How would you feel if a loved one were killed? Would you want retribution, or would sending the killer to prison be enough? This question has been asked many times, but people are not in agreement about the ultimate punishment. We all know that it is wrong to take a human life, but if our government does the killing, is it still a crime? Some people say that the government does not have the right to end someone´s life, but the following reasons will show why capital punishment should be preserved.
The first reason for allowing the death penalty is for the sake of punishmnet itself. Most people agree that criminals who commit serious crimes should be separated from society. The punishment will depend on the degree of the crime. Death penalty, the most severe form of punishment, ends crimminals´ lives. So, it seems reasonable that this severe punishment be preserved for those who commit the most serious crimes.
The second reason to preserve capital pushment is financial. The government should not have to spend a lot of money on criminals. Next to capital punishment, the most severe punishment is a life sentence in prison, where the government has to take care of criminals until they die naturally. These criminals do not work, but they receive free housing and food. It is unfair to use tax dollars for such a purpose.
The last reason for continuing the use of the death penalty is based on the purpose of government. If the government has lagitimate power to make, judge, and carry out the laws, it should also have the power to decide if criminals should die. Capital punishment is like any other sentence. If one believes that the government has the right to charge a fine or put criminals into jail, then it must also have the same power to decide the fate of a prisoner´s life.
The opponents of capital punishment might say that nobody has the right to decide who should die, including the government. However, when our authorities send soldiers into the war, in some way, they are deciding those soldiers´ fate; some will live and some will be killed. A long as the government has a right to send its citizens to a battlefield, it has a right to put criminals to death.
To summarize, there are many good reasons to preserve capital punishment. Certainly not every criminal should be killed. But if no punishment can reform a murderer, then death penalty is the best thing that can be done for that person and for society.