Benefits of Capital Punishment Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Capital Punishment Essay Though death penalty law has received insurmountable onslaught from the opposing activists and human rights campaigners, a number of states have maintained a hard stance and stood their grounds, this has been with good reasons. It is also in the clear understanding of its benefits and the hollowness of the counter claims. The position of this paper is that capital punishment has a wide range of benefits to a nation. Capital punishment deters crime, curbs recidivism, controls overcrowding and reduces the cost of maintaining inmates serving life sentences. A number of econometric studies conducted between 1978 and 2000 in the United States by a number of scholars bear the truth about the deterrence abilities of capital punishment (Paul R. Z. , 2006, 34). These studies have established the obvious, just as incarceration deters crime so does capital punishment. Capital punishment simply refers to an act by state of executing criminals found to have committed capital offenses. History has it that the origin of capital punishment was necessitated by the need to quell soaring rates of grievous crimes and political dissent. There are various crimes that are punished using death penalty; these however usually vary from one country to another and are a product of a states traditions and societal expectations. In China corruption is considered serious enough to attract a death penalty. Majority of countries regard drug trafficking, rape and cold blood premeditated murders as capital offences. Zhiqiang Liu (2004, 12), an economist, is particularly categorical in his study of the ability of capital punishment to deter crime. He goes forth and posits that one execution of criminal by state goes ahead to safeguard about eight lives of potential victims, this is in accordance to a study he conducted in the United States between the early 1930s and the late 1960s. This study is quite confident on the relationship between executions and crimes rate. These findings had earlier been echoed by H. Naci Mocan and R. Kaj Gittings (2003, 29) in a state level study conducted for a period of 20 years up to 1997. The conclusion of this study was reached after a careful analysis of the homicidal and imprisonment rates compared with the rate of capital penalties meted out. The conclusion was that each execution carried out went ahead and reduced the number of homicidal cases after while rescinding of a death penalty generated a significant increase of murder cases. The issue of deterrence has received quite a sizeable proportion of interest from academicians. This interest is not only as a result of its relation to capital punishments only but also in regard to other crimes as well. One of the reasons behind incarceration in addition to locking out criminal elements away from the precincts of the society is to deter occurrences of similar crimes from potential criminals. Theories have been put forward to analyze the effects of imprisonment and punishment as a form of deterrence. Most scholars have found a correlation between the two. The fear of imprisonment, fines and other forms of punishment is one big reason why many people would rather not go against the law. Early philosophers theorized about the origin of state saying it was brought forth to arrest the anarchical situation that reigned in the original state of nature. The presence of state also gave birth to the need to create laws and spell out the nature of punishment for the violators, such punishment would be meant to deter. There is an undeniable link between deterrence and punishment and the harsher the punishment, the more efficient the deterrence (Van den Haag, E. , 1975). The idea hence that harsh punishment meted out against criminals does not deter similar occurrences is inconceivable; almost all scholars are in agreement that capital punishment should be given to the elements in the society charged with grievous crimes. The basic argument here should be that the nature of crime one commits should attract an equally harsh punishment. Capital crimes rank the highest. None would be harsher than death and this would go ahead in preventing others with similar intentions. A total of 53 criminals were executed in the United States two years ago (Amnesty international, 2007). A bigger portion of those were in Texas. Critics admit that these executions went a long way in curbing crimes in the states that they were carried out and most studies agree. The issue of deterrence hence is unquestionable. A secondary objective of capital punishment on capital offenses is to stigmatize grievous crimes like rape and murder. It seeks to portray the horrific nature of such acts. Nothing would portray this better than an execution. Capital crimes cannot be deterred effectively by imposing light sentences or life imprisonments with an option of a parole. It is not in question that prospects of imprisonment would deter future acts of crimes, but this might not be applicable in well mapped out and executed murders. The prospect of a parole itself negates the deterrence that could have been achieved. The prospects of a death penalty on the other hand make any criminal to have second thoughts before contemplate on taking innocent lives. Capital punishments with an intention of deterring crimes should not