Monday, August 24, 2009

Capital punishment

Capital punishment means punishment of death carried out by hanging , shooting , electrocution or the like . In almost every civilized country of the world abolition of capital punishment has been advocated from time to time , but still it exists in most of the countries .

There are strong arguments in favour of capital punishment . It acts as a deterrent . Even a hardened criminal , out of the fear of death, is deterred from committing a murder . However , if a man has turned murderer , he is beyond any hope of reform . Capital punishment would rid the society of such a man . He must die so that others may live fearlessly and peacefully. A diseased limb is removed through a surgical operation so that the whole body may not suffer .

Of course , capital punishment may be retained on the statute book for certain contigencies only but it should bot be forgotten that by killing the murderer , we can not undo the crime . We can only satisfy an abstract sense of revenge ," An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ." is the type of logic that might have swayed the primitive mind , but should have no appeal for the modern man .

The existence of capital punishment has never deterred a man from committing a heinous crime which is often committed under the influence of an intoxicant or a violent emotion or passion. The fear of the possible consequences in such a situation is totally absent . In other words , capital punishment , in most of the cases , does not prevent murders.

Capital punishment is often an undersirable and extreme step. As it is irrevocable , mistakes can not be put right . A life sentence may also serve the purpose , and the culprit may get a chance to turn over a new leaf . If a man is wrongly put to death , he can not be brought back to life . That is the reason why it is argued that when the law can not give life , it should have no right to deprive a man of it .

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