Capital Punishment
Should we punish those who do harm to us? Is that who we are? We call ourselves humans. What do we understand by the word humans? Do we mean mankind or do we mean people who are humane or rather beings that are humane. Why, is what you are asking, would I ask these questions. Well, do you think capital punishment should be allowed?
The governments around the world and their people have disputed for centuries about capital punishment. We’ve seen for ourselves in movies, books, video games and other media how countries used capital punishment in the past. At a time in the past, public hangings were a regular occurrence. Not anymore is what people say. In fact, it barely happens nowadays no matter what the crime. Yet, I sit here right now writing about public executions and wondering, genuinely, whether the few that still happen around the world should occur at all. Recently, a man in Bangladesh, believed to be an ex-member of the Jamaat-e-Islam group involved in the 1971 Bangladeshi massacre was handed a death sentence. Did he deserve it is the question. Does anyone deserve to die by the hands of another?
Every day, we see people who start protests outside of courts when a man murders another. They all demand justice for the murder of the fellow man. My question to you is, what do they mean by “justice”? Are they talking about giving him a life sentence in prison or a death sentence? When you think about this issue, you get back to the main issue. Should capital punishment be allowed? I was just watching a movie with my brother. I don’t know how well known it is or whether you all have heard of it. It’s called The Lovely Bones and it is about the murder of a girl by an older man and how her family copes with her death. Well, I won’t bore you with the entire story but in the end, that old man who murdered the girl slips off a hill to his death.
As that scene took place, my brother, who was standing near me, said that that fall which killed the man had to hurt as he hit a lot of obstacles on his way to the ground. I told my brother that it did not matter because the man deserved to die and he told me that I was thinking negatively. He told me that no one deserves to die. He said punishment is another matter but no one deserves to die.
When I asked him why there is capital punishment then, he stared at me and said, “I don’t know. You tell me. Why is there capital punishment?”
He did not understand the logic behind capital punishment. He said that it is not the place of another human to decide who gets to live and who gets to die. That power should remain with God and with God alone. He told me how long this subject had been fought over and that it had even appeared as a question in one of his exams. When he went away, I stayed behind and thought over what he had said. Was what he said true? I kept thinking to myself. I realized that it was. If I was in the position of an authoritative person and I was asked to decide the fate of a man, I would not have the strength to hand him a death sentence. Why? Some of you may be thinking this. The answer is that my resolve against death is too strong. I would never want to be responsible for taking the life of another.
In my eyes, there is no place in this world for capital punishment. There may have been once but the world has changed. My view is that people no longer want bloodshed. They have seen enough as it is. Of course, they want the bad punished but isn’t being locked up in what is practically a cage for years punishment enough? Well, you all have heard what I wanted to say. What about you? What is your standing on capital punishment? Maybe you would like to add something which I may have missed out or give me a logical solution for why it is necessary. Whatever the case, I am always open to new things and I would love to hear what your standing is on this issue.