only be carried out but they should also be highly publicized to ensure that such news reach all quarters (Hugo A. B. , 1997, 67). . Texas has an exceptionally high proportion of executions being with over half of all executions in the United States. These executions have been on the increase in these recent past years. Dale O. Cloninger and Roberto Marchesni (2001, 62) carried out a study with an intention of comparing two periods, when in one, executions were near zero and in another where there were remarkably high number of executions. This study found that the deterrence hypothesis holds. The numbers of homicide cases reported when there were minimal executions were higher than in when the number of executions went up. Other studies have found that executions conducted in one state have a spill over effect to other areas. Executions in one state may result to a reduced rate of capital crimes in a neighboring state indicating how efficient the idea of deterrence is (Van den Haag, Ernest, 1975, 26). Deterrence operates within a framework of three assumptions; the first one is based on what the law stipulates. The contents of the law are themselves enough to deter crime; a tough law goes a long way in preventing criminal tendencies. The second one is punishment. Everyone should be made aware of what the punishment for violating a certain law is. The third aspect is the certainty of such a punishment. This is where capital punishment comes and it is ascertained through carrying out executions. The state goes right ahead in achieving this and deterrence is achieved. Robertson I (1989, 33) notes that â€Å"through punishment corrections serve to deter the offender from deviating and it scares others who might be tempted into crime† Capital punishment has also a cost advantage. In the process of meting out a judgment especially for the lesser crimes, the court determines whether to imprison or fine an individual by looking at the possible costs of incarceration, the nature of the crime and the character of the individual. This is a complicated formula that puts into consideration even the salaries and expenses of the probation officers alongside other costs. The average cost of maintaining a prisoner for a whole year in prison as established in the finding conducted in 2003 is well above twenty-five thousand dollars. This number if multiplied with the millions serving jail sentences in the United States really puts a strain on the public coffers. Fines and paroles are important ways of circumventing this cost and to a greater extent eradicates the social and health issues that arise as a result of the increasing over crowding in the jails today, especially occasioned by the three strikes law. The prisons in most countries, United States included, are always carrying above the expected capacity. Although the intention of capital punishment is not to decongest prisons, when imposed, it goes ahead to achieve this. The costs of congestion are insurmountable both social and economic (Gottfried, T. , 1997, 78).

The Evil Soul Revealed in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Heart of Darkness:  Ã‚   Evil Soul Revealed  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, there is a great interpretation of the feelings of the characters and uncertainties of the Congo. This intricate story reveals much symbolism due to Conrad's theme based on the lies and good and evil, which interact together in every man. By probing into the heart of the jungle Conrad was trying to convey an impression about the heart of man through symbolism of the jungle itself and the manager. The story is written as seen through Marlow's eyes. Marlow is a follower of the sea. His voyage up the Congo is his first experience in freshwater navigation. He longs to see Kurtz, in the hope of appreciating all that Kurtz finds endearing in the African jungle. Marlow does not get the opportunity to see Kurtz until he is so disease-stricken he looks more like death than a person. There are no good looks or health. In the story Marlow remarks that Kurtz resembles â€Å"an animated image of death carved out of old ivory† (Conrad page #). Like Marlow, Kurtz is seen as an honorable man to many admirers; but he is also a thief, murderer, raider, persecutor, and above all he allows himself to be worshipped as a god. Both men had good intentions to seek, yet Kurtz seemed a "universally genius" lacking basic integrity or a sense of responsibility (Roberts 43). In the end they form one symbolic unity. Marlow and Kurtz are the light and dark selves of a single person. Meaning each one is what the other might have been.   Kurtz is the violent devil Marlow describes at the story's beginning. It was his ability to control men through fear and adoration that led Marlow to signify this. Throughout the story Conrad builds an unhealthy darkness. At every turn he sees evil lurking within the land. Every image is dreary and dark. The deadly Congo snakes to link itself with the sea and all other rivers of darkness and light. The setting of these adventurous and moral quests is the great jungle, in which most of the story takes place. As a symbol the forest encloses all, and in the heart of the African journey Marlow enters the dark cavern of his own heart. It even becomes an image of a vast catacomb of evil, in which Kurtz dies, but from which Marlow emerges spiritually reborn.

