Death Penalties

1153. What does it mean? Basically nothing. It is an insignificant number that means nothing. But what happens when this number becomes several lives, even more a question, when it becomes several deaths? Does it still mean nothing? If people lose their lives by a natural calamity, it is their fate. What if a criminal loses their life by execution, then is it the fate they wrote for themselves, or a fate unjustly written to them?

There are many reasons for a person to go out of their way to perpetrate a crime and to risk what they value. Once it’s committed, there’s no going back no matter how small it is. No tide recedes without pulling some sand with it. The criminal might be struggling in various ways whether it comes to poverty, blackmail, or threatening. But what happens when the reason is simply unjustifiable? Three words to describe it; callousness, barbarity, sadism. When a human with as warm blood as any of us behaves so cold-blooded that they become inhumane, what is the penalty? Death, or prison?

Naturally, fear is instilled in all who commit crimes, for having to do it, or for having to get caught. Recently though, it seems to have occurred to death’s agents that perhaps death won’t come after them for doing his deeds. National statistics show that after the extermination of death penalties in 1966, the number of homicides in England and Wales has skyrocketed to a peak before driving back down to yet another steady increase. Reason? Maybe the consequences after getting caught aren’t as austere as they used to be.

Serious murder, treason, types of fraud, adultery, rape. These were all capital offences once. Then walking along and disemploying Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus from their jobs, came the 1966 Human Rights act, abolishing any executions at all. Now, however, it becomes conspicuous after every serious crime, serious action needs to take place to put a halt to this.

Moreover, prisons may not be the ideal party and invitations might be lacking, but the guests arriving don’t seem to mind so much as compared to the numbers they’re arriving in. The prison population of England & Wales quadrupled in size between 1900 and 2020. Between 2000 and 2022/23 the prison population of Northern Ireland increased by 58%. As of March 2024, it was around 1,900 which was historically high. Whether we like it or not, they’re getting full. Criminals need to be let out to make space, and we’re not going to send serial killers on a parole. So, what is the solution?

Yes, there is room for mistakes; the wrong person could be caught. Yes, it might be aggressive; we’re killing a human. Yes, it could be for revenge. But it is also for avenging all those who were unjustified. Maybe it might not have an effect. It won’t reverse the crime and definitely won’t bring back the dead. However, for all those peacemakers out there, the person who the crime was committed against could have been a pacifist too. That didn’t stop the criminal. An example needs to be made. When they repent, they deserve to live. But when they don’t, they are beyond learning. That’s when they must become the example.

Every action has a reaction, every force has a balanced force, both of equal measure. The basic laws of physics. And when it’s in our hands, let us follow it. Death penalties should be brought back; for the betterment of the future, and for the retribution of those exploited.