The death penalty - an old punishment that’s been around for centuries. Although nowadays, most people oppose it, it’s actually a reasonable punishment in certain circumstances.
In the opinions of many people and governments, to bestow upon someone who has done the worst of things, such as mass murder or rape, it can be a justifiable punishment. Some people believe that the death penalty is disgusting, mostly for the fact that people have their own lives, and need to be able to choose how they live it, even if it means these people spending the rest of their days in a prison cell. If this does happen, and they end up in a cell, they’re still costing taxpayers thousands of dollars to keep them alive, healthy, clothed and maintaining their hygiene. It also means that they still get to have a future. The one thing they have denied their victims.
We’ve all heard of Ivan Milat, one of Australia’s most notorious serial killers of the 20th century? This man was found to have brutally murdered seven people, stabbing them multiple times, shooting their bodies, and decapitating one of the victims. Ivan Milat is an excellent example of someone who would definitely deserve the death penalty. Instead, however, he is living out his days inside a prison cell at the Goulburn Correctional Centre, being kept well-fed and exercised. One, he doesn’t deserve such treatment after the things he’s done and two, people who wake up and go to work every day to be able to afford basic necessities, are taxed the money that goes towards feeding this man. July 27, 1996 was the date Ivan Milat was sentenced to seven life sentences for each murder he committed, plus six extra years for the failed attack on Paul Onions. Since then, Ivan’s incarceration has cost Australia a staggering amount of around about $2,451,340, not including legal expenses and the medical costs of the treatment and palliative care of his Oesophagus cancer. How much cheaper for our country would it be for him to be given the death penalty? I’ll answer that for you, a lot.
It’s time we put the emphasis on protecting the victim over the criminal. The criminal who would qualify for the death penalty has in almost every single instance committed other crimes alongside the one they’ve been convicted for. The justice system needs to be more tough on these people, also accounting for the long line of other potential victims who have been waiting for justice. Justice needs to be served for current and past victims.
Having the death penalty in place would prevent overcrowding of prisons. The people who deserve it, will not be living any more due to the things that they have done. The government will no longer be spending upwards of $292 per day which equates to an annual cost of $110,000 per prisoner. Remember, these are people who have denied someone else their right to a future. That’s a lot more money spent on keeping these prisoners alive, than people outside of prison and running their own lives, spend on keeping themselves and their possible families fed and happy.
A report has found the Australian Government spent $625 million on the country’s prisons in 2012-13. Some of this money could be better spent elsewhere, such as medical research, curing various diseases such as AIDS or cancer. Wouldn’t this be a better use of taxpayer’s money?
If we were to re-introduce the death penalty, some of the most expensive prisoners; those in solitary confinement and maximum-security prisons, could be reduced in numbers, which would cut down this gargantuan figure to something, perhaps more reasonable.
Yes, there are some instances where someone can be wrongly convicted, this is one of the biggest arguments against the death penalty. It’s happened in the past, and an innocent person ends up being given the death sentence. But there are ways to prevent this. If there’s no evidence at all, then a person has the right to be presumed ‘Innocent until proven guilty’.
So… Does anybody deserve the death penalty? Absolutely.
Kate Stone of Bendigo, set her partner Darren Reid on fire in December of 2016. On the 12th of July this year, she was sentenced to 34 years, with minimum of 28 years. She murdered him, with two of their young daughters at home, burning nearly 95% of his body. Engulfed in flames, he ran past his 16-year-old daughter telling her that he was going to die. Darren has had the right to life revoked by his partner, and will never get to hold his child’s hand or watch them grow up. The minimum amount of 28 years will cost us fellow Australians just shy of three million dollars to keep her behind bars.
Jill Meagher was murdered on her way home from a pub in 2012, by a man who was out on parole, Adrian Bailey. He was on parole for violent crime, and while on parole, he murdered Jill. Thankfully, the other prisoners have seen to it that Adrian’s stay in prison has been less than pleasant.
Jaymes Todd, who raped and murdered Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon, will be taken to be sentenced for his crime in August this year. Let’s hope that he receives a reasonable sentence. Say, maybe… The death penalty?
Jon Venables, killer and mutilator of 2-year-old child James Bulger, was only 10 years old himself when he murdered poor James. James’ body was found mutilated on the train tracks two days after Jon and his buddy Robert Thompson led James away from a market 25 years ago. You might be thinking “isn’t this too long ago to be able to morally trial him for something that he did when he was 10, 25 years later?” Yes, for this particular act. The thing is however, he has since been to prison twice for possession and distribution of child pornography. This adds to the disgusting nature of this man, and in my opinion, it is clear that his time living among us, should be over for good. This isn’t the case however, it gets worse. An article published on the 24th of June this year, states that Jon is to be moved to Australia, complete with a new identity so that no one is able to identify him as the murderer of James Bulger. Jon could end up being your neighbour or the father of your child’s friend, and you would never know that years ago this man murdered a young boy, and left his body on the train tracks to be run over again and again. How much better for the community of Australia would it be for him to have been buried six-feet-under 25 years ago?
On a more sensitive topic, and not naming any names, a certain cardinal has been convicted as a child sex offender. It is my opinion that anybody who harms a child in any way whether it be through molestation, torture or even murder, is a viable candidate for the death penalty, no matter who this person may be.
Need I Name More? If the death penalty is re-introduced, it will alleviate some of this pressure, both because it deters crime and it costs less than life imprisonment. I argue that retribution or “an eye for an eye” honours the victim, helps console grieving families and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have an opportunity to cause future tragedy, as the current system allows prisoners the chance of parole or escape, giving criminals another chance to offend.
Ivan Milat is soon to die of Oesophageal cancer, a fitting ending for such a disgusting person, don’t you think? It might have been more satisfying for the families of his victims on the day of his hearing years ago, to find that he’s to be executed by fatal injection for his crimes, instead of receiving the medical treatment which us taxpayers are unable to afford, for the many years he’s been in prison. May God have mercy on… his victim’s souls.