"The death penalty is not a deterrent. It is murder." Do you agree?

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, “deterrent” refers to a thing that makes somebody less likely to do something and “murder” refers to the crime of killing somebody deliberately.

I disagree with the statement.

Throughout all these years, death penalty has been associated with cruel methods which exist in the past like stoning, crucifixion and decapitation and in the modern like hanging, electric chair and gas chamber. Just by hearing these methods, not mentioning about watching the whole process is gruesome enough to strike fear into normal people’s mind. Thus I believe death penalty has served as a very good deterrent in causing someone to think twice before they commit an offence.

Also, death penalty also can be seen as a form of returning justice to the victims’ families. How would you feel if the murderer who killed one of your family members is still walking freely on the streets just like a normal person?

However, who can ensure that the judge or the jury who give the death sentence is being objective and not being emotional? If the judiciary panel is being subjective, isn’t it taking revenge and in other words a murder?

Ask yourself this, who don’t make mistakes in their life? Often, some people commit an offence out of desperation or in a fit of rage. So why can’t we give them a second chance, a chance to turn over a new leaf? Although we cannot ensure that all of them will not commit the same mistake again, but at least we can offer the choice of counseling or rehabilitation. This will really be a great help to those convicts who are determined to atone for their mistakes.

To conclude, I feel that death penalty is a deterrent more than a murder as I believe that with the consequences of committing an offence lingering at the back of the mind, people will see as a warning and perhaps stop their offences while they still can. Whether is it a murder, it all depends on how subjective or objective one’s viewpoint is.