You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Discuss when, if ever capital punishment can be viewed as a valid punishment for a crime.
Give reasons for your answer and use specific examples to support your answer.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer
In the world we live in today, there are different views concerning Capital Punishment. Some would regard it as beneficial; however, some are sceptical about it. In this essay, both views will be discussed.
There are those who do not agree with the death penalty for reasons such as police authorities could be mistaken “the real culprit” to “a culprit”. In fact, there has been a situation before that the cops just wanted to prove that they have solved the case by picking up the one who they believed did the crime not knowing who actually did it. An example is the case of an Australian man named Mr. Johnson. He was prosecuted for committing murder and was hanged in the middle of the city-centre in Melbourne, but surprisingly, a week after his execution, a hesitant witness came out and pointed to the Victorian police who actually murdered the victim. This was a hot topic because of the public awareness, and this is the reason why such punishment is being disregarded.
On the other hand, there are various people who believe in it because it could give peace and order in the society. For instance, here in the Philippines, crimes such as rape, murder, homicide, robbery and many types of it are being committed as evidence in Philippine TV news. So, people strongly believe that capital punishment is needed to bring back the peace and harmony in the country. Way back, during the term of late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, the death penalty was strictly imposed, whether the sinner was wealthy and powerful or not. An example is the famous Chinese drug lord who was executed by the country’s firing squad and televised it to the public. As a result, Filipinos were afraid to do crimes and the Philippine has even featured in New York Times magazine as one of the best countries to live in.
In conclusion, with regard to what I think, I believe that death penalty must be implemented. It is because heinous crimes are very rampant these days, but we need to examine deliberately and intensely who the real crime-committer is.
( Written by – Rona Lyn Olivar )