...Historically in Canada, the death penalty existed as the maximum punishment for criminals convicted of committing capital offences before it was abolished from Canada’s Criminal Code in 1976 (Thompson, Andrew.S. 2008, p. 172). Presently the highest form of punishment is as a maximum of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years (Roberts and Stalans, 1997, as cited in Lambert, E., Baker, D., & Tucker, K. 2006, p.3). Many Canadians support the return of the death penalty, an illustration of this would be when the House of Commons held a free vote“…in 1987 …regarding the reinstatement of the death penalty”, although the free vote was defeated “46% of the votes cast were for reinstatement”. (Lambert, E., Baker, D., & Tucker,...
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...Should The Death Penalty be allowed in Canada The Death Penalty is given to someone who has been convicted of a major crime, ex: murder, rape, treason, espionage, genocide, hijacking and many more. I am here to give you some points from both perspectives for you to make your decision on if the death penalty should be allowed in Canada. Why we should have the death penalty? One reason some countries have the death penalty is so it will make the criminal face their action. We are taught that actions come with consequences… and they really do... from you getting a nobel prize to the death penalty there all caused by your actions. Another reason for the death penalty is so the most insane and smart people in prison can’t get out. Every country has its people that are insane and reckless that they get themselves in prison right… they can also be those people that can get themselves out of prison, and if they do than they can cause even more harm that can even kill people, so if they have the death penalty then it wouldn’t be a problem. And finally the death penalty would make the victims families feel that the person got what they deserved. Say a person's mom got killed by a murder, and...
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...this is the only acceptable punishment. Capital punishment does not only lower the murder rate, but it's value as retribution alone is a good reason for handing out death sentences. Support for the death penalty in the U.S. has risen to an average of 80% according to an article written by Richard Worsnop, entitled "Death penalty debate centres on Retribution", this figure is slightly lower in Canada where support for the death penalty is at 72% of the population over 18 years of age, as stated in article by Kirk Makir, in the March 26, 1987 edition of the Globe and Mail, titled "B.C. MPs split on Death Penalty". The death penalty deters murder by putting the fear of death into would be killers. A person is less likely to do something, if he or she thinks that harm will come to him. Another way the death penalty deters murder, is the fact that if the killer is dead, he will not be able to kill again. Most supporters of the death penalty feel that offenders should be punished for their crimes, and that it does not matter whether it will deter the crime rate. Supporters of the death penalty are in favour of making examples out of offenders, and that the threat of death will be enough to deter the crime rate, but the crime rate is irrelevant. According to Isaac Ehrlich's study, published on April 16, 1976, eight murders...
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...It was only in 1998 that Canada had fully eradicated the death penalty for all crimes. After examining the facts of both the J. Kindle and G. Burns & A. Rafay cases, I have capital punishment will not return to Canada in the future. Joseph J. Kindler is found guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury on this case had recommended the death penalty as his punishment. While awaiting his sentencing he escaped prison and fled to Canada. After being found once again the U.S had asked for his extradition back to America. This was approved by the Minister of Justice but the Minister of Justice had failed to insure that...
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...For thousands of years, the death penalty has served as part of the criminal justice system. The U.S uses the death penalty for prosecuting certain crimes. The debate over the death penalty has progressed for many centuries. However, in the past years, the debate has increased in the United States. In the recent past, opponents have held that the death sentence is ineffective, racist, barbaric, as well as against the American values. Conversely, the majority of people view the death punishment as a vital tool in fighting violent pre-meditated murder. Both sides have appealing arguments. Regardless, the support of the society for capital punishment is wanting. The death penalty is cruel and immoral. The society punishes murderers by killing...
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...Thesis: Canada's criminal justice system, specifically laws dealing with punishment, is far superior to that of the United States Canada and the United States of America are two neighboring countries who besides the border share numerous other key aspects. Though similar in beliefs and culture the two countries are far from alike. Their legal structure particularly the penal system is one of most significant boundaries between Canada and the United States. Though not perfect, it's absolutely clear that Canada has the far more superior legal system. Unlike the United States, Canada no longer practices capital punishment which is barbaric to say the least. Furthermore Canada's belief in conjunctive punishment is better with dealing with offenders than America's consecutive punishment. Finally Canada's goal to concentrate more on rehabilitating and educating criminals is far more effective and efficient in eradicating future crime then just incarcerating them. There are two main types of law, Substantive and Procedural. Substantive law creates, defines and regulates rights and obligations of citizens; in contrast procedural law prescribes the manner to enforce rights and obligations. (Dickson) Substantive law divides into Public law which in turn breaks up into four other laws including criminal law. Criminal law outlines all the acts that are regarded as offences to society and it consists of the penal system. The penal system is comprised of sets of punishments and sentences...
