ENGAGE ON HIVE: Is capital punishment the answer for rape, kidnapping and terrorism?

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Injustice is always a song we sing in our mouths. This song, is majorly on the lips of the general masses who in one way or the other have been marginalised or felt cheated when justice is not served.

There is this general belief that justice delayed is justice denied. This is as a result of the rigorous process it takes a court of law to make a pronouncement or give a verdict on any criminal case.

As a result, there are many pending cases yet unresolved. Many justice already delayed. In some cases, people die even before their case is finally concluded in the court of law .

This explains why people and apparently civilized but uncivilized and uncultured masses engage in jungle justice because they have lost hope in the law of the land.

Capital punishment is killing or termination of life of a criminal by the state. Once an accused is judged guilty, capital punishment is a possible justice that is meted on the person.

In our society today, many issues have been raised as worthy of capital punishment. Some of those crimes are rape, kidnapping, terrorism, etc.

These are crimes rated very high in our community today. Rape is on rampage, kidnapping is a big headache to any government and terrorism is a problem facing many countries today.

On these crimes, capital punishment has been raised as possible solution to curb these menace.

It should be noted that capital punishment is the price a criminal pays for a grievous crime or multiple crimes, but its goal is actually to serve as a deterrent to other criminals. It is a way of showing them their fate, should they continue to wallow in their crime.

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On the suggestion of capital punishment, it sounds logical to say those who engage in the act of rape, kidnapping and terrorism should be giving capital punishment.

Consider first the agony, pain, trauma and stress a lady goes through in the process. All are effort to save herself amount to nothing. She's helpless and left with her faith, that all will be well. Some wished they die in the process.

Secondly, a kidnapper is only concerned about the money he will get from kidnapping. Some kidnap for revenge. In the process, they separate father/mother from their children. In some cases, they torture them and put their family on phone to listen to how they are torturing their father/mother. In other cases, the victim dies due to lack or food, severe torture or trauma of not being with their family.

Thirdly, a terrorist is only concerned about his mission. He care less about how many people who die in his mission. His aim is to kill as many people as possible to make a statement. In this process, many innocent lives are lost.

If you consider the three cases above, you will agree that capital punishment might be the answer for such barbaric act/behaviour to the human race.

Now, should capital punishment truly be the answer to such crimes?

There are divided views on this matter. The first is that such people should be reformed. It is believed that they lack something in their childhood and that is responsible for their psychological imbalance.

This view claims they should be taught, fed, schooled and trained on how to live a better life and understand the sacredness of life and how doing good should always outweighs evil.

The other school claims that such reform is a waste of money and resources. For them, the money that would be used to reform these people is the tax money paid by the same people they raped, kidnapped and killed in the act of terrorism.

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Such exercise is believed to be a waste of time, resources of tax payers. It also sends wrong message to those planing to be rapist, kidnappers and terrorist. They will feel those crimes are good and sure way enjoyment since once they are caught, they will enjoy new life under the disguise of reformation.

Another way to look at it is, if rape kills one's feelings, emotions and zeal to live, would killing such person make him understand the gravity of what he did?

Would a kidnapper killed via capital punishment understood he snatched people's freedom by putting them in cages? Would he understood the fact that families suffer from this act of his? Would he truly understood the fact that he separated father from daughter/son?

On the part of the terrorist, would he not be that the state is committing same crime the the terrorist committed by killing him? Also, would killing a terrorist make him know how many lives he snatched unjustly? In the first place, many of them are not scared of death because to be terrorist is to be on death wish. I believe capital punishment might be a good way to send message to others but a criminal should be made to realize the gravity of what he did before such action is considered.

While those people can be reformed, i agree that it could be very hard for society to accept them.

But killing them on the basis that they killed too could make us as guilty as they are without showing them the true picture of what they did.

In sum, capital punishment should be a last option and not the first. Other possibilities should be weighed critically before deciding on using capital punishment.

Contribution, criticism are welcome.

Thanks for your time!