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Thou Shalt Abolish the Death Penalty
Regionally, whether the death penalty ought to be abolished has been an issue of much public debate for more than a decade. In this episode, we teamed up with the organisation, Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL), to put together a panel of abolition advocates so that we could hear their arguments against the death penalty.
The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:
Thoughts from the host:
Abolition arguments are often couched in a human rights perspective, and one which sees life and the right to life as being sacrosanct. Some of those who argue in favour of keeping the death penalty favour it as a deterrent. But abolitionists will argue, based on statistics, that having the death penalty available or even regularly enforced does little to prevent the sort of crimes for which courts would issue death sentence.
Retentionists will argue that there are some convicts who, having committed heinous acts such as murder or multiple murders, rape or multiple rapes, torture, slavery, brutalization, or child abuse, ought to be killed. This is where they tend to find a chorus of popular support based on the genuine disgust people have for heinous violence, the anger people feel toward the perpetrators, and the desire that people have for vengeance.
But as much as we may feel someone is deserving of death, we ought not to allow our anger to strip anyone of their human rights. Human rights exist for a reason. They protect our life, liberty, freedom, and dignity from each other. They are inalienable to each of us as human beings. The right to life is us saying that no one, including the government, has the right to kill another, period. If a person violates that right by killing someone, how is it good for the state to violate it again by killing the perpetrator?
We would not put punishments like slavery, beating, and torture on the law books. This is because we find such violence disgusting and dehumanizing for both the victim and perpetrator. No one should ever do those things to another person, even if the person is guilty of doing the same. But we seem to be less bothered by killing as a punishment. Why aren't we as disgusted by the act of killing? Abolishing the death penalty is not society saying that a person's crimes are not worthy of severe punishment. Rather, it's society saying that killing people is wrong, period.
This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on October 10th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.
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By The Big Issues Production TeamRegionally, whether the death penalty ought to be abolished has been an issue of much public debate for more than a decade. In this episode, we teamed up with the organisation, Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL), to put together a panel of abolition advocates so that we could hear their arguments against the death penalty.
The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:
Thoughts from the host:
Abolition arguments are often couched in a human rights perspective, and one which sees life and the right to life as being sacrosanct. Some of those who argue in favour of keeping the death penalty favour it as a deterrent. But abolitionists will argue, based on statistics, that having the death penalty available or even regularly enforced does little to prevent the sort of crimes for which courts would issue death sentence.
Retentionists will argue that there are some convicts who, having committed heinous acts such as murder or multiple murders, rape or multiple rapes, torture, slavery, brutalization, or child abuse, ought to be killed. This is where they tend to find a chorus of popular support based on the genuine disgust people have for heinous violence, the anger people feel toward the perpetrators, and the desire that people have for vengeance.
But as much as we may feel someone is deserving of death, we ought not to allow our anger to strip anyone of their human rights. Human rights exist for a reason. They protect our life, liberty, freedom, and dignity from each other. They are inalienable to each of us as human beings. The right to life is us saying that no one, including the government, has the right to kill another, period. If a person violates that right by killing someone, how is it good for the state to violate it again by killing the perpetrator?
We would not put punishments like slavery, beating, and torture on the law books. This is because we find such violence disgusting and dehumanizing for both the victim and perpetrator. No one should ever do those things to another person, even if the person is guilty of doing the same. But we seem to be less bothered by killing as a punishment. Why aren't we as disgusted by the act of killing? Abolishing the death penalty is not society saying that a person's crimes are not worthy of severe punishment. Rather, it's society saying that killing people is wrong, period.
This programme first aired on NewsCo Observer Radio 91.1 FM on October 10th, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at the Antigua Observer online.