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Capital Punishment : A Question Of Life And Death

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Capital Punishment: A Question of Life and Death Introduction: The debate about capital punishment, commonly referred to as “the death penalty”, is as old as the death penalty itself. It is caused by different controversial opinions about the propriety and legitimacy of the death penalty. It’s not surprising that since the start of this debate the philosophical or ethical arguments against or in favour of the death penalty has remained notably unchanged. Thesis statement: The public concern about the death penalty has reasonably resulted from perceived risk that errors in the legal system and potential political and personal bias; could result in the execution of innocent people. Paragraph 1: According to Amnesty International, “The death penalty legitimizes an irreversible act of violence by the state and will inevitably claim innocent victims. As long as human justice remains fallible, the risk of executing the innocent can never be eliminated .” International attention has started focusing on the frequent discovery of innocent people convicted as the failure of law enforcement systems. Over the past twenty years there have been many well publicized cases in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States as well as Canada of wrongfully convicted persons. Thus, public confidence has been eroded as unjust conviction represents a triple failure of the criminal justice systems; innocent has been put in jail; a true criminal is privileged to enjoy

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