Capital punishment or the death penalty is an issue that has all those who follow my belief especially under a big clash. This topic does impact on what I believe. Christianity is one of the faiths split on this issue, those that oppose believe that it is immoral because the only being that controls life and death is God himself. The other that is pro-death penalty will argue that it is moral because of the Old Testament concept of "eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth."
The reading of Stuart Mill argues that the death penalty isn't essential because he is tired of society being dragged around with the price tag of corrections expenditures. He argues that putting murderers strips away of all hope in reforming them and that reforming these prisoners is futile. Mill defends this penalty as retaliation to atrocious cases but he is also aware on the opposition and sees good points despite his support.
Mill mentions that one of the main reason of the opposition is the wrongful execution clause and praises this ironically as Mill mentions that there is nothing more grisly that having judicial error bring the execution of an innocent being.
I had to nominate Mill's reading as my pick and I do have the argument against his praise for capital punishment. Besides my Christian stance against it, my major argument is that does not work at all. Many countries have capital punishment as an effort to deter crime. Unfortunately this method is very very futile. Civil Liberties advocates tend to attack capital punishment stating that it is an assault on one's freedom.
Locke and Jefferson have mentioned that all beings are entitled to LIFE,LIBERTY and/or the pursuit of happiness, private property. Capital punishment is a counterattack against these principles and as for my stance is very well based on common sense economics.
We are definitely spending much more executing as well as the process itself leading towards the death penalty and news reports throughout a quarter of the century indicated that states who favor and exercise capital punishment have higher crime rates.
The real way to deter crime is to use our taxpayer funds to create employment, invest in new surveillance technologies, increase police forces in cities where violent crime is pivotal and create programs that rehabilitate drug abusers. All this will reduce crime in the long term, there is always a link between poverty and violent crimes.
I commented on Ashanti's Blog http://ashantijones.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-6-death-penalty-kill-for-kill.html?showComment=1335218848911#c5698439251198721917
I found your religious perspective quite interesting, considering I come at the issue from a seculaur standpoint. I also agree that Mill's argument has many holes and is thereofre invalid. ALso investing in heavily in education would effectively deter crrime.
ReplyDeleteI think that taking a Christian standpoint as well as a secular standpoint would further enhance the ineffectiveness of the death penalty. Taking away the right to life is immoral from both standpoints, so whether deterrence is a prospect or not, the right to life, the initial loss was altered. Overall, I would have to agree with your blog.
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