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...punishment as severe as the death penalty, the astonishing number of criminals that walk the streets after serving their short sentences are a risk to not only our current generations, but future justice systems as a whole. In turn, I propose the implementation of the death penalty in the Canadian justice system. The death penalty is a form of punishment one convicted of a serious crime receives which results in the ending of the offender’s life. These executions are primarily conducted through the use of lethal injections or hangings, often leaving the choice to the condemned. Introducing this form of punishment is a necessity for the Canadian justice system. Canada has always taken pride in its “just” society, but is this truly the case? According to dictionary.com “Just” refers to being or behaving accordingly to what is fair. A just society requires the death sentence as the punishment an individual receives for their action must be fair and according to the crime they have committed. In the case of a murder, jail time would not be seen as a fair consequence in comparison to the event the victim was forced to overcome. The only appropriate retribution for the disorderly conduct would be equally taking the offenders life. It is not to say that the death penalty must be used in every conviction, but in the event of a murder, deathly rape, or other life threatening crimes, the death row would be an appropriate repercussion. In 2012 Statistics Canada reported a seven percent...
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...Death Penalty Essay Those who believe that deterrence justifies the execution of certain offenders bear the burden of proving that the death penalty is a deterrent. The overwhelming conclusion from years of deterrence studies is that the death penalty is, at best, no more of a deterrent than a sentence of life in prison. The sentiment that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime is widely accepted as false. Citing such a reason like deterrence is not even a part of many pro death penalty supporters’ arguments. The Death penalty causes so much controversy due to the ethical and moral implications. However, due to the inherit volatility of trying to ascertain “what is right” the death penalty along those lines has continued and will continue to be a subject of debate. Personal opinion aside, according to statistical data the death penalty is not a deterrent. According to thedeathpenaltyinfo.org, States in the United States that do not employ the death penalty generally have lower murder rates than states that do. The same is true when the U.S. is compared to countries similar to it. The US homicide rate, which has declined substantially since 1992 from a rate per 100,000 persons of 9.8 to 4.8 in 2010, is still among the highest in the industrialized world. There were 14,748 homicides in the United States in 2010, including non-negligent manslaughter .The U.S., with the death penalty, has a higher murder rate than the countries of Europe or Canada, which do not use the death...
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...Death penalty, defined one way, it is the process of enacting justice to someone who took away another person’s life; defined in another way, it is a glorified form of murder. Is it essential to run execution? This has been a controversial issue for a long time, yet no one has come up with an exact answer. Yes, indeed, those people should pay for what they have done; and yes, those people deserve death for killing another person. But is death penalty ethical? Although execution is legal by law in certain areas, there is no doubt at all that executing is murdering as well. Would there not be a better way for punishment rather than death penalty? The answer is yes. In Canada, for example, life imprisonment has been used to replace capital punishment since 1976. Because Canada is a country which takes protection of human rights seriously, it realized that execution is inhumane and immoral. It does not mean we have to kill a person to make him pay for his crime. In addition, the prisoner should have spent the rest of his life revising what he has done wrong. Shooting him to death only frees him from taking responsibility. This does not leave any time for him to think about why he should be regretful. Those countries which execute death penalty also have to consider one thing: if the person being executed is the only one who raises his or her family, then how were rests of the family members supposed to live on their own? This problem would not really matter to people who...
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...punishment so cruel that people feel it’s the only punishment for wrongdoing. Capital punishment is an effective way, but is not always the answer for punishment. Capital punishment is another word for death penalty is given to those convicted to those found guilty of crimes they committed. The death penalty has been around since the beginning of civilization. In ancient times the Romans use of the death penalty was stoning,...
