The death penalty is a contentious issue in many states and countries around the world. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Whether capital punishment should be practiced or not is controversial in most countries. Although it has some benefits, I believe that the drawbacks it brings about are far more significant. To begin with the positives of the sentencing to death, a crucial one is that it minimizes crime rates in a country. This is because it strikes fear into the hearts of criminals, and make them think twice before offending. This type of punishment is also likely to be an effective way of dealing with recidivists – re-offenders. Having been sentenced a number of times after committing serious crimes, such as rape, treason and murder, prison sentences may seem normal and too light for them. If a law were passed to legalize capital punishment, we would perhaps see a significant decline in the rate of these crimes as it would teach a valuable lesson to others. Despite the arguments presented above, I feel that it is not a sensible decision to make for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is morally unacceptable to take a life. People might have committed a crime accidentally or while protecting themselves, so punishment by execution is just another murder, an unjustified one sometimes. Besides being morally wrong, the death verdict causes further problems like psychological traumas to family members of criminals, which will be followed by years of depression and stress. Giving people another opportunity to correct themselves or giving them lengthy prison sentences could be effective alternatives to harsh punishments of electrocution, hanging, and lethal injections. Above all, who are we to judge? The death penalty has both pros and cons. However, while it might seem justifiable as an effective deterrent of crime, in my view, it is unacceptable on ethical grounds. Overall, the advantages are outweighed by the negatives.