TheCity

Tag: Capital punishment

  • Should Ireland reintroduce capital punishment?

    Should Ireland reintroduce capital punishment?

    When first given the motion, “Should capital punishment be reintroduced to Ireland?” I thought I would find myself on the argument against reinstatement. However when I sat down to actually think about it, I felt that in certain circumstances it should be.

    The death penalty is a very contentious issue. In countries which still utilise it, most notably the United States, it is very rarely far from controversy.  “Wrongful conviction” pleas are a common occurrence in criminal cases which result in the death penalty. Famous cases include the Anthony Davis case and that of Lee Harvey Oswald.

    This is one of the main reasons why I feel that capital punishment should be reintroduced to Ireland, but only in certain circumstances. I do feel that the majority of criminals should have to serve the full duration of the sentence handed down to them. I also think a life sentence should mean life in prison, not just 25 years with the possibility of early release.

    However, if the case arises where a person shows no regard for human life on a grand scale, and tries to destroy as many as possible, I think a life sentence may not be enough. In cases of terrorism or mass murder, the death penalty should be an option as a judicial sentence.

    Hypothetically speaking, (I stress “hypothetically”) if someone planted a bomb, or began shooting amongst the crowd on Grafton Street on a busy afternoon, they are showing blatant disregard for the lives of others.  They are trying to damage as many lives as they can, not just directly, but indirectly also.

    When convicted, the maximum sentence that can currently be handed down to that person in the Republic of Ireland is a life sentence.  Why, as tax payers, should we have to pay to keep that person in prison? We are paying for their food, water, shelter and well-being for as long as they are behind bars.

    They are a clear danger to society, with no chance of ever being released. This should surely be a clear call for the reintroduction of the death penalty.  As stated earlier, I feel the majority of prisoners should have to serve their time in full.  The length of their sentence should accurately reflect the severity of their crime so they have the time to reflect upon what they did.

    A (hypothetical) mass murderer or terrorist isn’t going to be affected by their time behind bars. They should face the death penalty so that the State can wipe their hands of them and not have to support them in any way.

  • Should Ireland reintroduce capital punishment?

    The last execution in Ireland took place in 1954, however the death penalty was only removed from statue in 1990. Image by: Jody Trappe
    The last execution in Ireland took place in 1954, however the death penalty was only removed from statue in 1990. Image by: Jody Trappe

    If you believe that there is true value in the concept of life, then you surely agree that Ireland is better off without capital punishment.

    Yes, there are vile criminal cases that occur that make the public question whether the assailant deserves the right to life – but no one should ever be granted the right to take a life.

    Ghandhi said, ‘an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’, and there is an eternal truth in this.

    The idea of taking somebodies life as a form of legal revenge against someone who has committed a murder, rape or any other vile act has a major flaw, not to mention the moral and human right dilemma it also holds.

    If capital punishment – or the ‘eye for an eye’ method of justice – was reintroduced as a form of exacting justice for a punishment that fits the crime, this would result in a purely mathematical injustice.

    A life for a life in some people’s mind may be an archaic form of justice but what about a person who has committed multiple murders, or vile acts. Then it becomes a life for multiple lives. And hence the person who has committed the same crime multiple times will receive the same punishment as that of someone who has committed the crime on just one occasion. Is that justice?

    This will also lead to the idea that one person’s life is worth the same value of that of many stolen lives. Is that justice?

    In 2010 the then Mayor of Limerick, Kevin Kiely, asked the government for a referendum on the reintroduction of the death penalty in Ireland as a way to curb the increasing numbers of murders.

    In July of this year, Jim Callaly, father of murdered Rachel O’Reilly, called for the death penalty to be reintroduced to act as a deterrent to those who plan to commit murder.

    Contrary to these opinions, a report conducted by Amnesty International in 2012 states that the according to FBI data “the 14 states without capital punishment have homicide rates below the national average”.

    The death penalty has been called for to introduce a form of justice to the judicial system. According to the same 2012 report that, “140 people have been released from death rows…due to evidence of their wrongful conviction”.

    To quote Maimonides; “It is better a thousand guilty persons go free than to put a single innocent one to death.”

    My deepest sympathies go out to any person whose live has been altered by a serious crime. The best way to combat this in the future is to reform the Irish judicial system and create a fully functional system that strictly impinges on the lives of those who commit serious offensives.

    A DNA database, proper jail sentences, a more efficient and better equipped police force would all be steps towards improving the safety of those in this country and insuring a better sense of justice is being served.

    We should not allow our moral compass to become skewed.