Should capital punishment be reintroduced in the UK?

Essay by sihowells December 2003

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Should capital punishment be reintroduced in the UK?

Capital punishment is "putting a condemned person to death. Many people associated America with capital punishment, as they are the only western society that still uses this form of punishment. However, they will not be alone if the UK decides to bring back the death sentence.

The death penalty has been commonplace in English history and has played a crucial role in our development as a society. The first ever hanging in the UK was in the 5th century by the Anglo-Saxon's who used it as a method of execution. Hanging in Britain happened until 13 July 1955 when Ruth Ellis became the last person to be executed in the UK. Many people in the UK believe that capital punishment is wrong and that people who commit the crime do not deserve to die. On the other hand there are some people that think that a normal prison sentence is to easy for the criminal and that the death sentence should be used in extreme circumstances.

Religious Views

Christians and most of the religions thin that no one should be sent to death for a the crimes they have committed. They see life as a gift from god and to kill someone in the name of the law would be defying god's will. Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind". This line basically sums up many peoples views on the topic as he believed that capital punishment would spiral out of control. If a person who murdered someone and they were killed, then the person that killed them would also be a murder and need to be killed.

As capital punishment entails killing and it therefore requires breaking the first Precept and is incompatible...