The return of the death penalty

The death penalty is no longer used in the UK but there are two sides to this argument. Bring it back some say whereas others say it is not worth bringing back as it is not meant to be for today’s society. By looking at both of these sides it widens the view of the reasons why some want it back and why others do not. If one view is left unturned it can cause issues when looking at a topic as both sides are required to understand the whole.
The death penalty has been a matter of controversy in the UK for many years, but not for the UK only. The topic has been spoken of by the public and many politicians worldwide and have uttered their views down the most recent decades. Some go to say that the return of the death penalty would be a wise decision as it would reduce crime and bring back the fear of the authorities amongst public citizens. Whereas others go to say it is appalling as it infringes on human rights laws and basic morals of people. As the death penalty was once popular, by looking at both historical facts and current statistics it will present interesting information on this topic.
According to Hayes. J (2018) the death penalty should be brought back in to practise. He gave an example of the Westminster attack that occurred in 2017. He went on to say that Khalid Masood was killed by police officers after committing an attack which killed pedestrians and PC Keith Palmer. Hayes argued that had Masood not been killed the courts should have had the opportunity to execute capital punishment. His point is made clear as the courts do not have the opportunity to use this method of punishment as there is now no Act to allow it. It is also seen that Hayes was trying to show that because Masood was shot and killed that exercising the right of capital punishment would not have been much different.
In opposition to this view another MP, Abbott.D (2018) describes that MPs who leave their decision to oppose the death penalty is both “abhorrent” and “shameful”. The emphasis she gives with these words reveals her strong decision to remain with her view of opposing the return of the death penalty. By her even asking other members of parliament to go back on their decision to stand for the death penalty not being used she wants to make sure that her and all conservative MPs stand against the return of the death penalty and to not support it at all. 
The two views are contrasting by Hayes.J (2018) saying it should be brought back but on the other hand, Abbott.D (2018) is saying it is “abhorrent “ and “shameful” to stand for the return of the death penalty. Hayes gives his reasons why it should be brought back and it is simple. He believes that if someone is killed after or during committing an attack on the public there is not much of a difference if they are later executed by the courts by the penalty. However, Abbott.D (2018) says it is not good to stand for it but she doesn’t give any specific reasons not to. Hayes.J (2018) leans more towards the side of punishing people who do wrong so that crime rates will decrease whereas Abbott.D (2018) leans towards standing with the UK's decision to oppose any use of the death penalty in the UK and other countries across the world. 
According to Amnesty International (2009), they said that scientists have concluded that having the death penalty in use made no difference in affecting crime rates in the United States. They even went as far as to say that states that didn’t use the death penalty had lower murder rates than the other states that did use it. This claim opposes Hayes’ view that the death penalty reduces crime rates and supports Abbott’s view. It supports her view because the UK abide closely by human rights laws. The article that is mostly looked upon in this manner is article 3, the right to life. 
One major topic of controversy is that innocent people are sentenced to death and years later they have been found out to be innocent. As well as innocence there have been cases of people with disabilities being treated the same as people who don’t have disabilities. According to (Scott, 2003, p. 101-104) there was a case of a man named Johnny Paul Penry who was on death row for the rape, stabbing, and murder of Pamela Mosely Carpenter. Penry’s case caused much controversy as the court wanted to sentence him to death with objective evidence, this doesn’t consider Penry’s mental disability but rather looks at what he did and judges him from that evidence. However, due to the discussion, this case caused he served 3 life sentences rather than being executed. Scott’s view isn’t made clear but the fact he wrote upon this matter suggests he believes it is wrong that mentally disabled people are treated the way they were, thus being against the death penalty being used today even for those who aren’t mentally disabled.   
The death penalty, although not being used in the UK for many years it is still a widely debated topic. Due to the topic still being relevant in today’s society there is always a chance the decision of the government may change as new views may come and go. The fact that even MPs still state their views publicly will still keep a balance between those who are for the return and those who are not. Due to the change in society, there may be a day when the death penalty will never be mentioned again or even needed due to the violence of crimes that may come.  

Reference list:

Abbott. D (2018) Speech in house of commons on video in ‘Tory MP asks government to consider bringing back death penalty’ article, Saturday 3 November 2018, available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mp-bring-back-death-penalty-john-hayes-lincolnshire-capital-punishment-a8615731.html (Date accessed: 28/09/2019)   

Amnesty International (2009), A CLEAR SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS THAT THE DEATH PENALTY DOES NOT DETER, available at: https://www.amnestyusa.org/a-clear-scientific-consensus-that-the-death-penalty-does-not-deter/  (Date accessed: 06/10/2019) 

Kentish. B (2018) Tory MP asks government to consider bringing back death penalty, available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mp-bring-back-death-penalty-john-hayes-lincolnshire-capital-punishment-a8615731.html (Date accessed: 28/09/2019)

Scott.C (2003) ‘Atkins v. Virginia: Execution of Mentally Retarded Defendants Revisited’, Volume 1, Number 1, p.101-104, Date accessed: 09/10/2019, available at: http://jaapl.org/content/jaapl/31/1/101.full.pdf