Re-Instating The Death Penalty In Canada
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ENG 3U1
12 March 2008
Reinstating the Death Penalty in Canada
The death penalty is also commonly known as and referred to as capital punishment. There are different methods as to inflicting the death penalty they are as follows: hanging, decapitation, electrocution, gassing, shooting and lethal injections. These are the frequently used methods. Capital punishment is the execution, by the state, of those found guilty of a crime as stated in the Canadian encyclopedia. In Canada the penalty was restricted to a small number of very serious crimes, such as treason and murder. The method used was hanging from the year of eighteen sixty-seven onward. The last capital punishment hanging in Canada took place in nineteen sixty two (Bain 8). During the time period between eighteen sixty seven and nineteen sixty two, seven hundred and ten people were executed in Canada (Canadian Encyclopedia). The reinstating of the death penalty at this time will not act as a deterrent of crime and is more an act of retribution. The reasons as to why it should not be restored are that executions are a form of retribution that defeats the purpose of the justice system, innocent people are sometimes executed under false accusations, and because it does not act as a deterrent to society and crime.
Firstly, the death penalty is a form of reprisal which is an outlandish and outdated method for justice in our society today. Using this method of an eye for an eye type of punishment is the inhumanely killing of a person. As said by Ghandi, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" meaning revenge or retribution is not the answer you should seek when punishing someone. This form of punishment has been used since ancient times and is so severe that it can not be irreversible. The permanence of this punishment is unsparing and does not give the person any chances to be rehabilitated or try to be integrated back into society. The very worst means of...
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