Analysis of Death Penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Death Penalty - Research Paper Example Several militaries impose the death penalty for disciplinary offenses such as desertion, mutiny, and cowardice. According to Amnesty International, 58 countries have retained the death penalty as a method of punishing serious crime in society. Countries like China, North Korea, and Yemen have the highest number of executions. Statistics point out that at least people were convicted for death in those countries in 2012. Accordingly, 21 countries including Syria and Egypt carried out executions in 2012. The Middle East region witnessed more than 500 executions. Bahrain sentenced eight people to death between 2007 and 2012 and executed two death row convicts during the same period. Some methods of executing the death penalty include shooting at close range, electrocution, hanging, beheading, and lethal injection. Thesis statement: the death penalty should be abolished since it violates human rights and fails in deterring crime in the society. Opponents of the death penalty call for its abolishment by arguing that it contravenes the international human rights (Gottfried 10). Several countries have ratified the International Human rights charter that safeguards the inherent right to life and freedom from any inhumane or degrading treatment. Accordingly, the death penalty takes away the right to life thus entrenching cruel and unusual punishments such as lethal injection and execution. The opponents argue that this is barbaric practices associated with slavery and have no place in a modern and civilized society (Gottfried 22). The opponents argue that it is immoral and unethical since it degrades the inherent dignity of human life. Accordingly, some religious teachings such as Christianity forbid the use of the death penalty as a means of punishing crime. Although Islamic teaching allows for death punishment in cases of murder, the family of the victim can instead ask for financial compensation and pardon the murderer from the death sentence. The punishment leads to severe pain and contravenes the civilized treatment of human beings that should be accorded to every citizen (Gottfried 34). The punishment also leads to suffering to the immediate family members and relatives of the executed criminals. However, proponents argue that it will lead to the greatest happiness in the society since most of the citizens are law-abiding and execution of few individuals will lead to law and order in the society (Gottfried 39). The opponents argue that the arbitrary application of the death penalty is possible and sometimes it leads to the execution of innocent individuals. Abolitionists of this sentence argue that it is irrevocable. Accordingly, there are instances where convicted individuals have been freed after a successful appeal from death row thus suggesting that judges sometimes error in their sentencing (Gottfried 44). In addition, the imposition of this sentence denies the executed criminal the opportunity to benefit from new laws or new evidence th at can warrant the reversal of death sentence or freedom of the individual (Gottfried 91). Abolitionists have pointed out that this punishment is applied discriminatively thus violating the principle of equal protection.  Ã‚