The Ethics Of Capital Punishment

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“We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.” One of the most controversial topic while discussing about law and justice is capital punishment. Throughout history, people have been carrying out capital punishment. For example, the use of the guillotine to behead wrongdoers and public executions for murder or treason. But as humanity advances, as we look back on history asking if capital punishment was indeed more effective than other means of punishment, as we realise how inhumane our means to deter crime can be, the questions on the ethics of capital punishment become more relevant in our society and we all should be convinced that capital punishment is not ethically acceptable. Many may argue that capital punishment is ethically acceptable …show more content…
Capital punishment in this case is used to satisfy the mob’s hunger for revenge. This can be seen in general observations of howling mobs attacking prison vans containing those accused of murder. Moreover, in Dead Man Walking, Earl Delacroix mentioned he would be happier to personally kill Matthew Poncelet, who murdered his son. Protests were also made by several members of the public who although have no direct relation to the crime but are concerned that a murderer must be murdered. This reflects that in reality, the mob and not just the family or friends of the murdered, all want the criminal punished because their minds are full of rage and hatred for what the criminal had done. Hence the argument that capital punishment is ethically acceptable because of retributive justice is not entirely accurate in our …show more content…
Today, every way which executions are conducted are torturous to some extent - lethal gas, electrocution, strangulation, the firing squad. Some say they are equal to or even worse than slaughtering livestock, even their names explain why. For instance, hanging or strangulation involves using the weight of the body to cut of blood flow to the brain and to cut of air supply. Being suspended at the neck, the person struggles for air but inevitably dies slowly within ten to twenty minutes. This form of capital punishment is the most painful. More importantly, even lethal injections which have been claimed to be “less cruel” have been proven to be torturous. Many post mortem studies suggest that in some cases the amount of anesthesia applied was insufficient, not only causing the person to be able to feel pain as he dies slowly inside out but also rendering him unable to express his pain in words or movement because he is effectively paralysed. This falls back to the original counterargument. In many cases the murdered suffers quick death perhaps from a shot of a gun. Yet, the criminal suffers a slow and painful death and pays for more than just his crime. Retributive justice does not apply. Hence, capital punishment should not be accepted because we should neither punish excessively nor punish in such inhumane
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