About The Death Penalty

The argument of the death penalty is one of the biggest issues all over the world. According to a statement from the Amnesty International website, “More than two- thirds of the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in the law or practice.”(1) Actually, almost every European country has amended their constitutions which disagree to the enforcement of the capital punishment since the end of 1990. So the death penalty should be abolished in Japan because English Plus said that Japan is the only industrial democracy besides the United States that continues to use capital punishment. (74)
The first reason is that no one, even the state, has the right to take away someone’s life. This is the fundamental human right affirmed and secured in Article 13 and Article 36 in the Constitution of Japan. Article 13 says that all of the people shall be respected as individuals. Their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness shall, to the extent that it does not interfere with the public welfare, be the supreme consideration in legislation and in other governmental affairs. In addition, Article 36 says that the infliction of torture by any public officer and cruel punishments are absolutely forbidden. All human being should be given the opportunity to change and compensate about our own mistakes by the government or nation. From this legal perspective, all human being, even the criminal, have the right to die with dignity.
The second reason is that capital punishment is not a means of revenge. According to the article, Harada who is one of the victim’s family and now, he tries to abolish the death penalty expresses his feeling that depriving the criminals off their lives does not mean anything. The victims have responsibility to compensate their crimes by living in a prison. The desire of victim’s family is not killing the criminal and legal system must not decided by emotional-based judgment. It is necessary to judge from the legal perspective. In addition, recently, the number of organizations which are composed by victim’s family is increasing. Actually, Harada also belongs to one of these organizations. This is the evidence that Harada is not only the person who against the death penalty in spite of victim of crime.
The next reason is about the possibility of a false charge. No matter how great the recent legal system, it is impossible to judge perfectly because laws are just created by human being, so the law and legal system are never being perfect. The murder case in Ashikaga is a typical example of a false charge. According to the article of Sankei news, in 1990, Mr. Sugaya was arrested for the murder who killed a little girl. Even thought he was found guilty after in the first trial, he continued to claim he was innocent, and finally because of not enough evidence, Mr. Sugaya was found completely innocent. However, although he could avoid death penalty, he has been restricted for 17 years and his precious life time never come back and restore. The biggest problem with the death penalty is the possibility of executing someone for a crime they do not commit. Once they are put to death, it cannot be undone. In conclusion, there are three major perspectives why I disagree to the death penalty. First, all human being has the right to die with dignity. The government has the responsibility to obey Japanese constitution. Second, the desire of the victim’s family is not killing the criminal. To compensate with death is not true resolution. Last, there is a possibility that the criminal is not guilty. If the state’s judgment is wrong, nation or government is just a murder. All human being are demanded to be aware the fact that crimes never extinct unless human are existed. However, all human being can change their minds even the murder or criminal if they have a chance and enough time. The death penalty deprives the opportunity to change their minds. That’s why we should carefully treat this argument and keep considering.