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Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues: Capital Punishment
by Rachel Gilbert
Capital Punishment is the killing of a person for committing a serious crime against others, e.g. murder. Rape and armed robbery are no longer seemed serious enough for the death penalty.
The death penalty is used as a threat to deter a being from taking another human life. There are many reasons why our world’s leaders resort to capital punishment as an affective way of punishment and these reasons I will come to later on.
I feel that many people have such strong views on capital punishment. For example, if a loved one has been murdered and their killer is on death row or the family of a person on death row.
In 1986, 16 year old Sean Sellars committed the worst crime there is- taking a human life. With a rifle, he shot an innocent shopkeeper. The reason that he dignified his actions was he wanted to feel the ‘thrill’ of killing. No one knew about this horrific crime until it was too late and Sellars had struck again. This time it was a much more vicious crime.
Six months later he walked into his mother and stepfather’s bedroom. Calmly he pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot them both in the head. He then went to the uttermost extremes to make sure that he wasn’t found out. He flicked the light on and off, on and off to make sure that his unsuspicious parents were not still alive. Then he removed all of his clothes and disposed of them. He took a shower and then disinfected it to make sure that there was no trace of him in there. The killing of parents is seen as ‘the capital crime’. He thought he had got away with it.
The reason that his case was so unusual is the fact that he was only 16 years of age. There is also the fact that when he killed, he felt relief and ‘giggled hysterically.’ In 1992, it was discovered that he suffered MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder).
For the thirteen years before he was executed, he was kept in a very high security prison. Because it was so protected, he was locked in his concrete box for 23 hours of his prison day. His furnishings were extremely sparse and included just a bunk and a toilet. In the other hour he was let out for exercise, but was always under supervision. Sellars was also allowed three showers a week, which lasted precisely 15 minutes. He was finally put to death in February 1999, thirteen years after he had committed the crime and was executed by lethal injection.
In this essay I am going to argue the reasons for and against Capital Punishment and I will observe the cases of Sean Sellars and Derek Bentley.
First to the case of Sean Sellars. People felt that Sellars should die because he took two lives so why should get away with it? So these people feel that Capital Punishment is a fair punishment for people like Sean Sellars. Another reason for the belief in capital punishment is the fact that is cheaper than lifetime imprisonment, so is worth it. The State governments use Capital Punishment to teach murderers and potential murderers a lesson.
Now to the case of Derek Bentley. In November 1953, British born Derek Bentley was unarmed after an unsuccessful break in. While being held by a policeman, he was alleged to have called out his accomplice, Chris Craig, "Let him have it Chris." Craig then shot and killed the officer.
The Derek Bentley story has created several books, a film and even a number of songs. One of these songs is ‘Let Him Dangle’ sung by Elvis Costello.
Derek Bentley was hanged on 28th January 1953 for a crime that he was later found not guilty.
It took 16619 days from his horrific death but he was finally pardoned on the 31st July 1998. Through my research I have found out that yes, the law does sometimes get it wrong. Bentley’s family spent years trying to fight his case and when he was finally pardoned his niece laid a copy of the courts hearing on his grave. She thought that it might make him rest in peace.
Firstly, the reason that people don’t want individuals like Sean Sellars to die is because the law can make mistakes as in the case of Derek Bentley, above. Secondly, given the chance, these people can reform and given the help, they may become honourable members of society once again. Thirdly, if Death Row were such a threat then why would so many offenders still commit these violent crimes? They should find a better and less violent way of dealing with the delinquents, after all two wrongs don’t make a right.
After all the research that I have done on the issue of capital punishment I can now express my own views on this topic. Before writing this piece of work, I was extremely unsure of weather it was right or wrong. On October 10th 1999, PM Tony Blair travelled to Strasbourg, France and argued that Britain should abolish the idea of the death penalty. Before this day, death row was still in the books in Britain for the crimes of treason and piracy. Britain was 1 of only 7 of the 40 countries in the Council of Europe that had not signed the protocol to say no to the death penalty, even though death penalty for murder was abolished in Britain in 1965. After doing this research, I now agree with Tony Blair and the Council of Europe that the death penalty should be abolished worldwide and more effective ways of dealing with these murderers should be discovered. This should prove that there ARE individuals that do rehabilitate and will be once again accepted members of society.
Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues
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