Should the Death Penalty be Illegal?

“Society has always used punishment to discourage would-be criminals from unlawful action”.  But is a punishment that is not benefitting society something that we as a whole should keep? No not at all, I disagree with the death penalty.  Introduced in 1788 and still being used in our modern society but helping absolutely nothing!!  It is a racist punishment that impacts people with colour and the poor.  The gravity and finality of the death penalty evokes strong feelings on both sides of the issue.  The many aspects of capital punishment include; potential execution of the innocent, the roles of politics, race and poverty, futile deterrence, cost, mortal and religious perceptions and a range of other issues.  But in this text I am focusing on the following reasons why the death penalty should no longer be legal; potential murder of innocent beings, racism and poverty in capital punishment.  In my last point, I will discuss the concept of Hammurabi’s code and how “an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth” connects with the death penalty and the fact that if murdering or other offences is against the law why are law enforcers punishing them by murdering them.

How is it fair for an innocent person to die from something they didn’t do?  False, invalid and misleading accusations have resulted to more than 4% of people on or were on death row in the US were found innocent.  You can’t take back someone’s life.  If someone is dead there is absolutely no way possible to bring them back.  If someone was executed for doing something against the law and proven innocent years later that would be it there would be no way to apologise and hand them their life back they would simply be gone, but if someone was jailed for supposedly doing something against the law and proven innocent years later of course, you couldn’t give them the years they spent in jail back but you could free them and let them live the life they once had.  How can the loss of even one innocent life be justified by employing capital punishment to exterminate supposed murder and rapists.  Enough People with colour and poor people have been set up for crimes and later been executed although they never committed felonious actions.  It is so incredibly, heartbreakingly sad how real racism and poverty is and how it affects people in so many situations.  Untruthful sentences and lies have been placed on these two socio economic categories including the people within them.

Racism and poverty undermines the two main reasons why the death penalty has treated people unjustly and wrongly.  The unfair application of the death penalty could be halted by deleting that sentence all together.  Racial bias has always impacted society, but particularly in the criminal justice system.  It is hard to come to terms with but especially from what has gone on already this year with the George Floyd protests and the many other innocent African Americans lives lost to people taking a side according to race it is so much more likely a white man be let free or not accused of something criminal than a person with colour.  The same goes for poverty.  If you are poor the chances of being sentenced to death are so much higher than if you are rich.  Poor people being accused of crimes or committing them cannot afford lawyers, by the time the case enters court it may already be too late to undergo a fair trial.  Rich people are so much more likely to hire better quality legal representation to get them out of death row and instead sentenced to life imprisonment or a lesser sentence.  Every day in many parts of Asia people are risking their lives to survive by making money in criminalistic ways such as drug trafficking.  Although it is definitely not ok it is the only way some people can keep alive by trying to sell illegal goods for small money it provides them food, housing and a somewhat stable life.  Poor people are a lot more probable to be caught by the police, they are an easy target.  The inhumane act of condemning someone with capital punishment may have been the same a killing a person who was merely trying to survive life without the resources some countries have and doing that all while feeing many mouths of their family.

Hammurabi’s code is well preserved code of law from Babylonian Mesopotamian times.  A main part of this law was the saying “an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth” basically meaning “if you hurt me I’ll hurt you” or “you kill my brother I’ll kill your brother”.  I strongly believe this relates to the death penalty since it is all based around punishing someone for something they did.  If the case was robbery does that mean the legal administrators should rob the criminal as punishment, because it seems exactly like what they are trying to say.  If the case is murder is it right to resolve the situation by murdering the criminal, what’s that solving?!  The legal system is literally punishing murderers by murdering them, the point the whole world has tried to make by enforcing law is to not do what they are telling you not do do…but to repay a murderer with murder is such a contradiction!!  Who in their right mind thinks it is right to think it’s ok to enforce the law but then commit it.  Same punishment for the same punishment. 

Murderers, rapists, armed robbers and all criminals have committed disgusting crimes that could never be forgiven but the legal system have already messed up just as bad.  The death penalty must be abolished on countries that still stand by it, all it has shown is racism, discrimination and killing the innocent.  It is officially proven that the death penalty does not deter crime even in the slightest if it’s not stopping crime be a happening thing why it is still around! I undisputedly stand by my fight, for one day the death penalty will be stopped. There is nearly no difference in being locked away for life imprisonment or being executed, we should save a few of the 7.8 billion lives that could as well be held accounted for capital punishment.  Down with the dastardly, dishonest, death penalty. 

By Lily L’Huillier