Sociological Implications Of Capital Punishment

With Liberty and Justice for None Crime typically evokes a punishment. This only makes sense, especially when it comes to violent crimes; in 2014, the FBI reported that 1,165,383 violent crimes were reported, and violent crimes occurred almost every 26 seconds. When it comes to dealing with the most egregious offenses, some states employ capital punishment. In the United States, capital punishment involves the original sentencing, a capital case, a stay on Death Row, and, if the prisoner does not die of natural causes, the eventual execution. Although the process itself is often complex and involved, the debate surrounding it can become even more complicated, with discussions of the cost, the morals, and the most effective way to punish or …show more content…
While a case should be logical and rely on factual evidence, society has made it important to seek justice for victims and their families in some manner, despite all the problems that may arise. The immediate problem, though, is humans are emotional creatures, especially when faced with things like murder, and even more so if the murder is especially gruesome. It does make sense to want retribution, and to want a killer to suffer the same fate, at least on an emotional level. However, the death penalty at its core is immoral. When society condemns murder, it is typically for the suffering he or she caused a victim. The problem that arises is that the death penalty brings about suffering as well. In Oklahoma, Ohio, and Arizona “...the inmates suffered visibly, according to journalists covering the executions. One killing took nearly two hours” due to the use of ineffective drugs in lethal injections. In a system largely based upon morals, allowing anyone to suffer, even a criminal, is horrific. More importantly, it’s hypocritical. Society makes such a strong moral stand against murder because of the suffering it causes victims and their families. In causing other individuals to suffer, though, society does the same thing. Capital punishment brings not only physical pain to some inmates, it brings pain to the families of those who …show more content…
Not only is the system rife with bias and mistakes, it fails at every one of its purposes. If the only thing the death penalty can do is support a largely hypocritical set of morals, it has no place in the legal or penal system; especially when the overarching goal is justice for all. The United States is meant to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but there is no freedom for those who suffered due to the death penalty, and there is no bravery in