Ethics of Capital Punishment
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- Category: English: Creative Writing
- Date Submitted: 04/17/2015 08:24 AM
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THE ETHICS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
The word “capital” in “capital punishment” refers to a person’s head. Capital punishment is the punishment given to the guilty by the state on a specific crime after a proper legal trail in the court. The punishment could be execution also known as “death penalty”. The punishment can only be issued by a state and a group or entity (a non-state organization) in accordance with proper laws relating to the commenced crime (Salvatore et al., 2001).
The first known infliction of death penalty was given in American Jamestown Colony in 1608. During the time period of revolutionary war, capital punishment was a widely acceptable practice. However, after the war ended, some states wrote their new constitutions and, although, many of them did not allow cruel and unusual punishment, all authorized capital punishment. After that, in 19th century there was a dramatic increase in practicing capital punishment with 1391 documented executions.
Every state has different law and constitution depending upon their culture, religion, beliefs and norms and the punishments are given according to the law of country that country where the crime took place. In most of the countries, capital punishment is usually given over hideous crimes and those crimes which are greatly immoral for example, murder, rape, an act of treason, drugs smuggling and types of fraud. The types and percentage of crimes differ in different states. Likewise, each state has contrasting methods of execution. Some common methods adopted by first world states include electrocution, hanging, gas chamber, firing, beheading or lethal injection. Out of all these methods implemented for execution the most inhumane is to behead the criminal. Some countries that still practice the said method include Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Syria and others. Many countries have abolished the use of this method because according to them it was disrespectful, unethical and...
The word “capital” in “capital punishment” refers to a person’s head. Capital punishment is the punishment given to the guilty by the state on a specific crime after a proper legal trail in the court. The punishment could be execution also known as “death penalty”. The punishment can only be issued by a state and a group or entity (a non-state organization) in accordance with proper laws relating to the commenced crime (Salvatore et al., 2001).
The first known infliction of death penalty was given in American Jamestown Colony in 1608. During the time period of revolutionary war, capital punishment was a widely acceptable practice. However, after the war ended, some states wrote their new constitutions and, although, many of them did not allow cruel and unusual punishment, all authorized capital punishment. After that, in 19th century there was a dramatic increase in practicing capital punishment with 1391 documented executions.
Every state has different law and constitution depending upon their culture, religion, beliefs and norms and the punishments are given according to the law of country that country where the crime took place. In most of the countries, capital punishment is usually given over hideous crimes and those crimes which are greatly immoral for example, murder, rape, an act of treason, drugs smuggling and types of fraud. The types and percentage of crimes differ in different states. Likewise, each state has contrasting methods of execution. Some common methods adopted by first world states include electrocution, hanging, gas chamber, firing, beheading or lethal injection. Out of all these methods implemented for execution the most inhumane is to behead the criminal. Some countries that still practice the said method include Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Syria and others. Many countries have abolished the use of this method because according to them it was disrespectful, unethical and...