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What are the 2 sides of death punishment?

 

This is an article I wrote on death punishment (was bored, and it'd been a long time since I posted any 'serious' article of mine) haha...just my 2 cents (ahaha, make that loads of cents -- sorry panjang...got carried away) on the matter. I wanted to post it in kapasitor but I realize there's no copyright thingy for blog post...and I don't think it's appropriate to post under short story. Anywho, hope jojo would take notice on this :D

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What are the two sides of the death penalty? Is it a cruel murderer or a just punishment? Can it be a deterrent to crime?

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There are always two sides in every story – or so they say. Again, these people called ‘they’ often had disputes among themselves on an issue I regarded as ancient; the death penalty. Though this matter had been subjected to various forms of debates throughout the centuries – their quest in search for an absolute answer has yet to be found. Such an ideal way to discredit our own intelligence; the same one we used to reign supreme over the animal kingdom. Their ‘failure’ just amuses me. It makes one wonder, ‘What have they been arguing after all these years?’ No offence to all those self-proclaimed Einstein, but – it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the big bang behind this riddle.

To begin with, are there really two sides of the death penalty – or – is there just one? This may sound like a simple question – however, the child’s play answer from the prior may just be the missing piece to this delicate puzzle. One often confuses himself as he tends to ‘think out of the box’ a little too much. Why the fuss when the answer is so obvious? Answer: One – as there’s only one absolute answer in every problem. With that in mind, it is rational for us to pick one of the following: Is it a cruel murderer or a just punishment?

Before we dive deeper into the matter – it’s best to remove all doubts regarding this issue. First, what does ‘cruel murderer’ mean? The word ‘cruel’ can be defined as ‘wilfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.’ While ‘murderer’, is a person who commits murder. Easier said, ‘cruel murderer’ can be describe as ‘a person who commits murder wilfully or knowingly causing pain or distress to others.’ Now, with such definitions - it is without a doubt that death penalty is a cruel murderer! However, we must take into consideration as to what ‘murder’ really means. Murder; an action committed with a malice intention. So, with that in mind, does the death penalty possess any wicked or mischievous intention of the mind when it executes its prey? No. Therefore, it is logical to believe that the death penalty is a just punishment.

Many are against this capital punishment due to several reasons but one stood out the most – death penalty was said to be barbaric and it violates the ‘cruel and unusual’ clause in the Bills of Rights. Take the 8th Amendment of the US for example; it prevents the use of ‘cruel and unusual punishment’. That is why the death penalty is often interpreted as violating the restriction and going against the prisoner’s rights. It is ironic however as technically, why should someone who violates someone else’s rights retain their own rights? The law was created for one sole purpose – to maintain the peace and harmony in a society. When one member of the society violates the law, justice must be served.

There’s a famous saying, ‘an eye for an eye’. When someone plans and brutally murder his victim – wouldn’t it be fair if his punishment was also death? It is time we should learn to stop showing more sympathy towards the criminals rather than their victims.  The feelings of the victims (if they’re still alive) and their family members should be taken into account. Some take decades to recover from the shock of the unfaithful incident (especially, when they lost their loved ones). With a clear and certain punishment – the death penalty – helps hasten their recovery (though their lives may never be the same again). One of the biggest arguments against the death penalty is the possibility of an error. There were several cases reported where DNA testing showed that innocent people were put to death by the government. Again, we should question ourselves, ‘When did these cases happen?’ Was it in the 60’s, 70’s or maybe the 80’s? With the advancement of technology in our era – it is positive that DNA testing is confirmed 99 percent effective. That leaves us with the remaining one percent. What should we do with it? Well, let’s regard it as a souvenir for those who are still doubtful out there.

Yes, it is certain that the convict’s family would suffer more than a mere pinch; as they would see their loved one put to death by the state. Some even argued that by enforcing the death penalty, we’re actually forcing another family to suffer. Which thus strengthen their so-called-argument that ‘two wrongs never make a right.’ As much as they’re heartbroken, angry, sad, mad or even shocked with the news – they have to come to a term and accept the fact that their loved one had made a ‘wrong.’ And therefore, it is only ‘right’ to punish them.

In order to ‘solve’ this dilemma, some ‘geniuses’ proposed that having life in prison would be the worse punishment and more effective deterrent. They gave many ‘strong words.’ One stated that death would be too good for these convicts. When they’re punished with the death penalty, their sufferings would be over in an instant. In contrast with life in prison, the ‘pain’ was said to go on forever till their death. They would be confined in a cage and be treated as an animal. Again, who really cares about them? We’re missing out the main point here. Death penalty sole purpose isn’t just a tool used to serve justice. It is also an instrument used to shackle the society from ever committing such an act. Remember, the law is not to merely protect one individual alone – but the society as a whole.

So, can death penalty be a deterrent to crime? Definitely. The society needs to migrate beyond their foolish perception and annihilate any confusion they’ve created before. With a sound and clear mind – one need not open both eyes and could still see the solution to this dilemma. With that being said; sometimes, the tree of justice have to be watered by the blood of the sinner – in order to protect me, you and us.

 

- raihan chia, 09

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