Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed free essay sample

There are many underlying issues with capital punishment and the moral backbone it clearly lacks. Capital punishment should not be legal for many reasons such as the irrelevance of retribution and irrevocable mistakes which leaves â€Å"criminals† wrongly accused. Retribution, in the form of capital punishment is the execution of the criminal in vengeance for the victim and their families. This ideology is flawed, out dated and irrelevant in today’s civilisation. Raymond A. Schroth, Jesus Priest and Community Professor of the Humanities at St. Peter’s College states that; Retribution is just another word for revenge, and the desire for revenge is one of the lowest human emotions — perhaps sometimes understandable, but not really a rational response to a critical situation. To kill the person who has killed someone close to you is simply to continue the cycle of violence which ultimately destroys the avenger as well as the offender. That this execution somehow gives closure to a tragedy is a myth. We will write a custom essay sample on Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Expressing one’s violence simply reinforces the desire to express it. Just as expressing anger simply makes us more angry. It does not drain away. It contaminates the otherwise good will which any human being needs to progress in love and understanding. This gives excellent insight into the irrelevance of retribution and the out dated values it holds on humanity. Retribution will not avenge the victim that has suffered. It only repeats the cycle in which had been familiarized by the murderer. It is unethical to kill a man for killing another and very contradictory. The legal system should not use this inhumane act of punishment on criminals for they are repeating the cycle of murder that they are apparently very against. Furthermore another valid motive against capital punishment is the irrevocable mistakes which leave innocent people executed for crimes they did not commit. Capital punishment is especially inhumane to the civilians who did not commit the crimes they are accused of and have to see the consequence of death. In many cases, it is very easy to be wrongly accused based on inaccurate evidence and this in itself should be enough to ban capital punishment in all of society. US Senator Russ Feingold gives his perception on how the Government has made mistakes when using capital punishment. Since the reinstatement of the modern death penalty, 87 people have been freed from death row because they were later proven innocent. That is a demonstrated error rate of 1 innocent person for every 7 persons executed. When the consequences are life and death, we need to demand the same standard for our system of justice as we would for our airlines It is a central pillar of our criminal justice system that it is better that many guilty people go free than that one innocent should suffer Let us reflect to ensure that we are being just. Let us pause to be certain we do not kill a single innocent person. This is really not too much to ask for a civilized society. The system has made many detrimental mistakes in the past. Such as the case of 2004, the state of Texas executed Cameron Todd Willingham for starting the fire that killed his children. The Texas Forensic Science Commission determined that the arson testimony that led to his conviction was based on very inaccurate and flawed science. To this day, 139 wrongly convicted people on death row have been exonerated. In a case like Willingham’s, DNA is scarcely available and often irrelevant to the verdict. This cannot guarantee that we won’t execute innocent civilians. Capital juries are dominated by people who favor the death penalty, resulting in them usually voting to convict them. The evidence shown above should be enough for capital punishment to be demolished purely for the fact that no one should have to be executed even for the case of one innocent person wrongly accused to be saved from death row. In summary the death penalty [capital punishment] should be abolished in all countries. Irrelevant retribution is highly unethical and contradictory to the society we live in today and the irrevocable mistakes of wrongly accused civilians leave many innocent people killed. This system is out dated to our society and continues the cycle of violence in which the justice system is trying to eliminate.

Marlow Essays - Joseph Conrad, Congo Free State, Heart Of Darkness

Marlow Essays - Joseph Conrad, Congo Free State, Heart Of Darkness Marlow Marlows Catharsis in Heart of Darkness Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, relies on the historical period of imperialism to illuminate its protagonist, Charlie Marlow, and his struggle with two opposite value systems. Marlow undergoes a catharsis during his trip to the Congo and learns of the effects of imperialism. I will analyze Marlow's change, which is caused by his exposure to the imperialistic nature of the historical period in which he lived. Marlow goes to the Congo River to report on Mr. Kurtz, a valuable officer, to their employer. When he sets sail, he does not know what to expect. When his journey is complete, his experiences have changed him forever. Heart of Darkness is a story of one man's journey through the African Congo and the enlightenment of his soul. Marlow begins his voyage as an ordinary English sailor who is traveling to the African Congo to work. He is an Englishmen through and through. He has never been exposed to any culture similar to the one he will enco unter in Africa, and he has no idea about the drastically different culture that exists there. Throughout the book, Conrad, via Marlow's observations, reveals to the reader the naive mentality of Europeans. Marlow also shares this naivet in the beginning of his voyage. However, after his first few moments in the Congo, he realizes the ignorance he and all his comrades possess. We first recognize the general naivet of the Europeans when Marlow's aunt sees him for the last time before he embarks on his journey. She assumes that the voyage is a mission of weaning those ignorant millions from their horrid ways [. . .] (line 16). In reality, however, the Europeans are there in the name of imperialism and their sole objective is to earn a substantial profit by collecting all the ivory in Africa. The reader can also see the Europeans obliviousness of reality when Marlow is recounting his adventure aboard the Nellie. He addresses his comrades: When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the realitythe reality I tell you-fades. The inner truth is hidden luckily, luckily. But I felt it all the same; I felt often its mysterious stillness watching over me at my monkey tricks, just as it watches you fellows performing on your respective tight ropes for-what is it? half a crown a tumble . . . . (36) While he is in the Congo, although he has to concentrate on the petty everyday things like overseeing the repair of his boat, he is still aware of what is going on around him and of the horrible reality he is in. On the other hand, his friends on the boat simply do not recognize this reality. It is their ignorance and innocence which provokes them to tell Marlow to try to be civil (36). Not only are they oblivious to the reality that Marlow sees, but their naivet is so great that they can not even comprehend such a thing (Johnson 356). Quite surprisingly, this mentality does not pertain exclusively to the Englishmen in Europe. At one poi nt during Marlow's voyage down the Congo, he wakes to find his boat in an enormous patch of fog. At that very instant, a very loud cry is let out (41). After Marlow looks around and makes sure everything is all right, he observes the contrasts of the whites and the blacks expressions: It was very curious to see the contrast of expression of the white men and of the black fellows of our crew, who were as much strangers to that part of the river as we, though their homes were only eight hundred miles away. The whites, of course greatly discomposed, had besides a curious look of being painfully shocked by such an outrageous row. The others had an alert, naturally interested expression; but their faces were essentially quiet[. . .]. (41-42) One can see the simple-mindedness of the Europeans, even though they were exposed to reality. An innocent mentality is engraved in their minds so deeply that even the environment of the Congo can not sway their belief that people simply do not do the

The Politics Community Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Politics Community - Assignment Example This interferes with the political structure of institutional development in the developing countries as these institutions still need support. Increased interdependence among countries has led to political interference among countries. For instance most of the developed countries’ political organization is determined by the donor countries. There is a tendency of the donor countries threatening to stop their donations if their beneficiaries support not their governance mechanism (Michaels, 2002). Foreign countries have also influenced the political operations of developing countries as they are required to adhere to certain requirements in order to maintain good relations with the former. For instance some countries have been required by the United States to send their troops to fight in countries grappling with political instability. This case has happened between Uganda and Somali whereby the Ugandan troops had to interfere with the political structure of Somalia. Countries have also interfered with each other’s politics due to resources endowment. For instance the action of the United States on the countries in the Middle East was greatly influenced by its interest in oil according to Michaels (2002). The United States has tried to legitimize its actions as well as redefine the doctrine of the Middle East countries.