Essay on “Should Death Penalty Be Abolished” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Should Death Penalty Be Abolished ?

There are different views about the abolition of capital punishment. Death sentence cannot be justified a moral grounds, particularly in the modern society different methods are prevalent to put an end to the life of a criminal. There is a widespread use of death penalty to kill one is political rivals. Sometimes even innocent persons are executed due to the wrong judgement. The modem era which is far from the barbarous, society does not approve of capital punishment. Criminals should be reformed through better treatment.

Should an assassin be sentenced to death? Or should he be given a risen. Sentence for life? Will the abolition of death penalty result in sharp increase in the number of murders? These and similar question keep agitating the minds or right thinking person’s all over the world after England took the initiative and abolished the death sentence.

 
Since the dawn of the organized society capital punishment has been there. In olden days the prevalent idea was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. If a man took the life of another man, society took life of the murderer. That is blood for blood and a savage sort of revenge. Such blood thirsty punishments are no more in tune with the present civilized time when all human beings enjoy equal rights and privileges and every man is respected as a human being.

 
Death Sentence cannot be justified on moral or ethical grounds. What right has the society to finish the life of a criminal is not the judge who awards death sentence, as great a murderer as the murderer whom he is sending to the gallows”? His victim is killed by the murderer with a sword or a gun, the murderer is killed by the judge by the iron stork at his pen. Does killing assume the role of a sacred deed when, it is ordered by the judge?

Different methods are followed to finish the life of a criminal. The most prevalent method is hanging by the rope till the condemned person is dead. In the U.S.A the criminal is made to sit in an electric chair, electric shocks are administered to him and he dies within seconds. A few years ago, the famous physical Julius Rosenberg and his wife Ethel Rosenberg died in the electric chair on the charge of being atomic spies and passing on the secrets to Russia. Some military offenders and condemned political prisoners have to face the firing squad to meet their death. In Italy, war-time dictator Mussolini was” killed by a tiring squad in the olden days the criminals were beheaded or executed. The head of King Charles I was cut off by the hangman s axe. The great Greek philosopher Socrates was given cup of poison to drink and thus he met his end. During the Reign of. Terror of the French Revolution, hundreds of people was guillotined” Inquisition, there religious court ordered that the Protestants be burnt alive at the stakes. The famous loan of Arc, who is supposed to have won the 100 Years War of France, was thus burnt alive as heretics}: Again in earlier ages condemned prisoners were drowned to death or thrown before hungry lions. Whatever method is followed to pus an: end to the life of a criminal, it is revolting. It reminds us of the days of barbarism.

It may be pointed out that thirty seven countries have abolished death penalty and the after effects of it have not done any harm. After India got her independence from the British yoke Ratan Bai lain was the first woman to be hanged in India’s capital. There is a campaign in India too, to mobilize public opinion on this issue.

Most of the persons are of the view that punishment should be either reformative or deterrent but death sentence is neither it cannot reform the criminal since he is dead and is beyond good or bad. Does it act as a deterrent? Does it help stop future murders? For centuries there is the practice of hanging the criminals! But murders and other crimes of violence have not come to an end. A Crime is committed by the murderer in the heat of the moment and he is completely reckless about the consequences of his action Countries which have abolished death sentence find that there is no increase in the number of murders in. their countries. Some people are of the View that spending ones. Whole life in prison is where severe a punishment than hanging.

About 3 centuries ago, there were some 200 crimes for which the punishment was death.  Today murder is the only crime that is punishable with death. In the days of Elizabeth thefts above a certain value were punishable with death. Shakespeare had to run away to London to escape punishment since he had stolen a deer of Sir Thomas Lady.

The thieves were warned through public hangings. In numerous persons and to collect to see a public hanging.  It is said that while one thief was being hanged, other thieves were busy pick-pocketing in the crowd collected there. This proves that the other thieves had no fear of death punishment Also; there is the element of human error. There have been cases where innocent men were sentenced to death and later the real culprits were found Judges being human can sometimes send innocent men to the gallows. It is said that the business of judges is not do justice but to settle cases. They have to decide cases on the basis of evidence before them.

 
When hundreds of crimes were punishable with death penalty, people thought that if death sentence was abolished, there would be no fear and hence the crimes would increase. Today death sentence has been abolished for all crimes except murder. Yet there is no wholesome chaos and anarchy as feared by people.  Therefore, if death sentence is completely abolished there will be no difference in the society.

 
There is a widespread misuse of death penalty to kill ones political rivals. A bogus case is put up in the court, a sham trial is held and the judge sentences the person to death. At the end of World War 11 Hitler committed suicide and his great companions were hanged by the order of the War Crimes Tribunal. Their chief crime was that they had been defeated-in war, though the victorious side had done L; the same acts. After Stalin’s death Malenkov became the Prime Minister of Russia. Beria, the Deputy Prime Minister, also had the ambition to become Prime Minister. So a court ordered him to be shot, on the charge that he was a traitor and enemy of the country. The defeated enemies are hanged and the losers are shot. Patriots like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged by the order of the British Court.

The present era is not that of barbarism and, therefore, the barbarous punishment of death should be abolished. Murderers are not inborn murderers. They are so, in fact. Because of the circumstances in which they are placed. The society, education, employment Opportunities and in numerous other reasons are responsible in turning ordinary human beings into criminals Therefore, an effort should he made by the government to improve the social behavior 01 the individuals. Even criminals possess some good traits in their personality and these traits can be fully exploited to ameliorate their behavior, so that they can become good citizens.  The death penalty is no way to reform the Criminals and bringing about harmony in the society.