A Paper Against the Death Penalty

Essay by viethotdudeUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, April 2005

download word file, 5 pages 4.6 6 reviews

The death penalty is one of the most difficult problems to be solved in the United States. Whether the death penalty is right or wrong, it is still a contentious topic to be debated in our today's society. Death is definitely NOT a solution to solve human issues. Human Rights Commissioner, John Sakulanda said, "Zambia should move towards being a beacon for respect of fundamental rights of every human being." (Africa News Service, 2004). I agree with Sakulanda's statement; death penalty is a cold-blooded treatment for humans. Death is absolutely not the correct means of penalty for a guilty criminal offense.

Moreover, I believe in my Catholic religion that God is the only person who has the right to take a person's life away, "Posterity will remember this merciful gesture. As Christians, we believe that God is the giver of life and only God can take it away." (Africa News Service).

Furthermore, prosecutor, Ronnie Earle (capital punishment supporter), is trying to act as God in deciding whether an offender should live or die. He had stated, "Well before any tribal begins, he and his top lieutenants decide for themselves whether someone is guilty and deserves to die." (Time Inc, 2003). In addition, many supporters of the capital punishment such as, Mr. Murunga, believes "People who take human life deserve to lose theirs. They also argue the threat of death discourages crime - more effectively than the threat of imprisonment." (Africa News Service). We should not be able to sentence people to death just because they are guilty of capital crimes. These criminal people should be sentenced to jail for the rest of their lives. A life sentence would make criminals regret and realize what they did was wrong and strive to become better people, changing their lives to be more...