death as punishment
Capital punishment is as old as the human being, having been used socially legitimately and legally supported or even criminally, as is the case of executions carried out by groups criminals. From the Roman Empire, with deaths by crucifixion, drowning, lynching and impalement, to the death rows of modern years, executed by lethal injections, hanging or by electric chair, capital punishment has already been used by a gigantic number of nations. Today, however, it is adopted in few countries.
The crimes that can be judged as worthy of the death penalty are varied and change according to the historical period, the sociocultural context of the nation and its legal constitution. The argument that commonly supports the death penalty is associated with the ideas of punishment on the part of those who believe that a crime should be punished in proportion to its seriousness. Therefore, murder must be punishable by death. In addition, there is also the idea from more radical groups of “social sanitation”, that is, social cleanliness through the extermination of those considered inept to live in society as a solution to misery and poverty. Some also believe that the death penalty can set an example for criminals, inhibiting and discouraging crimes perceived as heinous.
Some of the most remembered death sentences in history are the crucifixions carried out by the Roman Empire, the deaths at the stake perpetrated by the courts of Inquisition in Europe, as well as the guillotine deaths during the French Revolution.
Death Penalty Problems
The problematization of capital punishment is relatively recent and was what motivated the vast majority of countries to abandon the application of this punishment. Recent studies and even history show that the death penalty is not effective in inhibiting the commission of crimes. DPCI data (Death Penalty Information Center – Information Center on the Death Penalty) show that murder rates are higher in states in the United States that adopt the death penalty than the murder rates in states that do not. adopt. Another aggravating factor is that the cases of innocent people wrongly sentenced to death row are large. Also according to the DPCI, about 150 people have been wrongly sentenced to the death penalty in the United States since 1973.
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The gas chamber is considered one of the cruelest methods of execution as it is a slow and painful process.
Another problem regarding the death penalty, from an institutional point of view, is the high maintenance costs of the entire system that supports it. Due to the large number of possible and necessary appeals, the costs of defending defendants are up to three times greater than the costs of a defense where there is no death penalty. There are also costs with the maintenance of the execution facilities and other costs with the support of the accused. All of these expenses, according to several studies gathered by the DPCI, increase by about $1 million dollars, or more, in the expenses with judgments in cases where the death penalty is arbitrated. Furthermore, there is still the possibility of capital punishment being used as a political tool, that is, a political opponent of a government, for example, can be eliminated under any pretext, since no system or government is free from corruption.
When thinking about the institutional punishment mechanisms that a society has, in addition to reflecting about their economic viability, it is necessary, above all, to consider the social impacts of these measures. Although the death penalty is understood by common sense as a fair measure to be taken against practitioners of cruel and heinous crimes, we must ask ourselves if the risks we take with convictions of innocent people. Not to mention the huge costs of maintaining a system that is proven to be ineffective in inhibiting violent crime.
by Lucas Oliveira
Graduated in Sociology
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
RODRIGUES, Lucas de Oliveira. "Is the death penalty the solution for violent crimes?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/sociologia/pena-de-morte.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
