Is the United States behind the times for retaining use of the death penalty? Continuing on with our current theme, this editorial from Colombia’s El Tiempo outlines why execution reflects so badly on the United States, and cites statistical evidence that in any case, it fails to deter murder.
The El Tiempo editorial says in part:
The tenacity with which the United States clings to this outdated and gradually disappearing punishment is surprising. In Germany it was abolished in 1949, Great Britain and France in 1969 and Spain in 1995. Meanwhile, in the United States, where it had once been abolished, execution was reintroduced in 1976. From then until January 2011, it has executed 1,270 prisoners.
Over the years, many arguments have been put forward against death penalty. The Popez reminded us, by opposing the execution of Davis, that only God can take a life. Others denounce it as an example of extreme cruelty, the very existence of which violates human dignity. From an ethical point of view, it is considered a legalized form of revenge – an act of disguised retaliation. Moreover, it has often been said that irreversible punishments demand infallible judges, a circumstance that doesn’t exist in the world of human beings.
Philosophical considerations aside, there are many scientific reasons against capital punishment. Eight-eight percent of criminologists assert, based on statistics, that the death penalty does not reduce homicide rates.
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