IS DEATH PENALTY EFFECTIVE?

IS DEATH PENALTY EFFECTIVE?

The death penalty is a very complicated subject which is being discussed all over the world.It is not a simple subject to be ignored.It should be discussed in the society, as it deals with lives of people.Therefore the significance of this topic is higher.

We must know the purpose of death penalty.Firstly, it is to punish a person for his/her crime against the society and rules made by the government.Secondly, it is a warning for other citizens to prevent them from committing the same crime.

Some people believe that death penalty is the best punishment for a murderer,as it decreases the rate of crimes and cases.But I strongly believe that death penalty is not an option to punish a murderer.Death penalty is an inhumane action, because depriving the life of murderer never give back the life of the victim.To kill a person is a murder.The thought to kill a person is also a murder.So, we in a sense, are being murderer when we support for the death penalty.There are many other better options than this. One such better option is the lifetime prison punishment,where the culprit get a chance to regret about his /her sins.

Effectiveness of death penalty is questioned all over the world.A quick analysis through the statistical data of countries which banished the  death penalty showed that there is a lower percent of homicides(killing of one person by another) after the abolition of death penalty.Justice V.R Krishna Iyer , once said that "Death penalty is a legally accepted murder."Murder is always a murder, whether it is legally accepted or not.

One think we should remember is that no one in the world have the right to question one's life.It is clear that it is a sadistic approach.Moreover, death penalty violates the right to life, which questions the most basic of all human rights. It also underestimate the human dignity of a human. The brutal attitude towards humanity should be banished. 

According to statistical data of India , 40 percent of people who were sentenced for death penalty before 1990's were innocent ones.It is said that even when 100 culprits are unpunished not even an innocent person should be punished.

In India , the first Nationalized Party ,to discuss the matter is CPI(M).The well known actor who raised his voice against this insane is veteran actor Padmashree Kamal Haasan,through his film Virumandi.

Maria Sebastian