Death Penalty Social Control Analysis

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One big component in keeping the death penalty is social control. Christopher Bennett, a Criminal Law and philosopher believes that the,“ Social Control model sees punishment as justifiable only if and when it is necessary for the maintenance of order (or, to put it another way, deterrence or the reduction of crime) (Bennett).” This idea is in favor of deterrence. By controlling the populace crime will go down and will result in capital crimes going down as well. However, advocates have proven that the death penalty in fact does not deter crime. Supporters of the death penalty, argue that punishment must fit the crime. Advocates support retribution for the victim as well as the victim's family. “Retribution involves the idea that punishment is a necessary response to wickedness or evil or responsible wrongdoing, and that the punishment should be an answer to the initial wrong that in some way matches the gravity of the wrong (a simple version of which matching is …show more content…
There are some people who do commit heinous crimes, but not all of them are helpless, but on the other hand some people have committed crimes to society to the point of which help is not possible. Therefore they must be put down humanely.Bennett, depicted the idea of how one could understand the logic of which is used in conveying the reason someone should be put down. “One might decide that, where the animal is incurable, it is a kindness to put it out of its misery rather than keep it in isolation for the rest of its life. In the same way, one might, under the Social Control model, make the same calculations about the offender.” Rehabilitation should be administered if there is a potential that change can be done. A supporter of the death penalty may wish to keep the punishment, but extend a change of heart if rehabilitation is possible. Rehabilitation is the potential to restore a human to a state that they can function in