I would like to take a stand on the death penalty. I
believe the death penalty should continue to be legal in
Korea. The main reasons are as follows.
First, the death penalty acts as a
deterrent to crime and second conviction. Although homicide has the
lowest recidivism rate among five major crimes in Korea, its figure reaches
10%. If the costs of doing something bad become too high, people
will change their behavior to avoid those costs. If the cost decreases, people will indulge in
that behavior once more. Moreover, studies undertaken over a number of years
show that 5 lives could be saved by each execution of a guilty killer.
Secondly, the death penalty allows the state to exact
appropriate retribution in order to realize social justice. Retribution is not
the same as revenge. It is a necessary part of the punishment process. Without
it, the friends and family of the victims as well as the public in general would
not feel that justice had been served. In addition, the Korean Constitutional
Court decided to maintain the death penalty in 2010 and 72% of people in Korea
agree with the application of the death penalty.
Lastly, the cost for prisoners serving life sentences is an
unfair financial burden on the state. According to the data, it costs about 2 million dollars per individual to keep prisoners in death
row. It is unfairly burdensome on the members of society. We all
work hard to make a living. Some people miss their meals since they cannot make
enough money although they work hard all day. This is the
reality of Korea. Assume that the criminals who took the lives of other
people eat well and sleep well in the prison, even get vocational education for
life after release with our taxes. Do you think it is fair, especially to the families of victims?