Alvaro Cunil Ethics Topic: Death Penalty Due date: 2nd, May 2012

Should Capital Punishment be re-enforced to dwindle murder rates in Belize? The lights dimmed and glared in sequences of three as Joe tried desperately to choke down his fear of impending death. Three long years on death row had lined his face and grayed his hair with the stress of knowing that one day it would all end when they strapped him into the chair that would soon send 20,000 volts of electricity through his still young body. Twenty thousand volts of electricity was the punishment the state deemed necessary for his having been found guilty of murder. But was he really guilty? Could the courts have been wrong in handing down the verdict of death by electrocution? In a short 30 minutes it will all be over, and no one will ever know for sure. Yet, Joe knew. He knew that he was innocent.Capital punishment, the death penalty, death sentence, or execution is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The death penalty should be abolished because there is no evidence that shows that capital punishment acts as a deterrent to prevent murders; the punishment doesnt always fit the crime. An eye for an eye leaves the world blind. Governments that still enforce capital punishment should seek other alternatives such as that of life in prison.

Statistics and evidence There are many arguments on how capital punishment should be re-enforced as a deterrent to murderers but yet, there is no evidence showing that it diminishes murder rates. One of the most common reactions to the escalation of violent crime in Belize is a call for the authorities to pop a few necks. In other words, if a few necks are popped criminals will be less likely to commit violent crimes the deterrence argument. Unfortunately, no credible research and data collection on this matter has been done anywhere in the Caribbean. In places like Trinidad and Tobago where the death penalty was recently implemented it has not thwarted the escalating rate of murder. On the other hand, abolitionists point to the United States where undoubtedly the greatest body of academic research exists. Not only does the United States have the highest murder rate in the industrialized world, but also, murder rates there are highest in southern states, where most executions occur. The most emotionally charged argument in favor of the death penalty comes from a victims family: if a life has been wrongfully, cruelly and without any form of provocation snuffed out then the state should, after a full court process, hang a murderer. The response to this from an abolitionist would be that life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is a sufficient punishment for a convicted murderer.

The punishment should fit the crime An eye for an eye, then would it be logic to rape a guilty rapist? These are the things that need to be kept in mind before applying this. The death of a murderer cannot bring peace to the victim, the death of a murderer cannot reverse the crime, and the death of a single murderer will never ensure that the act of murder never takes place again. Lets face it, the life of people who do these terrible things is of little value to the average person, but a life is still a life, regardless

of that persons crimes, and all lives are of some value. Do we advocate execution of the terminally ill because their lives are already over, or execute the mentally retarded because they may be unable to contribute to society on the same level of the average person? The law supposedly exists because the human eye shouldnt be capable of judging or punishing a person, but the eyes of the law, through the judge and the jury, are still humans; for example, 12 people in a jury box deciding if a person should die for the crime of murder is no different than any 12 people who decide upon the value of a persons life, based on the standards of their society. A jury that elects death for a serial arsonist and a group of Muslims that stone a woman for adultery are acting in the same capacity; they are obeying the law and serving the law by enforcing it. However, if human beings are imperfect, who are we to say what crimes give us the right to kill another? By giving ourselves the right to end anothers life, through the law or even through vigilantism (a member of a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily {vigilante}), we share a common ground with the monsters who commit these crimes in the first place, and that ground should be far, far beneath the footing of any law-abiding human being. According to the constitution of Belize it clearly states that A person shall not be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under any law of which he was convicted.

The Criminal Code provides for Class A and Class B murders. Class A murders include murder by shooting, murder in the course of theft, murder of a police officer or prison officer in the execution of their duty, or murder related to illegal drugs or criminal gang activity. Other murders are Class B murders. In the case of Class B murders, the judge may impose a life

sentence instead of the dread sentence of death. In exercising this discretion however a Belizean judge must be guided by the following principles: that the imposition of the death penalty requires special justification, that it should be reserved for the worst of the worst cases, and only where there is no possibility of reform and social re-adaptation of the offender.

Life in prison. Tying a rope around a criminals neck, dropping them through a trap door so that they hang by the neck until they die may vary greatly in the time it takes to die, but the outcome is still the same. According to studious people of deathpenaltyinfo.org, the cost to house death row inmates is $63,000,000just for one year. By comparison, housing life-imprisonment inmates is only $11,300,000 annually. If the outcome ultimately does not change, the criminal is out of society either way, justice is done, and taxpayer dollars can even be saved, why is the death penalty necessary? Of course, theres the argument that keeping someone on death row for 3-5 years is cheaper in the long run than leaving a criminal in prison for the next 25-50 years, think again. Lavell Frierson, who murdered Edgargo Kramer, stayed on death row for 27 years, in which his repeated appeals cost the state of San Francisco countless dollars. After 27 years, Friersons conviction was overturned for the third time in 2006, which renders all financial expenses to kill him a waste. Lavell isnt even the longest to wait on death row, as Jack Alderman served on Death Row for 33 years before his execution in 2006.

Although it may seem that capital punishment is the best alternative to dwindle murder rates, believe that there are always options on how to punish these murderers such as life in prison. Our constitution is very clear in stating the rights of a human being. Capital punishment should be

reserved for the worst of the worst cases. Nevertheless, I believe that and eye for an eye will eventually leave the world blind.

References 2004., penalty, 1. c., state, d. t., murder, t. s., massacres, s. a., world, a. -., et al. (n.d.). 10 Reasons to Abolish the Death Penalty - Democratic Underground. Democratic Underground. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=38 9x6991845 BELIZE BELIZE CONSTITUTION ACT CHAPTER 4 REVISED EDITION 2000. (n.d.). Belize Laws. Retrieved April 6, 2012, from www.belizelaw.org/belize_constitution01.pdf Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.). Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ Death Penalty : 10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty. (n.d.). Death Penalty. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://www.deathpenalty.org/section.php?id=24 Devitt, J. (n.d.). No Link Between the Death Penalty and Capital Crimes, Sociologists Find in Study of Trinidad and Tobago. New York University. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2012/04/13/no-link-between-thedeath-penalty-and-capital-crimes-sociologists-find-in-study-of-trinidad-and-tobago.html contrast., Trinidad., & sentencing, T. h. (n.d.). [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide. The Mail Archive. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http://www.mailarchive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/msg09889.html