“An Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Tooth”

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT....

It is one of the oldest form of justice, which we all today know as Capital Punishment. This is the severest of punishment which can be given to a criminal, for indulging in a heinous crime. It entails death to the convict, either by hanging or in some advanced countries through the electric chair. In recent times there is a heated debate on this issue, which involves taking the life of an individual, a right that nobody has. Society has been increasingly criminalised by the glorifying of violence and crime in the print and electronic media, which has the cast an evil spell on the younger generation. The daily newspapers are replete with horrendous crimes, which are getting worse by the day. To keep this in check, there is need to make capital punishment more effective and stringent, rather than abolish it.

Though the form of punishment is inhuman and cruel, there is no other alternative but to enforce it. Just as one removes a rotten apple to save the basket full of apples, similarly by getting rid of the unwanted elements the society can be saved. The criminal laws today are much more humane, than they were centuries ago. During that period, one could have his hands amputated for stealing & death penalty was quite common for even small offences. To completely do away with capital punishment, would even remove the physiological fear in the minds of criminals, to deter them from criminal acts.

The only argument against this act is that it is irrevocable. Justice is not fallible, and at times valuable lives have been lost due to its miscarriage. This calls for greater care $ scientific investigation in awarding this form of punishment. One must learn from others experience & make death penalty effective deterrent, rather than abolish this form of punishment in India. There is an immediate need to thoroughly review the present judicial system in awarding justice. This would make the legal system more just and dynamic; so that criminals are promptly brought to book. Undisputedly the death penalty should be awarded in the rarest of the rare case, for it is advisable to let a 100 criminals go scot free, than hung an innocent person.