Capital punishment - the Pros and Cons
In Genesis 9:6 it is clearly stated that "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed..." But have we progressed no further than Biblical law? If we look at the newspapers of October 24th 2010 it would appear not when it tells of how an Iranian thief's hand was amputated in front of other prisoners. But the concept of removing a thief's hand is based on the idea that justice is being served appropriately. But whether any of these extreme punishments, including the death sentence, are just, is a hotly debated issue. Some people claim that putting a person in jail for life is a worse punishment and less civilized. Others contend that the authorities that carry out the death sentence are reduced to the same uncivilized level as the perpetrators of the crime.
The definition of capital punishment is punishment by death as ordered by the legal system. But what exactly does this include? Is this definition limited to a person who has been arrested, found guilty and condemned to death according to the letter of the law and this sentence being carried out in an official manner by representatives of the court? The truth is, that while for most of us this is exactly what capital punishment consists of, in reality the definition goes beyond that. Let us take the first part of the equation: arresting the person. People are often shot and fatally wounded while "resisting arrest." Since this action is committed by a person who is an appendage of the legal system then is this a form of capital punishment? Since this action on the part of a law enforcement officer is completely understood by the majority of people, why should the same consensus not occur in the instance of capital punishment?
But the fact is that there is a difference between killing a man to defend your life and the court system which is all too often dependent on faulty evidence. There are too many examples of mistakes within the system to put faith in it. And if we have no faith in it then surely we have no right to take a life. The classic problem is that of mistaken identity. Professor Elizabeth Loftus in her years of research has proven beyond doubt that eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable. There are several other pieces of research into the faults in the human memory. First, people cannot be relied upon to recognize a face in an emergency situation, misinformation by the mere alteration of a word in a question can create other "memories" and there is also the issue of different ethnicity. A Korean is less likely to see the difference in African people and vice versa. Yet despite these known problems people still continue to be convicted of murder based on eye witnesses. In the case of Troy Davis, who was given a lethal injection on 20th September 2011, several of the eye witnesses admitted to having been "influenced."
In fact what the Davis case has become representative of is the injustice within the justice system. There were numerous flaws in the case. First, Troy Davis did not have a good lawyer. Second, no murder weapon was ever found. Third, two witnesses later came forward and said they had heard someone else confess to committing the crime that Davis was accused of. But the injustice does not end there. The idea of a life for a life in this modern bureaucratic world does not hold water. Davis was incarcerated for twenty years. Four times Davis was given an execution date. Three times the execution was delayed while further appeals were heard. This psychological cat and mouse game which the state played is not justice. While it may appear just to reconsider the case based on the new evidence, the fact is that Davis had to face his own death not once but four times.
In theory the justice system dispenses justice, but since it is composed of ordinary human beings, who make mistakes, then in practice there are always going to be miscarriages of justice. And when one is dealing with the crucial issue of capital punishment there is no room for error. The fiasco of the O. J. Simpson case showed how a guilty man with enough money for expensive lawyers can walk away from justice while the poor man, whether he is innocent or not, can find himself facing the death penalty. Thus as long as people are limited in their judgment, be it as witnesses, members of the jury or part of the legal system then the death penalty should not be used. The chances of their being a mistake is too high and there is no one to apologize to after the event.
Academic Reading
The definition of capital punishment is punishment by death as ordered by the legal system. But what exactly does this include? Is this definition limited to a person who has been arrested, found guilty and condemned to death according to the letter of the law and this sentence being carried out in an official manner by representatives of the court? The truth is, that while for most of us this is exactly what capital punishment consists of, in reality the definition goes beyond that. Let us take the first part of the equation: arresting the person. People are often shot and fatally wounded while "resisting arrest." Since this action is committed by a person who is an appendage of the legal system then is this a form of capital punishment? Since this action on the part of a law enforcement officer is completely understood by the majority of people, why should the same consensus not occur in the instance of capital punishment?
But the fact is that there is a difference between killing a man to defend your life and the court system which is all too often dependent on faulty evidence. There are too many examples of mistakes within the system to put faith in it. And if we have no faith in it then surely we have no right to take a life. The classic problem is that of mistaken identity. Professor Elizabeth Loftus in her years of research has proven beyond doubt that eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable. There are several other pieces of research into the faults in the human memory. First, people cannot be relied upon to recognize a face in an emergency situation, misinformation by the mere alteration of a word in a question can create other "memories" and there is also the issue of different ethnicity. A Korean is less likely to see the difference in African people and vice versa. Yet despite these known problems people still continue to be convicted of murder based on eye witnesses. In the case of Troy Davis, who was given a lethal injection on 20th September 2011, several of the eye witnesses admitted to having been "influenced."
In fact what the Davis case has become representative of is the injustice within the justice system. There were numerous flaws in the case. First, Troy Davis did not have a good lawyer. Second, no murder weapon was ever found. Third, two witnesses later came forward and said they had heard someone else confess to committing the crime that Davis was accused of. But the injustice does not end there. The idea of a life for a life in this modern bureaucratic world does not hold water. Davis was incarcerated for twenty years. Four times Davis was given an execution date. Three times the execution was delayed while further appeals were heard. This psychological cat and mouse game which the state played is not justice. While it may appear just to reconsider the case based on the new evidence, the fact is that Davis had to face his own death not once but four times.
In theory the justice system dispenses justice, but since it is composed of ordinary human beings, who make mistakes, then in practice there are always going to be miscarriages of justice. And when one is dealing with the crucial issue of capital punishment there is no room for error. The fiasco of the O. J. Simpson case showed how a guilty man with enough money for expensive lawyers can walk away from justice while the poor man, whether he is innocent or not, can find himself facing the death penalty. Thus as long as people are limited in their judgment, be it as witnesses, members of the jury or part of the legal system then the death penalty should not be used. The chances of their being a mistake is too high and there is no one to apologize to after the event.
Academic Reading
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