Amnesty International: The death penalty

A few weeks ago two representatives for Amnesty International visited the year 10 learners and gave us an overview on the death penalty. Amnesty International is a HRO(Human rights organization) that protects human rights. It is looking to abolish the death penalty, as they believe that someone who kills someone else should not be killed too.

The two representatives presented the year 10 learners with some facts to support their opinions. They also presented some examples of previous cases to support their belief of the death penalty being abolished.

Today Malaysia, Singapore, Zambia and America are just some of the few countries that still practise the death penalty. Amnesty international was set up about 66 years ago. Ever since then the organization was set it it has managed to get many countries to abolish the death penalty. Today they are over 150 countries that have abolished the death penalty.

The question that remains is ”Should the death penalty be abolished?”

For every mistake there’s a consequence. For every crime there’s a punishment. But who are we to decide weather a person should live or not based on their actions. I am against the death penalty as I strongly feel that it is a cruel thing to do.

In my opinion I feel that the death penalty should be abolished. Killing a criminal who has committed a crime does not discourage the crime. It does not change the fact the crime has been committed. It is wrong to kill a person who has committed a crime. There will always be failings in the judicial and conviction system and death is final. A person’s life cannot be revived once taken even if they are found not guilty.

Another reason why the death penalty should be abolished is because it is expensive. Did you know that it is much cheaper to keep a criminal in prison for life rather than to take their life away? Just killing one person costs millions of dollars.

It is better to to keep a criminal who has committed a crime in prison that to kill them. Life imprisonment allows the criminal little freedom and poor quality but it is a much better punishment that the death penalty. It is a much better punishment that the death penalty as it allows the criminal to not only think, but also reflect on what he/or she has done.

Henry ford once said, “Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty." Every living human has a right to live according to the truth tree believes.

There is always a possibility that the person, who is convicted, has not even committed the crime.

It is completely inhuman to allow the state to convict a criminal who is found guilty. Some people commit crimes, as they are mentally unstable while others do it because of lack of knowledge. I feel that we as humans do not have the right to decide whether someone should live or not based on their actions. Over all I am against the death penalty.