The death penalty is a failure

> Why I will never endorse capital punishment

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

he death penalty was used frequently
in the past, but is widely frowned

upon today. Very few Western or
developed countries have it as a law, and
fewer practice it. The United States of
America is the only first world country
left with the death penalty, and even there
it has been outlawed in many states.

I strongly believe it is wrong for a
state to kill its own citizens. I believe
it is not right for any culture to kill
people to show that killing people is
wrong. Death is always tragic and awful,
and it is counter-productive to add
to the death toll. The right to life is a
right valued by every culture, and the
death penalty is a barbaric, outdated
method that takes away that right.

Systemically, the death penalty is
a failure. It is not administered fairly,

or even equally. Capital punishment is
often used as a bargaining tool, with
defence agreeing to certain terms on the
condition that they do not face the death
sentence. Those who do face the death
sentence are statistically more often
people of colour or coming from poverty.
Someone should not be executed for the
same crime someone else only would
only go to prison for simply because they
were unable to hire a better lawyer.

In addition, with the lengthy
appeal process and all the bureaucracy
involved, the death sentence ends up
costing a judicial system more than
life imprisonment. Many inmates
wait years, or even decades before
their executions. It is psychologically
torturous and cruel/unusual punishment
to keep people incarcerated knowing
that they will be killed by the state,
but having no idea when.

It is true that there are many

horrible, dangerous people who should
be restrained by society so that they
can’t harm others. However, I don’t
believe every murderer is completely
damaged and useless beyond all repair,
and I feel that the death penalty was
used alarmingly and unnecessarily often
in the past. Today, not all murderers

in areas with capital punishment

face the death penalty, because the
system is inconsistent with regards to
who is deserving of life or death.

For those who do need harsh
punishment to protect society, life
imprisonment is just as effective in
keeping them locked away. Many
maximum security prisons have
conditions that are isolating and
torturous, and this punishment
can be even worse than death.

The specifics of an execution are
dark and disturbing. Killing someone
is a group effort, from the law official

There are no easy answers for
solving the world's problems

> Issues will continue to plague us forever

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

Goce has many, many problems

and issues to solve. Some of them

are newer and caused by technology

or development, while others have
remained for hundreds of years, or more.

Many will argue that the solutions
are obvious, and that everything
could be fixed if only they would try
such and such a thing. Perhaps you've
said it yourself, or heard a friend ask
“Why don’t they just...?” We criticize
politicians for not instantly making
our country great again (regardless
of their party) and for failing to
improve the community to our
own very specific expectations.

It goes all the way back to the Bible,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Pretty much every idea has been thought
of before, and has failed for some reason
or another. If something seems like too
good an idea to work, that’s because it is.

The world’s problems seem
daunting and nearly impossible to
face. We are dealing with protecting
a very badly-damaged environment,
global poverty, terrorism, war, and
disease, all in the face of political
tensions and a divided world.

International geopolitics and
diplomacy make tackling these
matters sensitive, at the very least.
Organizations like the UN encourage
all nations to come together and find
mutual understanding, but divisions
still run deep. The question of what
ideology and political system works
varies, depending on region and country.
There is no single method of governing
that works in every area. Different
populations have different histories and
prominence, leading to their having
a unique place in the world today.

Academics, politicians, and peers

continue heavy debates on many
issues. There’s no one-size-fits-all
method or universally agreed solution,
and that’s why these things continue
to be debated. If there truly was an
obvious solution to fix problems that
have dozens of root causes based

on modern history and society, it

would’ve been implemented long ago.
Good politicians acknowledge
complexities in society and seek to find
common ground with their opponents
to make progress. The most dangerous
and incompetent are the ones who
think they have all the answers, with
a “my way or the highway” approach.

who signs the order to the anonymous
person who pulls the switch. It is not
a pleasant thing to engage in, and
those involved with executions often
have psychological damage in the
future. Why do we ask our citizens to
lll others in the name of justice?
Finally, there is always a chance
of innocence. Wrongful executions
can and do happen in every country
that practices the death penalty.
Even with modern forensic evidence,
manipulations and false convictions can
occur. If someone is in jail, they can be
let go, but there is no reversing death,
and all involved in the execution now
have innocent blood on their hands.
Most countries saw the death penalty
as the failure it was long ago and got
rid of it, and it’s only a matter of time
before the US follows suit. I simply do
not support it being used anywhere.

a
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Politicians strategize, experiment, and
listen to the people around them when
tackling the big issues. However, it takes
a lot more than one new government

to revolutionize an issue that has been
plaguing all societies for hundreds of
years. The struggle only continues.