Death Penalty - Capital Punishment

Erika Cueva

6.18.15

Soc 203

The death penalty otherwise known as "capital punishment", can be traced back to the eighteenth century and continues to be an issue of controversy in today’s society. “The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes” (“Part I: History of,” n.d.). Today, thirty-one states have the death penalty meanwhile 19 states have abolished the death penalty entirely (“States With,” n.d.). One of the biggest supporters in the abolishment of the death penalty was Cesare Marchese de Beccaria. Cesare Beccaria was an Italian Enlightenment philosopher, mathematician, and economist. Beccaria is highly known for his book On Crimes and Punishments, published in 1764 (Newburn, 2007, p.117). Beccaria had a few main arguments in his defense for opposing the death penalty. These arguments dwelled on the ideas that the death penalty is unconstitutional, that it does not deter crime in that it is not effective in a well ordered society and creates barbarity and confusion (Beccaria, 1995). The death penalty should be seen as a relic of a by-gone society, and should therefore be abolished. There are many components to take into consideration in regards to the opposition of the death penalty. These factors include, the death row phenomenon, violation of human rights, alternatives to capital punishment, and the expense of the procedure. Amongst these elements,  human judgment is subject to many forms of error and must be taken into consideration when debating the death penalty.

Cesare Beccaria’s first argument centered around the concept that the death penalty was illegitimate. He felt that it went against the grounds of social contract created to a certain degree to protect individuals from threats against their lives. He voices,

What right, I ask, have men to cut the throats of their fellow-creatures? Certainly not that  on which the sovereignty and laws are founded. The laws, as I have said before, are only the sum of the smallest portions of the private liberty of each individual, and represent the general will, which is the aggregate of that of each individual. Did anyone ever give to others the right of taking away his life? (Beccaria, 1995).

He believed that the death penalty was contrary to the purpose of the state. He states, “ Is it not absurd, that the laws, which detest and punish homicide, should, in order to prevent murder, publicly commit murder themselves?” (“Cesare Beccaria,” n.d.). The state’s sole purpose is to protect its members and is authorized on the ground that it upholds the security and interests of its citizens. Hence, if the state has the right to kill the individuals which it is made up of, it goes against its existence.

Cesare Beccaria’s second argument was that there was no evidence that the death penalty acted as an impediment for crime. He felt as though the death penalty had poor numerous outcomes and set a bad example for society. Beccaria argues that “The punishment of death is pernicious to society, from the example of barbarity it affords” (“Cesare Beccaria,” n.d.). He retained the idea that the brutality and violence of the death penalty reinforced cruel behavior in the sense that individuals followed the example of society. If society could commit such cruel crimes, then individuals could commit them as well. Furthermore, Beccaria disputed that capital punishment was neither essential nor effective on the grounds that, “It is not the intenseness of the pain that has the greatest effect on the mind, but its continuance; for our sensibility is more easily and more powerfully affected by weak but repeated impressions, than by a violent but momentary impulse” (Beccaria, 1995). He hinted that elongated punishments are much more efficient and fear-inducing in comparison to a brief period of pain before death. Beccaria offers “perpetual slavery” in place of capital punishment as an impediment (Anonymous, n.d.). Perhaps life in prison without parole could fit under Cesare Beccaria’s idea of long punishments as an alternative in today’s society.

Throughout history, there have been many forms and methods of execution for capital punishment. Some of these methods include lethal gas, being hung, burned, boiled alive, staked, and being crucified. Today, the most common method of execution is lethal injection (Reggio, n.d.). In spite of the transition in terms of methods as time goes on, capital punishment is still seen as unethical by those who oppose it. Putting aside Cesare Beccaria’s thoughts and key arguments in respect to capital punishment, there are several other factors to keep in mind that are crucial in the abolishment of the death penalty. There are critics of the death penalty that make some valid points. For instance, John Oliver examines a few of the negative aspects that come along with capital punishment through comedy on a clip of his show “Last Week Tonight”. According to John Oliver, “The death penalty is expensive, potentially kills innocent people, and doesn’t deter crime” (LastWeekTonight, 2014). Likewise, other supporters against the death penalty such as, Jeremy Irons speak up in an attempt to voice their arguments. Jeremy Irons disputes that capital punishment is a violation of individual's fundamental human rights, “everyone has the right to live, and no one shall be subject to torture” (Amnesty International UK, 2007). This comes into play with the idea that the death penalty is a relic in that torture was more than clear in the methods of execution such as being boiled alive. Although torture is still part of the modern methods of execution, it is not necessarily the same as it once was. Death row today creates a new form of torture. Jeremy Irons briefly touches upon this, he stresses that individuals experience psychological torture as a result of being forced to wait for the moment of their death, “sometimes for decades” (Amnesty International UK, 2007).

The death row phenomenon correspondently used with the term death row syndrome highlights another highly controversial aspect that is linked to capital punishment. According to the bureau of justice statistics, in 2013 the average elapsed time between an inmate's sentencing and execution was 186 months (Snell, n.d.). This is a long period of time in which inmates are subject to solitary confinement pending their execution. The effects of solitary confinement are cruel and inhumane, an approximate calculation of two thirds or more of inmates imprisoned in solitary confinement suffered from “a variety of symptoms of psychological and emotional trauma, as well as some of the psychopathological effects of isolation” (Haney, n.d.). Another major concern seems to be the cost of the death penalty. According to the death penalty information center, “the cost of the death penalty in California has totaled over $4 billion since 1978” (“Cost of,” n.d.). The breakdown that explains the high costs that come along with capital punishment consist of, jury selection, trial, expert witnesses, incarceration, and appeals. The expense of the death penalty takes a toll on many individuals including police officers. In the year 1991, New Jersey “laid of more than 500 police officers” (“Millions Misspent,” n.d.). The shocking information that comes along with this, is the fact that during this time, New Jersey was enforcing capital punishment which cost the state about $16 million per year, which could have been used to pay for the salary of those officers left without jobs at a much lower cost , who would then have done their jobs of enforcing the law.