Written assignment - Death Penalty #13

     It is widely believed that death penalty is one of the worst punishments in the world, no matter the person’s stand or point of view. Throughout this essay, I will outline three of the most important reasons why I strongly consider myself to be against capital punishment. Every individual who is born in this world has equal human rights which guarantee that it should not be denied the opportunity of having a second chance of social reintegration to those people who are not perfect, in the same way the criminal justice system has its flaws. 
     Firstly, human Rights are considered to be the basis of a respectable life and way of living. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” and “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Therefore, sentencing a human being to death violate their freedom and rights as a member of society. 
     Secondly, everyone should be given a second chance to become a better person. Human beings are considered to be imperfect and even those who break the law should have the opportunity to rectify themselves. Not only is this a human right, but also it demonstrates that justice is for everyone and its top priority is to preserve life. Nowadays, there seems to be a tendency for believing that retribution is the answer for such crimes, just like the saying “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. However, I undoubtedly believe that every life is precious. In addition to that, it is rather evident to me that violence could never be the answer of anything. What example or role model can we give if we sentence a person to this ultimate death? 
     Thirdly, it is believed that no one can be flawless and without doubt, it is also the case of the criminal justice system. Some of these imperfections remain in the dark until it is seen that innocent people face wrongful execution. Not only does this irreversible mistake contribute to lose of faith in law and justice among citizens but also it is an irrevocable punishment. According to the Amnesty’s annual review of death penalty worldwide, it was recorded that at least 1,634 executions took place in 2015, this was proved to be the highest number recorded by Amnesty International since 1989. How many of these deaths were provoked by unfair legal counsel sentencing people to die for crimes they did not commit?
     To bring this paper to an end, it is important to highlight that many people argue the effectiveness of capital punishment in deterring people from committing crimes but this is not so since the death penalty is a manifestation of violence, not a solution to it. We should bear in mind that the foundation of justice is a respect for human dignity, and for their rights, as well as having the opportunity to rectification. Taking into account the eighth article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we could state that “Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law”. We, as society, should accept that human beings are not perfect as well as consider that the law has weaknesses. Under no circumstances, should capital punishment be acceptable.
Bibliography
- Amnesty International (2016). Death Penalty. Web Site: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty
- United Nations (UN). (1948). United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. pp 1 - 3. Web site:  
http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/un.universal.declaration.of.human.rights.1948/portrait.a4.pdf