The important issue that
concerns me is the abolishment of
the death penalty.
Since ancient times, the death penalty has taken away many people's lives.
The death penalty shows us that government is so powerful, instructive that only a simple trial can kill someone.
Currently, the death penalty, which
is capital punishment, has caused some debates among people.
Supporters of
the death penalty
say that this punishment is the right law to punish the people who
have killed someone, while
opponents say that the death penalty is an inhuman
and cruel thing to do. The death penalty
also shows that
crime cannot be stopped because it causes another person to be murdered. For me, I don't think any person should be killed by law, or you
could say
, killed by judge's verdict.
I
believe that execution is an action of murder, and one's life shouldn't be taken away only by people's decision, it should be in God's
hands. Nowadays, there are still about
a thousand people killed by the death penalty each
year, including up to over twenty people that killed the victim by accident.
The death penalty indirectly
sends a message that violence is an appropriate way to
solve problems and conflicts. There are some reasons for me to fight against
the death penalty. First, the death penalty can't solve the entire problem. Government can execute people without their confessions if the
evidence is enough. Any evidence can
decide whether this person should die or not. What if that
person is actually innocent? In fact, there was a real case that happened in
the Philippines. The
"killer" turned out to be innocent after the DNA examination. In my opinion,
sentencing someone to death is another way to take away this person's right to explain or clarify his crime. It also takes away the chance for the
criminal to
feel remorse about what he/she did.
Second, the death penalty can't help lower the crime rate. Although thousands of people
are killed by the death penalty, the crime rate in
the U.S. haven't gone down. Texas, which is one of the states that has the highest rate of
executions, has a higher murder rate than
the national average in 2003.
Third, I think the death sentences are handed down
arbitrarily. For example, Gary Ridgeway, a serial killer in Seattle who killed 48 prostitutes, got life in prison.
One killed over 48 people, while the other killed
his victim by accident. Justice Potter Stewart in the case of Furman v. Georgia, wrote that "These death sentences are cruel and unusual in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and unusual."
The death penalty cannot stop
crime and it causes another person to be murdered. Therefore, if we do not fight against the death penalty, the action of killing people by trial will
continue on to later generations.
Abolishing the death penalty will be a major issue for countries around the world.
Good essay!
:)
Kevin, EssayForum.com