Death Penalty in Canada Essay

Capital punishment is crime's most dreaded consequence, death. Hanging was Canada's form of capital punishment up until 1976 when it was abolished. Webster's Dictionary defines capital punishments as: "The penalty of death for the commission of a crime." (Webster's, 1994, 43). The chance of capital punishment being reinstated in Canada has been very slim up until now. Recently the Canadian Alliance Party has put forth efforts to reinstate it, which has put the controversial topic back up for debate. This has divided many Canadians concerning their beliefs. Capital punishment should never be reinstated in Canada as it is a barbaric practice that is unjust. This essay will clearly demonstrate that reinstating capital punishment

Capital Punishment is a sensitive topic that seems to constantly generate controversy amongst many individuals. To give a little background, capital punishment involves executing a person deemed guilty of a severe crime. Various countries, including America, accept the use of this method. However, other countries such as Canada are strictly against the act due to many reasons. Although some argue that they are the best form of punishment, life imprisonment is the better alternative. It is more humane, improves the financial and social state of the country, and finally is safer.

The death penalty is a controversial topic in the United States today and has been for a number of years. The death penalty was overturned and then reinstated in the United States during the 1970's due to questions concerning its fairness. The death penalty began to be reinstated slowly, but the rate of executions has increased during the 1990's. There are a number of arguments for and against the death penalty. Many death penalty supporters feel that the death penalty reduces crime because it deters people from committing murder if they know that they will receive the death penalty if they are caught. Others in favor of the death penalty feel that even if it doesn't deter others from committing crimes, it will eliminate

No one has been executed in Australia since the 2nd of February in 1967. The last incident of execution was when a man named Ronald Ryan was found guilty of shooting a prison guard in an attempt to escape the jail. He was hung in Melbourne. Queensland put an end to the death penalty in 1922. Tasmania did the same in 1968, The federal government ended the death penalty in 1973. Some countries still have the death penalty, the top three countries with the highest execution rate are: China, United states and Pakistan. In South Australia, forty-four hangings took place in the Adelaide Gaol. The society agreed that the death penalty wasn’t the right way to go so in 1976 the Criminal Law Consolidation Act was modified, changing the death penalty

Correspondingly, it is common knowledge that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms explicitly states that “all Canadians have the right to live...” Yet the concept of the death penalty seems to be the pardoned exception. Should the death penalty be reinstated it would become immensely hypocritical for the government to continue preaching that life is important when they would be the ones taking it away. It is clear one cannot cure murder with more murder so does it matter by whom the killing is done? By taking a human life the government is lessening the value of life. One might dismiss this as the devaluation of a murderer could be seen as a just compromise, but the government is viewed as a higher power, the one in control. When the

As Ghandi once said, “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty”. Canada is a society based around democracy; if the government grants themselves the absolute power to end a person’s life with a single sentence, there are bound to be negative repercussions. It is human nature to makes mistakes, but it is a virtue to learn from them. Instead of resulting to the death penalty as a punishment for committing a serious crime, society should have faith in that person’s ability to change, improve, and be rehabilitated. Moreover, the death penalty is an ineffective way to punish criminals when it comes to serious crimes. If anything, it is an escape for those who have no remorse for their actions. There is no reason to end the life of a human being, no matter how malevolent they are, as it does not benefit society in any way, shape, or form. One could argue that the offender would no longer be able to harm others, but that same result could come from a prison sentence. Furthermore, the rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, are fundamental human rights that are not subject to a select group of people, but all of humanity. Capital punishment, no matter the reason, is essentially still murder, as the life of another human is being taken. Limitations must be set in order to separate humanity from the criminals it harbors. Society

Most importantly there are no statistics or proven facts that capital punishment deters and protects society from future criminals. In fact in 2004 Canada's homicide rate was 1.95 per 100,000 people (Statistics Canada); this was almost three times lower than that of the United States which came in at 5.6 per100 000 people (U.S. Department of Justice). Though there are other factors influencing homicide rate, it is still and indicator of the deficiency of capital punishment. Trudeau stated in his famous speech of 1976 "If we have reason to believe that hanging will protect society from murder and violent crime, if this cause or relation can be established then hanging is permissible…..having looked at the debates and looked at the statistics now and the passed its obviously not established…..when human life is at stake you solve it in favor of life not death." (CBC Canada)

