This paper argues in favor of the death penalty as a necessary, and perhaps the only, recourse for any society wishing to uphold the values of justice, innocence, and social well-being.
This paper explores the impact of the death sentence on three crucial and pivotal areas of social concern: establishing the value that society places on life; innocence, and justice; preventing injustice; and ensuring the physical and psychological well-being of society. The author relates that practitioners of justice, sociologists, and philosophers have long espoused the view that the ultimate form of justice is the absence of injustice in society. The paper concludes that the rights of innocent citizens are surely far more important than the rights of criminals.
“Prevention of injustice also means ensuring the safety and security of innocent citizens so that they enjoy life free of fear. Indeed, it is the fundamental duty of government. If, logically, this should form society’s first priority, the question that needs to be asked is how safe are innocent people in a system that merely imprisons its worst convicts? Periodically, prison outbreaks lead to murderers escaping only to find more victims: Michael Rodriguez, sentenced to life for murder joined six lesser criminals in overpowering prison employees shot police officer Aubrey Hawkins 11 times.”.