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...this irrevocable form of punishment are, as well as the counter arguments that follow. In full support of the former, in his article titled “On Deterrence and the Death Penalty”[ Van Den Haag, Ernest (1969) On Deterrence and the Death Penalty. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 60(2) ], Ernest Van Den Haag outlines his thoughts which support the use of the death penalty and how it might deter heinous crimes against society. The first section of this paper will give a summery of Van Den Haag’s thoughts, which he outlined in the article, including the main points and arguments made which support his view. Following this summary, an in depth analysis of how the article relates to my personal beliefs and understanding of the topic will take place. Summary In section one of the article, the author brings up the point that the purposes of the death penalty must always be understood as being one of two things: doing justice or deterring others. Van den Haag points out that any other aim of a justice system, such as rehabilitation, would not be met by this form of punishment. It is his belief that opponents contesting the use of the death penalty must show that that neither purpose is met in order to illustrate that it should be abolished[ Van Den Haag, Ernest (1969) On Deterrence and the Death Penalty. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 60(2),pp.141]. He then outlines the purpose of his paper which is to challenge the claim that capital...
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...The death penalty has been used as a punishment of execution throughout long periods of time. Through those periods, the penalty has now become a necessary part of the society and government system, as an imperative way to prevent dangerous crimes. Yet subsequently, society has become to question this deterrent, regarding humanistic ideas and its certainty. Much inquiry and debate arise from the thought of executing a person due to crime. This controversy created a worldwide dispute regarding the laws of this penalty. Nations like China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, and the US are still using this deterrent. Whereas nations like France, Germany, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand have completely abolished the death penalty. However, there are still many other nations with this legislation and thus; this essay will prove to show why this capital punishment should be abolished and no longer used....
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...International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 and its protocol in 1989 where the State parties believed that abolition of death penalty should be in the scale of enhancement of human dignity and progressive development of human rights and recalling Article 3 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on 10th December, 1948 as well as Article 21 of our Constitution.1 It can be judicially said “I don’t punish you for killing the man but so that the other cannot be killed.” That is, the chief aim of capital punishment is to make deterrent to others for same crime . Now this concept is having a new direction. The Supreme Court and High Courts in India interpret the cases before giving the death sentence as rarest of rare cases. The Court moves its eye also for other aspects of society. The landmark cases where death sentences were awarded in India are Ranga Billa case2, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case, Laxman Nayak case 3 and the lastly, it was awarded to Dhananjoy Chatterjee on 14th August, 2004 in connection with Hetal Parikh case of West Bengal after the Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence awarded by lower courts and President also refused to grant him pardon. In the year 2003, Government laid a bill in the Parliament which proposed to add a provision of the punishment, like death sentence in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as also it was |LL.B. Entrance Examination, Universal Law Publishing Co., New Delhi (2007), ...
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...and empirical aspects of human justice. Ultimately, the key issue regarding the death penalty is as follows: is the death penalty as appropriate form of punishment for the United States of America’s judicial system to impose? This key issue incorporates the empirical and moral claims of those both for and against capital punishment in America. The main empirical issues center on whether or not the death penalty is imposed with bias, whether it serves as deterrence for future crimes, and whether it is an economically beneficial option for the country. Moral concerns include the idea of justice being “an eye for an eye,” whether or not capital punishment is “playing God,” and if the death penalty is a cruel and unusual form of punishment. The position we recommend to our legislators is opposition to capital punishment because evidence demonstrates that it is biased, unjust, fails to deter crime, is not cost effective, and cruel and unusual government action. The death penalty in America dates back to the colonial period. Its use was fragmented at best throughout the colonies and eventually the states, with each state having its own laws concerning the use of capital punishment. As long as it has existed in the United States, there has been controversy and divided views regarding the death penalty. One of the earliest views from the nation was from Dr. Benjamin Rush, who argued that the death penalty did not deter crime, but actually caused crime rates to rise. This is a view that...
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...Death Penalty In today’s times crime is ever increasing and as it does so should the penalties. A lot of people tend to be against the death penalty until they have a loved one taken from them. I look at the death penalty as what fits the crimes that have been committed and when you have adults that have killed another human being or have done such a hennas crime that would warrant this kind of punishment then I am all for it. I look at it as if you take a life then you have given up your life. So because of this I have taken the Moral Pluralism point of view. The death penalty is a term used to describe the act of putting a person to death, after judgment by a legal system. Either as an act of retribution, or to ensure they cannot commit future crimes. The early use of the death penalty was often for penal purposes, and as a result the methods used to put people to death were horrific. Drawing and subdividing people, for example, or flaying them alive or burning them, were not uncommon in Medieval Europe or in much of the world. There has consistently been a movement towards abolishing the death penalty, as well, although different cultures have arrived there in different times. China, for example, banned the death penalty in the mid-8th century, only to restore it after 12 years. In 96% of the states where there have been reviews of race and the death penalty, there was a pattern of either race of victim or race-of-defendant discrimination...
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