Death Penalty: Returning Violence to Violence

INTRODUCTION

The death penalty has been a tool that has been used for centuries to punish
those who commits heinous crimes. Death penalty in the Philippines is stated on the
Republic Act 7659 which act to impose the death penalty for certain crimes.

This can be traced back during the Pre-Spanish time were Filipinos although
infrequent, is already practicing it. The Martial Law in 1965-1986 even though it was
abolished during Cory Aquino’s term, it was re-imposed when Marcos stopped into
the presidency. It was also present in Estrada and Arroyo’s term.

Even though death penalty in the Philippines is important to minimized the

person who happened to do a heinous crime, we must think of the potential victims
who are at sake.

COUNTER ARGUMENT

The overwhelming conclusions from years of deterrance studies in that the

death penalty is, at best, no more of a detterent than a sentence of life in prison. In
fact, some criminologist said that death penalty has the opposite effect; that the
society is brutalized by the use of death penalty ans this increases the likelihood of
more murder.
 When someone takes a life, the balance of justice is distributed unless that
balance is restored, society succumbs to a rule of violence. Only the taking of
murderer’s life restores the balance and allows society to show convincingly that
murder is an intolerable crime which will be punished in kind. Retribution has its
basis in religious values, which have historically maintained that it is proper to take
an “eye for an eye” and a life. Offenders deserve the worst punishment under our
system of law, and that is the death penalty.

There is no proof that any innocent person has actually been executed since
increased safeguards and appeals were added to our death penalty system in 1970’s.
Even if such execution have occurred, they are very rare. Imprisoning innocent
people is also wrong, but we cannot empty the prisons because of that minimal risk.
Many of the claims of innocence by those who have been released from death row
are actually based o legal technicalities.

The death penalty alone imposes an irrevocable sentence. Once an inmate is

executed, nothing can be done to make amends if a mistake has been made. There
are considerable evidences that many mistake have been made in sentencing people
to death. Since 1973, at least 121 people have been released from death row after
evidence of their innocence emerged. For every eight people executed, we have
found one person on death row who never should have been convicted. These
statistics represent an in tolerate risk of executing the innocent. Our capital
punishment system is unrealiable: two thirds of all capital trials contained serious
errors.

MY ARGUMENTS

Death penalty shows justice. There will be justice when we punished the guilty.
It shows quality, on T.V. I have seen people being interviewed because one or some
of their relatives died. I know for sure that justice can only be the solution for them
to be relieved. A serious crime must have a serious penalty and that is death. Justice
can dignify a person.

According to Bedau, H. (1982), most people have a natural feel of death- it is a

trait man have to think about it unconsciously. In addition, the homicide rate would
be low because no one like to die. The death penalty is important because it could
save the lives of thousands of potential victims who are at sake.

This should be legalized specially nowadays, in the modern contemporary

society where crime rates are increasing at an unstoppable rate. Now, even though
having the complete knowledge that crime is illegal and the criminals can be severely
punished, people do not hesitate to kill, to rape, to steal and so on. Till when shall
we continue to bear those horrible and monstrous criminals that commit crime so
easily without giving or having a second thought that the family of their victim might
suffer. Some of the criminals are able to escape if they are in jail and easily live a
free life. As Aries Lida said, “It is better to kill criminals instead of criminals killing
more innocent people.

CONCLUSION

Death penalty is one of the most debatable in the criminal justice system. Today,
there are many pros and cons to this death penalty issues. However, if people weight
the argument properly and have empathy for the victims, they will be more inclined
to favor this capital punishment. As a matter of fact, most people on the Philippines
today are in favor to it. But we need more states to enforce death penalty.