Capital Punishment- the Solution?

A much debated topic in today’s society and a rather controversial issue is capital
punishment, or the execution of a convicted criminal as a punishment for crimes
known as capital offences. These may include murder, treason, drug trafficking
and human trafficking depending on the country that is being referred to. The two
opposing arguments about this issue are whether or not it should be allowed.
Both sides offer a credible and justified resolution to this debate. However, as an
unbiased individual, my say is that this form of punishment should be practiced.

As mentioned before, the issue of capital punishment has been debated

increasingly over the past few decades. The question of whether or not it is
humane and should be allowed is still not answered. One of the reasons it is
being pursued is the belief in the fact “lex talionis”, Latin for “an eye for an eye”.
People believe, and I agree, that a person should pay for his or her felonies. The
idea that a person who has committed murder be pardoned is just not plausible.
What will stop the person from repeating this act? People believe that the
presence of the death penalty will keep criminals from acting in the first place due
to the fear of death. Death penalty is also considered more humane than life
imprisonment since it is quicker and less agonizing. It is also considered more
economical since executions cost less than supporting a prisoner under a life
sentence, which can cost up to $22,000 a year per prisoner. It is thought that this
money could be put to better use than to feed a prisoner serving for life.

People who commit capital offences usually do them intentionally. Thus, they
should be punished accordingly. For instance, if a person thinks murdering is
justified, he or she should be hanged for just having such a thought. The fact that
a person steals the life of another person is just barbaric. Such a person should
be treated with the utmost severity and it should be verified that the person will
pay for his actions to the same extent as the crime he committed. Some people
just don’t deserve to live. While this statement may seem harsh, it is not as harsh
as the acts performed by many convicted criminals. Some examples of capitalist
criminals who were not convicted but still did not deserve to live include
Adolph Hitler and Stalin. Hitler’s massacre of the Jews and Joseph Stalin’s Great
Purge resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent people. Since Stalin was the
leader of the country and nothing could be proven, he wasn’t convicted of any
charges. Hitler, on the other hand, committed suicide instead of facing any
attempts to bring him to justice. If either of them had faced justice, both of them
would have been executed.

The existence of capital punishment in today’s 21st century society does not
make sense, although there is no other punishment that can make a person
really regret his or her wrongdoings, which, more or less is the purpose of
punishment. One example of a case which shows the extremity of the crimes that
are punishable by execution is the case of Dru Sjodin’s kidnapping and murder in
2003. Dru Sjodin, a college student was kidnapped and later murdered by
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., a former criminal. When her corpse was found in a ravine
in Minnesota, there were several lacerations on her body including a five inch cut
on her neck. Alfonso Rodriquez Jr. was sentenced to death on September 22,
2006. Although he had spent more than 20 years in prison before this event for
similar charges, it did not stop him from performing this act of inhumanity. This
shows that even in today’s civilized society, a person is not scared of the
prospect of life behind bars. It is people like Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. that capital
punishment is necessary for in today’s world.

The world is a rough place. However we all have choices, and by making the
right ones, we can ensure that all of us lead a pleasant life. The prospect of
anyone dying is not appealing, however, the decisions made by a minority of
people forces us to treat them in such manners, even against our or some other
peoples’ wishes. The way they affect other people causes them to be punished in
the most severe way and in most cases, the convicted do deserve what they are
sentenced to for the greater good of the people. The example of Alfonso
Rodriquez Jr. clearly shows that 20 plus years in jail did not have any effect on
his behavior. In the end, he had to be executed for the protection of the people.