Canada finally stopped using the death penalty as a form of punishment in 1976. In history, the only method that Canada has ever used for the punishment was death by hanging. I agree with the government’s decision to abolish capital punishment.
The choice to abolish capital punishment was moral, sensible, and politically correct. First, the death penalty is an infringement on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter states that everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual punishment. Capital punishment definitely qualifies as a “cruel” punishment. Also, it also robs the offender of his right to life and denies him any chance at changing his behavior for the better. Secondly, capital punishment solely causes more pain and suffering. The offender’s family will be put through unnecessary sorrow. His family will never be able to see him again; at least in a life imprisonment sentence, his family can still visit him to see how he’s doing. The execution of the offender does not bring back the victim he’s killed, nor does it provide any substantial relief to the victim’s family. The old saying of how “two wrongs don’t make a right” applies here. Lastly, the death penalty is an irrevocable punishment. Nothing can be done if the state finds that the person who was executed was actually innocent. There’s simply no way to compensate for the unrighteous injustice. A human life is very precious; it’s too valuable to lose over an error.
Capital punishment is very inhumane and the fact that Canada solely used the hanging method makes it even more immoral. The hanging method leaves the offender conscious at his painful moment of death. If Canada did bring back the death penalty, my preferred method would be lethal injection. It’s more peaceful, in the sense that the offender drifts off into an endless sleep as opposed to gasping for your last few breathes of air through a snapped neck. However, any method of execution still remains inhumane because it is the deliberate killing of another human being. At least for the Canadian Charter’s sake, the Canadian government should continue to abolish capital punishment.
