The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

張貼日期：Jun 25, 2010 1:53:32 PM

The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

Ally Jhao

     No one has the right to take the life of another person, even if this person is a criminal. Everyone makes mistakes. And when the mistake is made, we all hope to be forgiven. We want to have a chance to learn from the mistakes and to improve ourselves. But a dead person does not have this kind of chance. So in my opinion, the death penalty should be abolished. There are some reasons why capital punishment should be abolished.

     The first reason is that misjudgment may kill the innocent. For example, Jiang Qing Guo was executed for raping a child in 1998. The case was judged solely based on the Quo’s self confession. But the defendant usually admitted his guilt when he could not take the pressure in the court. Under this kind of situation, misjudgment happened easily. Therefore, abolishing the death penalty, we can avoid the victims being executed by mistake.

     Although abolishing the death penalty is a way to prevent the innocent from being killed, it is not the only measure. More supporting evidence also makes a just trial, but some people thought that they would rather kill an innocent person than let off a murderer. But I thought it is totally unfair to the innocent person. We could no longer save the life of the victim, even if we executed the murderer.

     Another reason is that everyone should pay respect to the life of another person. Life in prison gives the criminal the chance to change. But a dead person learns nothing. Capital punishment is only an act to revenge. It is true that the murderer destroyed life; but it might be because they did not have another choice in some situations. They might try to defend themselves. In these cases, the death penalty might not be the only punishment for the criminal.

     Contrary to common belief, studies show that it cost much more money to execute a criminal than to imprison one; however, the opponents argue that ordinary citizens, including the victim’s family, should not pay any tax to keep the killer alive. But I think that the prisoner could trade labor to redeem sins by good deeds. A dead person contributes nothing to the society.

     In conclusion, the death penalty should be abolished. An executed person will not have the chance to learn and change. They lose hopes and dreams. To err is human, to forgive is divine. We have been learning that forgiveness is necessary. People can change, but only when they have the opportunities. In any case, capital punishment is not the only way to penalize the criminals for their heinous crimes.