In 2000, a survey was given to thousands of canadians asking them if capital punishment should be reintroduced or not. The findings of this survey was that 45% of Canadians were in favour of bringing back capital punishment to Canada. In a more recent survey in 2012, 63% of people agreed that capital punishment is sometimes appropriate depending on the circumstance, and 23% of people believed that capital punishment shouldn’t be brought back under any circumstance. Although people have their own opinions, the statistics do not lie. Murder rates in Canada have been slowly dropping since capital punishment has been abolished. The crime rate was at the lowest it has been at in 40 years in 2009. Although these stats do not prove that capital punishment results to a fewer murder rate, it shows that capital punishment is not needed to scare people into committing less crime. Recently in America, a big poll was done to see how many Americans supported capital punishment, the results were 56% supported. It is not a surprise that a majority supports because since capital punishment is going on in so many states now. 63% viewed the death penalty as a morally justified punishment for murder, most 71% said there is some risk of executing innocent people. This is very true because there has been many cases innocent people have been executed even though they haven’t done. A majority

“The total number of death penalties between 1867 and 1971 is 1481. The total number of executions is 710, 697 men and 13 women” (February 10, 1956). So many men and women died, some innocent, some guilty. However no crime is big or bad enough that it should take someone’s life away. Who are they to judge whether or not we should keep our lives, they were not the ones who gave it to us. And in the situation that they do kill an innocent person, they should die as well for murder, like the law states. Finally we do not have to live like this, “The argument against the death penalty eventually won Canadians over and the practice was abolished in 1976. Sadly this was after Wilbert Coffin” (February 10, 1956). After 104 years of executions and wrongfully committed victims who lost their lives for a crime they never committed, finally the eyes of society have been opened and people realized this practice was

First off, the death penalty is not the right punishment for anything. Putting someone’s life away because they did something wrong is not fair at all. Even good people make mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance. Don’t you believe in second chances? Haven’t you done something that you regret doing and wish you could go back and fix? So why should someone who made one mistake have a consequence as severe as that. It is not a fair consequence at all and shouldn’t be brought back to Canada.

Canada is a free country. Citizens have the right to speak in their native languages, practice their culture, and the right to have a job and make a living. All of these rights are very true and help make our country a better place. However, there are two basic rights that I am against-the right to have an abortion and the right to assisted suicide.

In conclusion not only is the death penalty a cruel and unlawful punishment, but when the right to live freely is denied it is also a violation of basic human rights. There are around 140 countries that have abolished the death penalty, with still no international law forbidding the use of it. Nevertheless, Canada has spent around 15-20 billion on the Criminal Justice system in hopes that it will help solve crime. In the end, most Canadians would agree that bringing back the death penalty is a dishonest punishment, with permanent results and in no way promises that it will help decrease the crime rate and keep Canadians safe.

The Death Penalty Discussion In today’s world terrible crimes are being committed daily. Many people believe that these criminals deserve one fate; death. Death penalty is the maximum sentence used in punishing people who kill another human being and is a very controversial method of punishment. Capital punishment is a legal infliction of death penalty and since ancient times it has bee used to punish a large variety of offences.

In the United States we take great pride in that we are an open free country that welcomes anyone from around the world looking for a better life. Therefore, it is surprising that we surpass other countries in the number of people that are incarcerated in our jails and prisons. Even more startling is the fact that among all the Nations in the world the United States is constantly in the top five nations that executes the most prisoners. The number one reason why most prisoners in the United States are on death row is for capital crimes, such as homicide. Homicide as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the act of killing another person” (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2014). The death penalty is an archaic form of punishment that

Crime in America is something that has been around for many decades. While a large number of crimes are considered minor, many more result in the serious injury or death of another human being. “When we think about crimes, we … normally focus on inherently wrongful acts that harm or threaten to harm persons or property” (Bibas 22). The death penalty, also called capital punishment, has been used as a means of punishing the most violent of criminals in an attempt to prevent others from committing similar crimes. Over the centuries, the methods used to conduct these executions have evolved and changed due to effectiveness and public opinion.