Monday, February 27, 2012

Is death penalty justified?

There are many points to be kept in mind when trying to answer this question. I personally am of the opinion that it is justified. I think crimes of a particular nature are committed with the awareness of the consequences and if you are aware of the consequences of your actions then you should also be willing to face the repercussions.

If the punishment for a particular crime is death penalty according to the constitution of India, then I feel it should be awarded. If you find cause to question the fulfillment of death penalty then you can surely find cause to question every part of the constitution and raise objections and send petitions to the president not just to repeal death penalty but anything for that matter.

Your right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in the constitution, among others that we fight for so passionately then if someone commits a heinous crime then we should fight with equal passion that they be given the punishment they are entitled.

If you take a look at the crime rate in India and compare it to a country where death penalty is awarded for certain crime you will see that there is a relation between the crime rate and whether death penalty is awarded or not. One such country is Singapore which has a very low crime rate. In 2010 for every 100,000 people there were 650 crimes.

In India if the same is applied I think that there will be a decrease in the amount of crime. It will act as deterrent. If you want to take right to life in consideration then with certain rights also come responsibilities. If you do not respect someone else right to life then why should the constitution protect your right to life.

1 comment:

Paul said...

The first rule about constructing an argument: Correlation does not necessarily indicate causality.

Singapore having a death penalty cannot directly linked to low crime rates.

Otherwise, how would u explain the case of Norway, which has no death penalty OR life imprisonment but has historically some of the lowest crime rates? Or Zimbabwe, which has a death penalty, but is probably one of the least safe places in the world right now?

Or better still, take the USA.The murder rate in states with the death penalty law is much higher than those that have abolished it.

Plus, India does have the death penalty.It hasn't reduced crime.

I'm not making a case for the death penalty or against it- im not taking either side. I'm just pointing out that if you're trying to argue a case FOR the death penalty, you may have gone about it the wrong way.