Essays

Capital Punishment(C2)

CEFR C2

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Capital punishment, commonly referred to as death penalty, has always been a heated issue of debate and a controversial subject discussed within related systems. Despite the fact that many countries still detain the use of executions as the appropriate punishment for the worst crimes, others view it as an immoral act and consider that it should be taken down immediately. However, in my opinion, I agree that it is essential to carry out capital punishment in order to keep the security system efficient in this society and prevent certain issues in the future.

First of all, capital punishment is an effective deterrent to major crimes. Throughout history, the predominant method to prevent one from committing crimes is to put the consequences of his or her actions on display, public or not. With the death of a victim, the grief and horror that his or her loved ones have to suffer are indescribable, which is why the penalty should be considered to restore the equilibrium of justice as well as the horror spreading across the public. Secondly, the government spends considerably huge sums of the national budget on the maintenance of prisons, which is thought to be unnecessary and unjust to the taxpayers since the money can be utilized by developing the society and welfare of the citizens instead.

On the other hand, others state that death penalty is cruel, unjust and immoral as execution is inhumane and it violates a person's basic right to life. They claim that the 'an eye for an eye' method transforms us into a primitive state and the death penalty is a barbaric act of an uncivilized society. In my opinion, if the murderer's right to life is important, what about that of the victim's and his or her relatives'? Not to mention if the serial killer was let out due to biased reasons, every person's life will be in mortal peril, no matter what he/she expressed on the matter.

In conclusion, having taken the divergent aspects into account, there is no doubt that capital punishment should be applied as long as it is applied to severe and specific crimes. Only by the action of capital punishment can we ensure a secure society that we all live in.

*I think Taiwan is one of the most severely affected societies this piece is about. I mean, look at us. Due to biased(or bribed) judges more than one man could kill, slip through the law and be free in months. There are 42 cases that deserve the death penalty in 2018, yet only 2 were executed. 

Edit 2020/11/27(A year later): So... probably nobody cares, but Taiwan implemented a new system in which local citizens are chosen to affect the judge's outcome. That actually sounds better.

* These essays are particularly hard to write, because you have to be extremely hard not to accidentally step into the minefield known as politics. Even as a kid, I never dared to speak my thoughts about it.