Written by Martyparty
A Discussion About Capital Punishment, Seen From a 14-Year-Old’s Point of View
“Should the killer live? The victim never had a choice.”
Martyparty wrote this story as a school assignment. The inspiration and the quote in the title are taken from a distributed reading material. Martyparty is the author’s 14-year-old daughter, who enjoys writing and wants to share her story with Medium’s readers.
The assignment debates for and against capital punishment.
Capital punishment
I will show arguments for and against capital punishment in this article. Should we have capital punishment? Is the court always right? Can capital punishment be used against people?
Capital punishment could be good. Those who kill others should be executed. People can not kill others and not have to pay for it. It would be much cheaper for jails because they do not have to feed and take care of them. Instead of taking care of murderers, they can use the money on more important things. It is much cheaper to execute someone than to keep them alive and have to food them. The cells can also be used for other people that have committed something not so bad.
Capital punishment can take innocent people’s life. The court can be wrong. Someone who is accused of murder can be killed even though they did not do it. People can be scared of being accused of murder. Maybe they even stay inside all day so they do not get seen anywhere a murder has happened. It was a study in 1987. It showed that since 1900, 350 innocent people ever condemned to death. 23 of them were executed.
People that have sexually abused other people should not live. They can do it again if they live and get out of jail. They have ruined so many people’s lives. Not just the person they did it to, but their family too. They do not deserve to live. If they get executed, they will not have any chance to do it again. People do not need to be scared that the person will do this again.
We will all be murderers if we support capital punishment. If we agree to kill someone, we support murder. People can think that it is okay to kill someone because we are killing murderers. Then someone can think that killing is a normal thing.
If people that have committed murder are being executed, they can never kill again. They would not have any chance to take someone’s life again.
If people are being executed, they have no chance to change. Maybe it was a mistake that the murderer really regrets, and he/she wants to change. The person could not do that because he/she would be executed.
The families of those who have been killed want revenge. It is hard for families of the victims to know that the person who killed their son or daughter or anyone else is alive. They need to know that the murderer is dead.
Capital punishment can be used against people. People with poor backgrounds, people of particular races, or people with mental health problems can be discriminated against because of who they are.
People who kill others need to be killed. But the court is not always right, they can make mistakes, and innocent people can be executed. But at the same time, people that have sexually abused other people do not deserve to live. They have ruined so many people’s life. But if we say that it is okay to kill people, we become murderers too. On the other side, people that have been executed can never kill again. People that want to change can never change if they are executed. But families of the victims want revenge. It is hard to know that the murder of one of your family members is still out there. At the same time, capital punishment can be used against people from poor backgrounds, people of particular races, and more. So the conclusion is that we should have capital punishment, but it should be for people that are a threat if they come out of jail. If it is someone that has sexually abused someone, they should be executed. If the court knows that the person killed someone and is dangerous, this person should be executed.
Sources: Crime and punishment, Reading material for a school assignment — Autumn 2021
This story was written by Martyparty, the author’s daughter. She is a 14-year-old girl who is practicing her writing. Martyparty goes to secondary school, is a goalkeeper in football, and like to hang with her friends and travel. Florida is her favorite holiday destination.
