Slavery's Impact on Capital Punishment Research Paper

Slavery's Impact on Capital Punishment - Research Paper Example A stronger and healthier male slave would fetch a higher price than a weaker and older slave. Female slaves were considered more valuable than male and hence would fetch more value as they could reproduce and help increase the number of slaves. Capital punishment is the lawful enforcement of death as a reprimand for hideous crimes. Britain had put an end to the practice of capital punishment in the year1965. However, we find that USA, Japan, China, and many other Asian, African and Middle Eastern still impose death penalty for certain number of crimes and use it with varying regularity. Propagators of capital punishment argue that it is the only way of removing criminals and this would also bring about safety for the people in the society. This can be a permanent way of removing crime completely. In keeping convicts in prison there is a possibility of them escaping from the bars or they could commit crimes within the prison. There is also a third possibility of prisoners being released after the completion of their sentence giving them free rein to start their horrendous practices all over again. There is also a cost factor involved in keeping the convict behind the bars which could be used in a more resourceful way. After the abolishment of capital punishment in Britain, statistics of 2009 reveal that in the past 12 years, 65 prisoners who had served their life sentence and were subsequently released, were yet again convicted for further crime.Their crimes ranged from murder to rape, statistics also show that the people who were given life imprisonment did not serve more than 10 years and moved freely there after.It also revealed that the crimes rose by 125% over the period of five years immediately after the abolishment of the death penalty. The crimes would have attracted death penalty if it were still into force. This means that the removal of death penalty acted as a catalyst to encourage further crime as the criminals became fearless. However, it can be argued that the abolishment cannot be the sole reason for the rise in crime. It might have increased by the same extent even if the death penalty would have been in force.The propagators of abolishment of capital punishment have a vital argument in their support. According to them innocent people could be incorrectly executed and it would not be possible to compensate them for this great injustice done to them and their families as the loss of a life can never be compensated. Secondly, the grievance suffered by the family of the person convicted cannot be totally ignored. The harassment and the trauma that the families and friends have to bear from the time of arrest until the final judgement is unbearable. The anguish and the pain haunts them for many years after the trial. People find it very difficult to accept the fact that their loved ones are guilty of such heinous crime. It is more difficult for them to contemplate such a painful death for their loved ones. However strongly one may support capital punishment, it cannot undo the harm that has already been done. In case an innocent is convicted, it might augment a feeling of revenge among his close ones and thus increasing the probability of crimes. Beccaria introduces one of the first critics of the use of capital punish