这篇主要讨论的是死刑存在的意义，死刑是一个极其严厉的惩罚，关于那些放下严重罪行的人来说，英语论文范文，特别是杀害无辜的人。死刑的最初目标是阻止罪犯以及服务社会正义。许多美国公民赞成死刑的。然而,这完全不是这样。如果我们看到这个问题从不同的角度来看,我们可以看到死刑的不利作用。
Introduction:
Death penalty is an extremely severe punishment for those who commit a serious crime, especially killing innocent people. The original goal of death penalty is to deter the criminals as well as serve social justice. After all, on the one hand, as known to us, under most of circumstances, if there is consequence for our behaviors, it is more likely that we think twice before taking any action. Even when we intend to vent our anger and hatred toward others and to hurt others, we might not put it into practice given the inevitable punishment following. As a result, theoretically, crime rate could be reduced. On the other hand, as the saying in Bible goes, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. It seems that killing others or committing other felony could satisfy justice due to the widespread awareness that people should take responsibility for what they do, especially when it involves other people hurt or the society threatened. That is, these people are supposed to compensate for their behaviors. For the reasons above, many U.S. citizens are in favor of the death penalty [5]. Nevertheless, this is not the case entirely. If we see this issue from a different perspective, we could see the adverse effects of death penalty.
Argument:
According to the article Why the Church Speaks a Countercultural Message [5], there are several consequences of the death penalty which must be taken into account when it comes to the decision whether to abolish death penalty or not.
First of all, the claim that the death penalty could deter criminals lacks theoretical or statistical basis. Those people who are opposed to the death penalty point out that some nations have had reduced rates of violent crime while some death-penalty states have had increasing rates of murder [5]. Although the credibility and accuracy of the statement of the opponents of death penalty remains unclear, we cannot rule out the possibility that they are right about the role of death penalty. In fact, I think it is a warning bell for us that it is possible that our attitude towards the benefits of death penalty could be relied on our common sense instead of scientific conclusion.
Second, even though a great many people argue that it is quite reasonable to ask the criminals to pay the price for what they have done, we have no choice but to admit that even death penalty could not make up for the loss under many conditions. Even after the criminals are executed, does it mean that the families of the victims feel much better? Do they feel that the death of criminals could heal their pain of loss? For example, in the film Dead Man Walking, even though the killer is sentenced to death, there is no remedy for the victims and the families of the victims [2].
Third, there is a chance that innocent people could be sentenced to death. As known to us, truth is subtle and it is not easy to see it entirely. Judicial system has its flaws, and there is no way that every case could be dealt equitably and fairly [3]. In such cases, the death penalty could put innocent people into death as well. Since such possibility could not be ruled out, should not we think it twice before firmly advocating death penalty and its benefits?
Last but not least, as far as I am concerned, the death penalty cannot provide a solution to the problems of violent crimes fundamentally. Let us take a look at the origin of violent crimes. What do those people commit crime even when they are aware of the penalty following? Why would they want to hurt others? The society is not even and equal at all. Famine, poverty, and war and so on keep threatening to a lot of people. Some people are born with disability, physically or mentally. Some people are raised in single-parent family. Some people might suffer from abuse when they are young. Due to some disability, trauma from childhood or troubled by living situation, it is evitable that many people become mentally disordered and hence do something terrible or even horrible. Is it their fault? I am not sure about the answer exactly. However, rather than severely blame and punish these people for what they have done, isn’t it necessary to try to cope with the fundamental problems of our society in terms of partiality, prejudice, and education, and so on?
Conclusion:
The abolition of death penalty should be seriously considered.
References:
[1] Capital Punishment (Chapter 8:199-200)
[2] Dead Man Walking (Chapter 8:196)
[3] Sister Helen Prejean (Chapter 8:202)
[4] Catholic Church’s Anti-Death Penalty Position on
[5] The Death Penalty: Why the Church Speaks a Countercultural Message on
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