Analyzing the Capital Punishment Essay

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Capital Punishment and Who Gets to Decide the Final Law.

Capital punishment is the act of executing a person found guilty (in a court of law) of committing a particular crime. Capital punishment can only be utilized by governments, so in cases where non-state parties 'execute' an individual and claim it is capital punishment, it is not, and in that case, the parties will have committed murder. Capital punishment is often only utilized as a punishment for very serious crimes, such as rape, adultery, certain types of fraud, and treason. These crimes are referred to as capital crimes. Though many nations have outlawed capital punishment, many countries around the globe still allow it (BBC, n.d.). Statistics revealed in May 2012 by the global human rights group, Amnesty International, reveal that as many as 141 nations have abolished capital punishment either by law or practice (Amnesty International, 2012).

Some of the States across the U.S. still allow capital punishment. Public support for the practice is, however, increasingly waning in the United States. More than 50% of Americans now prefer alternative forms of punishment (Amnesty International, 2012). There are different reasons as to why the American public does not support capital punishment. Some of the reasons for the abolishment of capital punishment are discussed below.

Many religions and individuals stress that all life is precious.

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The majority of the people against capital punishment are of the opinion that human life is so precious that even the most evil individuals shouldn't be killed. Many individuals opine that the value of an individual's life cannot be diminished or destroyed by the individual's evil acts even if he or she has raped or murdered someone. However, some of those who want to abolish capital punishment don't agree. They argue that human life ought to be preserved only to the extent that there is a justifiable reason not to, and that government should justify its reasons not preserve a convicted criminal's life (BBC, n.d.).

One of the most important and valid arguments against the death penalty is that if states continue practicing capital punishment, an innocent individual will soon be executed because of faulty legal processes. Judges, jurors, witnesses, prosecutors and law enforcement personnel can all commit errors. In cases where states have not abolished the death penalty, such errors cannot be rectified. There is credible proof that such errors can occur, for instance in the United States alone, some 130 individuals who had been found guilty and sentenced to death have been found innocent (BBC, n.d.)(Amnesty International, 2012).

According to Amnesty International (2012), research shows that over 77% of the individuals who have been sentenced to death were….....

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