Most perceive the death penalty as the eventual and decisive refutation of human rights. They consider it to be an organized and well-planned murder of another person in cold blood, which is carried out by states as a form of justice. Amnesty International has opposed the death penalty in all the cases where it was awarded, without considering the seriousness of the crime committed or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. To earn the best grades in your Dissertation, Thesis and college assignments you should choose an academic writing service that will meet your best writing needs.

However, there are proponents of capital punishment who insist that the punishment must fit the crime since justice must be carried out on behalf of the victim.  Justice has different meanings for different people in the world.  Justice is basically considered as an eye for an eye, wherein people are entitled to the same facilities and amenities as citizens of a free and civilized world. Equality and fairness are the basic precepts on which this notion is based. There must be due process and restitution which is proof that justice will be served.

There are many theories of justice, due to the fact that different thinkers and writers have over time had different ideas of how justice, punishment, and rewards should be meted out to people who have taken the lives of others.  One theory is based on J.S. Mills’ Utilitarianism, the second on John Rawls’ Justice as Fairness Theory and the third on Nozick’s Libertarianism. Each of these presupposes a different starting point for the need for justice to be upheld and evil or wrongdoing punished in society. There is a popular notion within the idea of how justice is derived is that it should be dealt with equality. When everyone gets what they deserve and is treated equally in the eyes of the law, justice is said to be done. People should be punished for their crimes in equal measure depending on its severity and consequences in terms of the damage done and whether its effects can be corrected. It reflects the Marxian doctrine of ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. 

The death penalty is given for punishing people who have killed another person and is the oldest form of punishment in the world. Historically, capital punishment has been implemented since man began to live in communities and organized societies. People who committed murder, treason, rape or who destroyed or burned down property were given the death sentence. The ancient Greeks who were ruled at that time by Draco used capital punishment as the most effective form of justice. The Romans also used it for various offenses, and at some time or other, it was widely used by all the major religions of the world.