In the past few years, the topic of death penalty has been in the news. It is a very interesting issue, with many opposing viewpoints. Some people believe that death penalty is unmoral and wrong, while others think the opposite.
One benefit of death penalty is that it reduce crime rate in society, when a criminal is given death penalty, it discourage others in the society from committing such serious crimes. They would hold back from such crimes due to fear of losing their lives.
Also, if a criminal is jailed, he may again commit the same crime after being released from prison. Giving him death penalty would make sure that the society is safe from being attacked by criminals. It seems to be an appropriate punishment for serial killers and for those who continue to commit crimes even after being in prison.
Death penalty stands for a revenge for pain and suffering that the criminal caused on the victim. Some people strongly believe that a person who has taken the life of another person does not have a right to live. Sentencing such a criminal can give relief to the family members of the victim that their loved one has obtained justice.
In addition, people who commit horrifying crimes like murder are believed to have a violent personality and may, in future, attack someone while they are in prison. These reasons emphasize the importance of death penalty for the progress of human society.
However, there are many disadvantages for death penalty. To begin with, the execution of a person would not make difference between us and the criminal who has committed the horrifying crime of killing another person.
Also, death penalty is not always just and appropriate. Usually, poor people have to accede to death penalty as they cannot afford good lawyers to defend their position. There are very rare cases of rich people being sentenced to death penalty. Also, a person from lower communities is more likely to be given death penalty.
There is also a chance that the person is innocent and is wrongly accused for a crime he has never committed. There have been cases where persons were released after being given death sentence, because they were proved innocent. There are also cases where a person's innocence was proved after he was death.
In addition, every human being deserves a second chance in life. Putting a criminal behind bars is always a logical option than killing him, as there is a chance that he may improve.
To sum up, there are many conflicting opinions on the subject of death penalty. In spite of the secure benefits, such as reducing crime rate, there are equally many problems to be solved.
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