The Use of Capital Punishment

The Use of Capital Punishment

Death penalty has been used to punish criminals for different types of offenses since prehistoric times. In Medieval England capital punishment was imposed for more than 300 of different crimes. Nowadays there is no common attitude toward death penalty, which is considered to be inhuman survival of the past, and a lot of countries have abolished its usage (e.g. European Union and members of European Council). According to Justin Healey, in the year 2004 76 countries and territories have abolished the death penalty for all crimes; 15 countries have abolished the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes; 21 countries can be considered abolitionist in practice: they retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions (3). That totals in 112 countries which have abolished death penalty lawfully or inpractice. Nevertheless, certain number of developed countries still uses putting convicts to death to prevent other crimes and provide justice for everybody (e.g. the USA, Japan, Iran, Nigeria, etc.). The exact number of countries that retain capital punishment in the modern world is 83(Justin 4). However, what is the basis for death penalty sentence? Does it always work without fatal mistakes of depriving innocents of their lives? Is there no other choice to punish the guilty? Although people may argue a lot on the issue of capital punishment usage, a great deal of its perception is represented in the culture, cultural background and worldview, cultural behavior of individuals. The other thing that affects death penalty is government's policy on the world's political arena. But what should a simple individual consider in order to come to the point of choosing one's position about capital punishment? What is really important - the morality of people or country's politics?

In the American culture and tradition the most important argument for capital punishment is its deterrent effect. Theoretical deterrent power of capital punishment was one of ideas favoring death penalty that caused a great number of executions in the USA, which in most cases were public. Many Americans (according to Conklin 71 percent ) believe that if a criminal is put to death it is a better lesson for those who might want to commit a crime(475); it is better to show the consequence - electrocution, death in gas chamber or from lethal injection. Moreover, according to a survey 59 percent of Americans who favor capital punishment stated that "it was a better deterrent than life imprisonment" (Conklin, 475). Also according to Kenneth Cauthen, the deterrent effect of capital punishment can be seen in the dropped murder rate in the USA - 26 percent reduction - in the period of increased use of death penalty.

Still, according to Stanislav Kataev's survey conducted in Ukraine (which is closer to European way of thinking than American) the deterrence of death penalty is merely considered to be very serious. Most of people questioned during the survey affirmed that not many but only separate criminals think of the punishment at the moment of murdering; most of heinous crimes are committed in affect state (Kataev), when a person can not take full responsibility of his/her actions. Even if a crime is committed consciously by a recidivist, the criminal in that case would rather hope to avoid punishment at all than think that he/she ought to be put to death (Kataev). Moreover, exceeded executions have not proved to lower crime rate in general: those who interpret drop in crime rate is due to death penalty are wrong, it might happen due to better job of police and crime preventing institutions (Manville). Thus, the capital punishment usage does not really affect the crime rate.

However, the opponents of both views are present in both cultures. Some people in America, and this thought is also supported by most criminologists, might say that death penalty has little deterrent effect. Still, in both cultures people will approve individual deterrence: when a convict is executed he/she will never kill again. Therefore, people favor death penalty in capital cases of very cruel murderers who have killed not one person, and not once. Those recidivists, according to public's opinion, may kill others not only when they are free, but also when they are in jail - they are threat to prison officers, guards and other convicts.

Another reason against death penalty in Ukraine, which was supported by more than 60 percent of people, that the mistakes of capital cases can not be corrected. Kataev gives an example of serial murderer Mihasevich's case when 11 innocent people were arrested, among whom 1 was executed, 1 went mad, and others spent long time in prison until the true killer was caught. This argument constitutes as the most important among those in opposition of death penalty.

On the contrary, in the USA the argument of possible mistake in capital case sentence seems to be of the least importance. People are assured of rightness of capital punishment usage and providing in such a manner justice, that they don't speak about possible mistakes in its implementation. Some lawyers and public men affirm that low number of putting to death by mistake is excused by depriving cruel and violent murderers of life (Cauthen).

Next supporting argument for death penalty is its retribution. Capital punishment supporters believe that killers should be deprived of their own lives as they had taken lives of others. Execution in this place is a kind of "rehabilitative" treatment for the victims' relatives who experience some kind of relief when killer is put death. "All victims have feelings to revenge" (Redekop 68), and no one can help forgive them until they know the murderer is punished "roughly equally to the crime" (90). As one man, whose wife and two children were killed, said - "I got relief when I got to know that the murderer was executed on electric chair" (Ness 67). Some people also say that criminals should be made to suffer in proportion to the offense, and that proportion in capital cases is certainly criminal's death. The main reason in support of the argument is "the death penalty is necessary to honor victims" (Coke). Moreover, about 55 percent of people state that "death penalty is the only just punishment for the most heinous crimes" (Kataev).

However, the reason of taking revenge does influence opinion of people in both countries. While in Ukraine the matter of revenge is considered to be more of personal thing, in the United States exists an idea that revenge through capital punishment is "the primary goal of U.S. justice"