Game of Words: View vs Counter View 2.15

SHOULD THE DEATH PENALTY BE LEGAL?
Crimes exist openly in the present day and age. Therefore, the motion in front of us today is “Should the death penalty be legal?".

VIEW
The death penalty is the form of capital punishment given for capital crimes committed by people as my opponent has already stated. My opponent was very clear in expressing her views against the death penalty, as it is an act which seems inhumane. At this point, I can ask my opponent, what about the lives that were taken by the criminal? Is that act not considered inhumane? Death sentences are only given to those who have committed heinous crimes and no one else. These are the crimes which have taken away the lives of several, including women and children. Is the death penalty still not justified?
My opponent might say that the death sentence is sometimes given to people who are innocent and who do not deserve to die. However, the state should be willing to take a chance just to avail an opportunity to rid the state of a criminal. All necessary action is taken to ensure that the criminals on death row are usually deserving of their fate. It is very unusual that an innocent man is put down for the acts of another human being.
I would like to respectfully disagree with my opponent when she says that a murder victim can be given justice if the culprit is given a life sentence in prison. It is much easier for a person to accept a life of relative isolation and a life with lesser sunlight than to accept that their life is coming to an end. The fact that they know about their execution is news difficult to live with. To think that the execution has been scheduled like an appointment with a doctor is a scary thought for any person. Therefore, the true punishment for a crime would be the death penalty and it should be made legal.
Ritika Shrivastava

COUNTERVIEW

The death penalty has always been a very controversial topic. Death sentences are generally handed out to those who have been found guilty of a capital crime. However, it is not so simple to consider death penalty as an easy way to penalise the guilty. If the death penalty is to condemn, it does not mean that the guilty party should be released or allowed some consolation. It would defeat the motive as it would be using violence to counter violence. How can we tell if an individual convicted for murder is really guilty? There may be a margin of error. Would it be right to wrongfully accuse someone and execute him or her? You cannot unexecute someone. Miscarriages of justice are horrible enough but the incorrect execution of an innocent individual takes it to the extremes. If someone is wrongfully imprisoned they can at least be released and compensated by the state. We should look at the ethical disadvantages. This has been a very difficult dilemma for religious figures, civil rights groups and other people who oppose the death penalty. The death penalty has a lot of ethical and religious implications tied to it. There are many who support the death penalty while others oppose it staunchly. It also gives too much power to the state. 

The three countries that executed the most people in 2016 were China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. There’s a reason why the death penalty is favored in authoritarian regimes: it is the ultimate form of state control. Troublesome political dissenters can be involved with criminals and drug dealers on death row and any criticism can be deflected as being “soft on crime”.

It infringes the constitutional right of a human being. It is a brutal and remorseless punishment against a living human being and can be categorized as one of the most monstrous acts of human nature. It disregards all religious conventions as it is not the right of the state to play God and decide who should live and who should not. When the law chooses its path, it can be biased too as it may be discriminatory. Civil rights associations have campaigned against the death penalty. The argument against it is that even though it's a form of retribution for a murder, it isn’t impossible to punish the murderer with a less barbaric sentence. A death penalty would have been justifiable if it were able to inhibit future offenses. However, this has not been the case so far. The harsh irony is that the United States of America, which claims to be the champion of democracy in the West, is the only nation which indulges in this cruel and peculiar way of punishing.
Palak Lodha