Sunday, April 22, 2007 @6:34 AM
1. the technique the author used was irony. usually, when a person knows that he will be sent to the gallows soon, he would be very nervous and would be panicking. yet, the hindu prisoner "stood quite unresisting", "as though he hardly noticed what was happening". also, the prisoners in the cells, who were due to be hanged soon, could still laugh and joke with each other. in both cases, the prisoners appear very calm and seem to have accepted their fates. the author uses these illustrations to stir the feelings of his readers as he showed that the prisoners can do nothing about it other than waiting for death. this causes the readers to sympathize with the prisoners and hence, agree with the author's viewpoint and start to condemn capital punishment.
2. capital punishment is a controversial issue and people are unable to make an unanimous decision to this matter.
firstly, one of the pros of capital punishment is that it will be more economical and humane than life sentence. rather than keeping the prisoner alive, it would be better to end his life so he would not while his time away. also, the money which was supposed to keep the prisoner alive if he gets the life sentence can be put to better use on other resources. also, some people believe in Lex Talionis, the law of retribution, which also means a life for a life. lastly, capital punishment can maximize public safety as it ensures that the deadly criminal will never be able to harm anyone again.
the strongest argument against using capital punishment for retributive purposes, is the argument that capital punishment is cruel and unusual punishment. the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, condemning cruel and unusual punishment, is used to protest capital punishment. next, studies have shown that capital punishment doesnt deter crimes as experts "have emphasized and emphasized the lack of correlation between the threat of the death penalty and the occurrence of violent crime". lastly and most importantly, the death penalty is irrevocable and there are always possibilities of innocent deaths. in such cases, the executed prisoner will not have another chance and cannot be brought to life again.
[resources:
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~tonya/spring/cap/group1.htm]
3. personally, i feel that capital punishment should be carried out. i agree to the law of retribution, that everyone should be punished for the crimes he has committed. if everyone can escape from punishment after committing a crime, the world would be in chaos. in my opinion, the death penalty can be justified in cases of murder and drug trafficking.
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in heaven that we cant reach