Problems of an Aging Death Penalty
Problems of an Aging Death Penalty
The death penalty has become archaic. As a society, we have become more civilized. The death penalty is only carried out in an erratic fashion. It has not been shown to be a deterrent to murder. As our society evolves in science, health and social awareness, it is only right that we should reject the death penalty as the cruel, barbaric, and outmoded vehicle it has become.
We, as a society, are becoming more civilized. But we are currently the only nation in the western democratic world that has not abolished capital punishment. According to Amnesty International USA, we are the only country in the western world, since 1977, to execute inmates, who were under 18 years old, when they committed their crime.
The United States has not actually executed any child, under the age of 18, because these inmates are actually in their twenties or thirties before all of their appeals have been heard. So we are actually executing them for something they did as a teen, even though the actual execution takes place years later.
As awful as this sounds, there are countries in this world who execute teenagers. Yemen executed a thirteen-year-old child, who was found guilty of robber and murder. The former governor of California, Pete Wilson, has suggested that fourteen-year-olds should be eligible for the death penalty. He said that gangs use younger members to kill because they know that they will not be given the death penalty if caught. He believes that this would be a deterrent. Luckily this has not become a law in California, or the rest of the country.
Pope John Paul II has criticized the United States for embracing the culture of death. Vatican II came out against the death penalty. The council stated that the death penalty may be the “only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor,” but also goes on the say the such circumstances are “practically nonexistent” in today’s world, in view of the resources available to governments to restrain convicted criminals from committing violent acts.
The United Nations Human Rights Commission has adopted a resolution urging a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. We, as a country, have reviled China and other countries for human rights violations. Many...