The Sustainability Of The South African Coastal Environmental Sciences Essay

The sustainability of South Africa ‘s coastal systems is at hazard due to many lending factors and South Africa as a state has begun to take action. Sustainability is the ability to reap or utilize the resource without doing depletion or lasting harm. South Africa needs to aim the jobs and set into action the Torahs that will guarantee the sustainability of South Africa ‘s coastal ecosystems and resources. The South African coastline stretches for about 3000 kilometer from the north-west adust boundary line with Namibia, around the Cape to the booming Eastern St Lucia estuaries near the Mozambique boundary line. The coastline is rugged and exposed to high moving ridge energy. For most of the twelvemonth, there are air currents along the seashore. South Africa ‘s east seashore is characterised by comparatively warm H2O, whilst the West seashore has colder Atlantic H2O. In the South, intermediate temperatures are prevailing. The alimentary rich Waterss off the south West seashore support abundant marine life while a smaller measure of fish but a greater diverseness of species can be located off the E seashore. These available resources offer chances for South Africa ‘s hereafter development, both socially and economically. Like many other states, South Africa is going progressively cognizant of the importance of the proper direction of marine resources. Extreme force per unit area is being placed on the oceans by angling vass that are able to easy turn up and catch big sums of fish. In many cases, marine life, other than comestible fish, is being caught in the fishing cyberspaces and this is holding a negative impact on the sustainability of South Africa ‘s marine resources. Fishing is a primary economic activity in South Africa. The demand for resources has resulted in fish stocks being over harvested. The depletion of these resources has and will hold rough effects for the communities depending on them and the South African economic system in general. Rural countries where the communities rely on the usage of marine resources for their subsistence have increased force per unit area on these marine beginnings through the harvest home of fish, mussels, crayfish and ear-shell and therefore hold ad ded to the force per unit area on resources. Every twelvemonth, about 4000 ships pass the Cape of Good Hope. Due to the notoriously bad conditions conditions along the Cape seashore, the hazard of marine pollution additions, peculiarly from oil oilers. Due to the high figure of foreign ships dispatching their ballast H2O in South African ports, a figure of foreign invasive Marine beings have been introduced into the South Africa coastal Waterss. These invasive beings are replacing autochthonal beings, thereby puting utmost force per unit area on autochthonal beings which could finally ensue in the autochthonal beings vanishing from the South African seashore line wholly. The individual greatest subscriber to environmental alteration in the coastal zone of South Africa is population growing and related development. Much of the state ‘s coastal development revolves around seven big commercial ports including Cape Town, Durban and Richards Bay. The alteration in coastal land usage, through urban invasion, consequences in estuaries being placed under environmental strain from the environing land based home grounds. This strain frequently consequences in the closing of the estuaries and the impairment of marine H2O quality, which increases human wellness hazards because of sewerage, storm H2O and other wastewater being discharged into the estuaries. There are about 63 outflowing mercantile establishments located along the South African seashore. These mercantile establishments daily discharge a big volume of sewage and industrial waste into the sea. This causes bathing H2O and marine beings such as shrimps and mussels to go contaminated. Previously, there were legion provincial coastal development policies in topographic point in South Africa. This resulted in an uneffective scheme. In add-on, many offices were under staffed and underfunded which resulted in confused and contradictory attacks to coastal zone direction. This was exacerbated by the hold in O.K.ing support to pull off negative impacts on the coastal zone including the discharge of untreated sewerage along the shoreline. Although there has been extended research of South Africa ‘s coastal and marine systems, there are still many countries which have non yet been researched and which have resulted in many spreads in the scientific apprehension of these systems. Much of the bing information relates to piscaries including estuarial ecology. However, and although the alteration in coastal land usage is impacted on badly through urban invasion, this country of research is still dawdling behind. Marine diamond excavation along the west seashore of South Africa is being undertaken, in peculiar between the Orange River oral cavity and Lambert ‘s Bay. This excavation disrupts the seabed therefore upseting the bing home grounds of marine