inquiry #5

Should New Zealand have the death penalty?

Introduction

In 1967 New Zealand abolished the death penalty. In August of 2020, the killer in the Christchurch Mosque attacks became the first person in New Zealand history to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.` Nearly $5,000 per day has been budgeted for his incarceration. This is a huge burden for the New Zealand taxpayers. New Zealand should reinstate the death penalty to deter violent crime and reduce the cost of incarceration.

What is the death penalty?

The death penalty is a punishment given to criminals when they have committed serious and big crimes. For example, Maketu Wharetotara was hanged by the police in 1842 for the murder of multiple family friends and members of his family including his mother and grandmother. He explained he murdered the people because he felt they disrespected his mana. while awaiting execution, criminals are held in a row of cells nicknamed, “death row”. People have to wait a very long time on death row. The longest wait on death row was 40 years in a cell waiting to be killed. The average wait on death row is around 16 years. The wait can be as short as 6 months, but this is very rare because of the number of inmates waiting to be executed. The youngest person ever sentenced to death was only 10 years old, he was sentenced to death for his role in a murder and armed robbery.

Is it legal in New Zealand?

The death penalty is not legal in New Zealand and was abolished in 1961 by a free vote by parliament. The last ever death penalty in New Zealand was by hanging in 1957 after Walter Bolton murdered his wife using poison. Since then the punishment of major crimes is a long prison sentence.

What do you have to do to be given the death sentence?

To be given the death sentence you have to have done something pretty major, but the judge has to have hard evidence confirming the crimes have been committed by the criminal. The crimes that get people sentenced to death are major crimes such as, murder, treason, terrorism, arson, sexual assault and possession of class a drugs (such as cocaine, meth, mushrooms, or ecstasy). These crimes can be punishable by death.

Who invented the death sentence?

King Hammurabi of Babylon, Iraq, invented the death penalty in the eighteenth century B.C. the first recorded execution was a man accused of using dark magic. The criminal was forced to take his own life. This execution became a popular punishment around the world and was used by most countries as a punishment until it was abolished in most countries around the same time

What are the ways to execute using the death penalty?

There are only 2 main methods of execution used these days, but there has been a lot of other methods that haven’t been used since they were found faulty or cost too much. For example, since 1976 in the USA there have been 1344 executions by lethal injection, 163 by electrocution, 11 by lethal gas, 3 by hanging And 3 by firing squad. As shown by this data, most of the methods weren’t the most useful. For example, the lethal injection is used the most by us because it is silent and is only a needle being put into the persons arm injecting harmful fluids, making the heart stop beating. One downside to the method is that the fluids used to cost a lot because they are very dangerous in the wrong hands.

Conclusion - should the death penalty be legalized in NZ?

In my opinion, the death penalty should be given to people who have committed capital crimes and should be voted by the public if the criminal should be sentenced to death or not. This isn't the best for the country financially because holding people in prison costs money. Keeping someone in prison costs $90,977 every year, which is $249.25 each day. But it would be easier just executing them than holding them in a cell for ages. In my opinion, the death penalty should be legalized for people who commit serious crimes, for example, the white supremacist who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand will serve life in jail without parole. This is the first person in the country’s history to receive such a large sentence. I think that this man shouldn’t have the sentence of life in prison since he took so many peoples lives so he shouldn’t be allowed to live his in a prison with food and it is a place for him to rest.