who may contemplate committing such crimes at a future date primarily because there is usually lack of sobriety when murder crimes are committed. Hence, we can easily conclude that capital punishment is not a deterrent to murder. It is often difficult but possible to reform those convicted of murder and plough them back to the society for gainful use. Sentencing them to death is equal two wrongs which do not make a right.

References

1. Bedau A.H (1987). Death is different: studies in the morality, law, and politics of capital Punishment. MA: North eastern University Press.
2. Council of Europe (1999). The death penalty: abolition in Europe, Part 42. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.
3. Franck G.H., Nyman K. and Schabas W. (2003). The barbaric punishment: abolishing the death penalty. Great Britain: Kluwer Law International.
4. Hood G.R (2002). The death penalty: a worldwide perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.