life. This break takes decennaries to retrieve and it is unknown whether these home grounds of all time return to their original province. Miners along the east seashore of South Africa besides mine a figure of heavy metals such as Ti. This excavation impacts negatively on and upset the sand dunes systems and estuaries. In peculiar, the damming of laguna H2O by the mineworkers adversely affects fish and crustaceans in the lagunas. South African ‘s duty and execution of policies to protect its coastal and Marine systems has historically been fragmented. However, and over the past figure of old ages, it has introduced environmental statute law and policies which have resulted in new Torahs to increase the functionality and sustainability of the South African coastal and marine systems. These Torahs and policies were introduced as a consequence of international legal duties placed on South Africa and South Africa recognizing that it has a responsible function to play in the direction and usage of its coastline and marine systems. The Torahs that have been introduced hence require more effectual and efficient direction of the seashore and marine systems. Included in the new Torahs which have been introduced, South Africa promulgated the National Environmental ; Integrated Coastal Management Act that became jurisprudence in December 2009. This jurisprudence is dedicated to guaranting the sustainability of Sou th Africa ‘s coastal and marine systems. The act besides makes mention to coordinated and incorporate direction of the coastal zones, and the saving, protection and extension of coastal public belongings. Apart from the coastal direction stairss, which have been taken, the Government of South Africa has established an estuarine research and direction unit to advance the direction of estuarial systems in South Africa. As the control of pollution at sea is besides an of import facet of continuing the coastal and marine systems in South Africa, South Africa has followed international tendencies and introduced statute law to command pollution at sea. This statute law has been extended to include an oil spillage program for the South African coastline to guarantee that in the event of there being an oil spill, that those who are responsible for battling oil spills along the seashore, are good placed to make so. Last, the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention empowers South Afric a to command all activities within its sole economic zone. This jurisprudence assists South Africa in cut downing the possible hazard of pollution along its coastline as it has the sole and sole authorization to modulate activities within this zone. South Africa needs to take action and do certain that many follow and abide by the Torahs put in topographic point Through the execution and enforcement of Torahs, South Africa will be able to take down the hazard of its sustainability of coastal resources and guarantee the safety of the state ‘s development.

Combining Thrilling and KillingUse of Violence in...

Combining Thrilling and Killing:Use of Violence in Psychological Thrillers As we speak, there is a man holding a gun to the back of your head. The cold muzzle stings the tender skin of your scalp and blood trickles to the floor from where the handcuffs have cut into your wrists. Your heart, sensing death approaching, struggles in vain to slip through its cage of ribs and run screaming into the night, much like how the scream just behind your eyes makes your vision blur and muscles twitch spastically. But perhaps you know the man behind you. Does that make you more or less afraid? Perhaps there’s no man at all. Perhaps it’s you who’s holding that gun. Maybe that gun isn’t there either. Is such a thing possible? A loud BANG is your†¦show more content†¦If a film attempts to be as â€Å"realistic† as possible, as many psychological thrillers do, it will more likely than not contain violence simply because violence is a part of our reality. Just because a good psychological thriller does not necessarily require violence to be intense and suspenseful does not mean that violence is always an indication of trashy cinema. What discriminates between the instances where film violence is powerful and where it is just so much bloody fluff is the accompanying moral and emotional context. A journalist quotes author and film critic Stephen Prince as saying, â€Å"nearly all filmmakers are concentrating on the visual, physical aspects of violence and not on the emotional or spiritual dimensions of it† (Harris 2). A good question to determine the value of a particular instance of violence might be, â€Å"Is the violence a part of the story, or does the story exist merely for the purpose of exhibiting violence?† Most often, if the content is critically integrated into the story, the â€Å"emotional or spiritual dimensions† are being addressed to a far greater extent than if the story is simply a backdrop for che ap eye-candy. A number of excellent examples of such â€Å"meaningful violence† can be seen in the movie Memento, written by Christopher Nolan. His screenplay opens quite bluntly, with â€Å"A