INTRODUCTION
Statement of Problem
In every society, there are acts or behaviour regarded as inimical to the sustenance and perpetuation of the entire social structure. These behaviours, being seen as opposed to the norms and values passionately held by the members of the society do create some kind of disequilibrium and disintegration in the society’s integral parts1. One of the major ones is crime which is result in Punishment. Punishment, as a function of crime, is the infliction of pain or other penalty upon a person or persons for the violation of a social regulations or command. It is also a means by which society tends to curb or obstruct perpetuation of crime. So, punishment may involve loss of money, property, liberty and even in some cases, the loss of live, depending on the kind or form of criminal act committed by the deviant2. Punishment, is a word coined from the Latin word ‘punire’ which implies the infliction of pain or other penalty upon a person for the violation of regulation or command3. In other words, a person deserves some infliction of pain or other penalty for behaving in a way that violates the socially approved rules, codes or laws. One would have a wider view of punishment when considering the concept of crime as defined by Onoge4 as an act or omission which renders the person doing the act or making the omission liable to punishment under any order in council, ordinance, or law or statute.
Ali5 listed capital punishment as one of the four kinds of punishment. Among the four, it is the only one that emphasizes death of an offender. We may believe that its intention is to curb such violent crimes as murder, armed robbery, etc. it is believed within its scope that when applied, then such a deviant act would be abated or less attractive to other members or would-be-offenders in society. Capital punishment involves legally imposed sentence of death penalty on an offender for committing a particular offence or crime termed ‘capital’ by the state6.
Giddens7 describes capital punishment as ‘the state-sanctioned execution of a person who has been convicted of a crime that is punishable by death’. It is a death penalty executed after a process of law carried out by a society’s duly constituted apparatus or apparatuses. It is a legal infliction or imposition of death as a penalty on an offender for violating criminal laws made by the state. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the criminal justice system as the apparatus of the state to carry out the processes. There is a growing body of research that examines why some people highly favour the death penalty, others somewhat favor the death penalty, and still others oppose it to varying degrees8. It is however worthy of note to briefly make mention of two schools of thought on capital punishment. The first clamours for its abolition while the other retention. Some of the abolitionists include Correta King, the widow of the murdered civil right crusader, Martin Luther King Jnr., Catholic Pope, Amnesty International, etc. their argument is summarized in the following9:
a. Evil deed not redeemed by evil deed of retaliation
b. Justice is never advanced in taking of human life
c. Morality is never legalized by murder
d. The death penalty is a communal celebration of sadism, vengeance and vendetta
e. It does not rehabilitate or reform as the punishment is ultimate
f. The life of each person remains sacred and inviolable, even when the individual chooses to be deviant, a murderer or an assassin
g. The death penalty is not morally acceptable because it makes correction impossible and the incorrigible will not take correction
h. It is an act of revenge by the state, not to correct or prevent further crimes
i. The fallibility of the criminal justice system
The retentionist school has the likes of Lloyd George, Hugo Adam Bedau, John Locke, BadamosiBabangida, Yahya Jammeh, Adams Oshiomole, and a host of others. Some of their arguments are as follows10:
a. No one can vouch for the incarcerated or released murderer that he will not kill again, therefore the only way to guarantee that no convicted murderer ever commits another murder is to kill them all.
b. A person forfeits his or her right to live when found guilty of taking another man’s life, because he has abused or violated the right to life of his victim
c. Why would right to life or dignity of life be claimed for an offender who took other person’s life?
From the discussion above, the arguments against capital punishment are many but the pleas advanced in its favour are few. Any punishment is supposed to be for the protection of society and for the reformation of the criminal. The purpose of capital punishment is to prevent the same criminals from repeating their crime and by acting as a deterrent to other criminals and potential criminals. But in this respect capital punishment has proved to be a failure as is evident from criminal statistics of those countries where the punishment is in force. Also many crimes are usually single acts of fury or passion. They are done at the spur of the moment. It is very unlikely that the man will repeat such act in future11.
Also yet to be answered question is whether there can be more effective deterrents in comparison to capital punishment. Capital punishment is irrevocable and the error of justice cannot be rectified. Innocent people have been hanged in such circumstances in the past. Similarly in Nigeria, there is great divide between the rich and poor. The rich can always get best legal services but the poor may not be able to even afford a lawyer to fight his case till the end. So it is possible that rich criminals might escape punishment but the poor one might easily reach gallows. People who are against capital punishment have recommended other types of punishment. Government can isolate such murderers in special institutions where they can be humanely treated as patients or people of unsound mind. This can be made as a general campaign of educative and remedial treatment of crime.
Statement of Purpose
The essay is on capital punishment and the quest for moral order. The essay will look at the morality and philosophical values that are central to the continuing controversy over capital punishment. It will also discuss the theories of punishment, support and opposition for capital punishment.
Methodology
The method that shall be adopted in this essay will be critical analysis, conceptual, argumentative, evaluative among others.
Thesis
This work argues the thesis that capital punishment should be adopted in our society in order to curb nefarious acts such as kidnapping, terrorism and others.
Scope and Limitation
This scope of this essay will cover the entire aspect of capital punishment. The study shall be limited to philosophical view of capital punishment and use of Nigeria as examples for capital punishment cases.
Source of Materials
In writing this long essay, much of the information for this study would be gathered from primary sources, such as online articles, journals, publications which would be gotten from the internet. Consultations of relevant text books from Olabisi Onabanjo University library would be made.
GENERAL ORGANISATION
Chapter One: The Meaning and Nature of Capital Punishment
Chapter Two: Meaning and Nature of Morality
Chapter Three: Capital Punishment and the Quest for Moral Order
Chapter Four: Summary and Conclusion
