THE PROS AND CONS
Those who doesn’t support takes on the principle that such punitive act erases the sanctity of human life. On the other hand, the supporters believe it gives justice to the victims of criminals.
No wonder why even if the Philippines is a Christian country, not all members will agree to the teachings. Roman Catholicism predominantly reigns in the heart of Filipinos and the church opposes death penalty, teaches that it is wrong and that justice should be given on both sides. But such teaching is not effective to all members.
Those in favor also believe that death penalty will
prevent other people from committing the same crime and that the criminal really deserves it. These are formidable reasons why the pros would like death penalty to be legalized, taking their own principle in law that says Dura lex sed lex (The law is the law no matter how harsh it is).DEATH PENALTY AND MORALITY
However, one thing is lacking from that principle. It is to question whether the law is moral or not. As what one adage says, “Not all legal are necessarily moral.” Morality, by its term means acts that are generally considered to be right, proper and accepted. The Dura lex sed lex principle contradicts the definition of being moral. If death penalty is to be considered moral, why then does it need to use harsh law? ‘Harsh’ is actually a term that is used as a result of emotions being ignited. When one allows emotions to control them, we think of a very harsh way to solve the problem. Emotions that prevail over reason, however will not solve the issue.
While it is understandable on the victim’s side that harsh crime is equal to harsh law, let us remember that we are all humans and we have no right to decide who will live and who will die. We are all imperfect and so goes the same with the judges of the court. They can make wrongful evaluation and that an innocent individual could die because of human error. Once the innocent life has been taken away, it is irreversible. If we say we are Christians, then let God be the right one to take or retain life. As what the former Cardinal Sin said, “Justice without mercy is barbaric and Mercy without justice is weakness.” Let’s balance the two and lest emotional reactions if we focus to discuss on the level of principles.
JUSTICE, WHOSE SIDE HAS BEEN GIVEN MORE?
There is no way to say that death penalty can really give justice to the victims. In fact, victims of the death penalty seek more in finding justice. Why? One is that the
law largely targets the poor. It’s a sad reality that during the passage of the law, they removed plunder in the list of those who will be punished by death. The reason might be unknown but it’s obvious, many politicians and rich government employees has cases of plunder.Another reason is that the death penalty does not respect the rights of the person, on the chances that they are not guilty of the crime. It thus fulfills the spirit of vengeance or revenge. This could be perpetuated as anyone can just use the law for the motives of retribution.
Moreover, it destroys the chance for the person to restore their normal life, to reform and to change themselves in becoming more productive and as an asset to the community. It also doesn’t trust and it doesn’t put hope that God’s grace could effect in their lives.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Having said these, we may all find the good reason to oppose death penalty. Of course, justice should be upheld more on the side of the victims of crime but death penalty is not a good answer. No evidence or research even suggests that the law deter serious crimes. One best way to solve the increasing number of crimes in the country is to create and implement stricter and more bitter laws.
Another is to give proper training to prisoners. They should not only be put to jail but they should be taught some skills, help them discover their talents and assist them in selling their livelihood products. This way, they can earn a good living after they are freed or if convicted with life imprisonment, they can still help their families. In observation, more prisoners were worse before they were put to jail. That is because they were exposed to more hardened criminals. Their experiences inside the prison gave them the privilege to change and it happened. More stories and evidences show that many prisoners had changed when they were imprisoned.
Can’t we imagine if in our country, there are thousands of convicts who are awaiting execution? What if they’ll be given the chance to be turned as model prisoners? Let’s give it to them.
