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Pro-Capital Punishment
Introduction
Pro capital punishment is the death penalty. In this case, the individuals who go
against the law are made to pay for their offenses by subjecting them to death. This form of
punishment was used mostly in the ancient days. Some of the crimes that are punished in
such a way include kidnapping, murder and in most communities, witchcraft. The pro-capital
punishment has had different forms of arguments as to whether it is a right of punishment or
not. The punishment was legalized in 1972 by the Supreme Court in the United States of
America. The basis of argument, in this case, is on two aspects; the innocence of the victims
as per the individuals who are against the death sentences and the issue of deterrence which is
the primary concern for the individuals who advocate for the death sentences. The argument
is two way, there is an argument for the death penalty and that which is against the death
penalty.
Argument against pro-Capital Punishment
One of the arguments against the death penalty is that it does not discourage crime.
The countries that execute criminals by subjecting them to murder have the highest crime
rates as opposed to those countries that do not legalize pro capital punishment. If the
argument is that the fear of death penalty does not discourage individuals from committing
crimes on daily basis.
Similarly, another argument that is against the punishment is from rehabilitation point
of view. As a matter of fact, the death penalty does not rehabilitate an individual. Think about
a situation where someone committed murder, and he is subjected to this punishment
(McClellan, 98). The individual does not get that opportunity for rehabilitation due to the
death sentence (Mandery, 640). Punishing murder with another murder is not noble. Persons
who commit such kind of crimes should be subjected to the relevant authority and made to

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realize the wrongs that they committed and if possible, get a chance of opening a new page in
their lives that will enable them to become better people.
Death penalty affects the family of the criminal psychologically. Individuals who
value human life would not be at the scene where a murderer is hanged or burnt. The
knowledge of death sentence on the family of the person who commits murder brings
psychological torture. Such families are never at peace. Yes, the accused could have taken
away the life of a person, but that doesn't mean that he or she has to face the same fate
suffered by his or her victim.
Another argument is that pro-capital punishment has failed as a deterrent. Most
individuals are not discouraged from committing the offenses. Criminologists argue in case
the execution of a person is performed in a public way, the number of murders that occur in
the following weeks or months are many. Kidnapping, for example, goes on the rise. Making
the execution public encourages the criminals to continue with their criminal activities and
even take them to greater levels. The death penalty does not guarantee an additional
protection for the citizens of a nation since all the criminals cannot be killed at once.
Therefore, the death penalties are argued to offer no deterrence.
Additionally, the death sentences result in conviction of the innocent individuals.
Cases where proper investigations are not done, the chances of executing innocents are high.
The primary disadvantage of this is that the innocent person cannot be brought back to life
once his or her life has been taken away. An individual accused of murder and imprisoned
can easily find his or her freedom as opposed to the person who is executed. This aspect of
the execution of the innocent brings remorse and a sense of shame.
The motive behind the death penalty is revenge. This is another argument against the
pro-capital punishments. The plaintiff advocates for on the individuals who wrong them.
When this happens, the defendant is subjected to the death penalties. However, the people
who are harmed with the death of the accused often commit further crimes to make this

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vengeance continue. This, therefore, provides a valid statement that pro-capital punishment is
not the best way of bringing individuals who wrong commit offenses to justice.
Arguments for the death penalties
Most people, however, argue that the death sentences are often the best forms of
punishments for individuals who commit the outrageous crimes. The arguments contradict
with the arguments against the death penalties. The reasons for the death penalties are as
discussed.
It is argued that the threat of death penalty decreases the rate of homicide. Although
it's hard to notice the rate at which death of sentences deter the murders from committing the
crimes, the threat of death penalties prevent the criminals from thinking about committing
more murders. The individuals who have made killing a passion are not significantly affected
by the death threats but the majority of murderers are often dreaded with the threats of
murder and in most cases deter from the killings (Koenig & Rustad, 44).
Similarly, it is argued out that when the pro-capital punishment is not effected on the
criminals, crimes tend to increase. In the United States of America, the criminal activities
witnessed majorly involve individuals who are knifed, shot or assaulted. This, therefore,
proves that death penalties should be subjected on the persons who commit the criminals of
activities. Additionally, there is an argument that the different systems of justice do not
perform their operations as required.
The other argument for the death penalties is the aspect of free will. The individuals
who argue that the pro-capital punishment should be carried out state that the individuals who
commit the criminal activities do it out of free will and nobody forces them to do the crimes.
The individuals should, therefore, be brought to justice through the death penalties.
Additionally, the individuals who are for the death penalties argue that death penalties
get to save lives. They further state that the murders are eliminated, and other foreseeable
crimes are deterred. When this happens, there is a belief that the individuals who perpetuate
these crimes end up dying and future deaths due to the same criminals are prevented. They

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often state that the executions should not be termed as murder, they are punishments that the
society offers to criminals for the crimes that they commit (Lynch, 213).
Additionally, Bible quotes have been widely used to justify the aspect of capital
punishment. The individuals who are for the death penalty argues that the Lord says that the
murders are shall indeed face death. Numbers 35: 16-18, the Bible says that The murderers
shall surely be put to death." It is therefore argued out that either way the individuals who
commit murders are punished by death. This is, therefore, a reason for bringing the persons
who commit the crimes into justice through the death penalty.
The other argument for the death penalty is an eye for an eye. It is argued out that the
difference between the murders committed by the criminals and the executions the criminals
face is that one of the killings is legal and the other is not. It goes unsaid that the executions
are legal whereas the murders by the criminals are illegal. Different people are not brutalized
by the executions; they are brutalized by the ways in which the various criminals are not
brought to justice (McClellan, 641). The argument also states that even if the individuals who
carry out the crimes are punished by life imprisonment, the deterrent that will exist will not
be as good as when the criminals are dead.
Death penalty deterrence effect is another aspect that is put into consideration by the
individuals who are for the death penalty. It is argued that since the deterrence effect of the
death penalties is not known, there exist two uncertainties. The first form of doubt is that if
the death penalty is subjected and there is no deterrence at all, then the life of the convicted
individuals are taken away in vain. This is from a deterrence point of view. On the contrary, if
the death penalties are used, and the future murders are deterred, the lives of future victims
are spared. The murders who are deterred are equally spared from the justice of the crimes
they could have committed it that they were deterred. This, therefore, proves that the death
penalty is a total gain (Unnever, Francis, & Julian, 214).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the arguments for and against death sentences have weight. In my
opinion, I find pro-capital punishment to be one of the harshest ways of punishing

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individuals. The joy in punishing a criminal is seeing the criminal change and adopting a
different point of viewing life. I feel that the pro-capital punishment should not be the right
way of punishing the law breakers. They should be brought to justice in such a way that they
realize the weight of their mistakes and find a possible way of correcting these mistakes.

Works Cited
Koenig, T. H., & Rustad, M. L. (2011). Deciding Whether the Death Penalty Should Be
Abolished. Suffolk University Law Review, 44, 193.
Lynch, Mona. "Capital punishment as moral imperative Pro-death-penalty discourse on the
Internet." Punishment & Society 4.2 (2002): 213-236.
Mandery, Evan J. Capital Punishment: A Balanced Examination. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and
Bartlett Publishers, 2005. Print.
McClellan, Grant S. Capital Punishment. New York: Wilson, 1961. Print
Unnever, James D., Francis T. Cullen, and Julian V. Roberts. "Not everyone strongly supports
the death penalty: Assessing weakly-held attitudes about capital punishment."
American Journal of Criminal Justice 29.2 (2005): 187-216.