Jen Albertson

The afternoon of February 12, 1993 was a very difficult day for Denise Bulger and her companion at the time to handle. During this particular day, Denise had taken her two-year-old son James into a shopping mall and ended up leaving without him in hysteria. Two ten-year-old boys had kidnapped James while Denise was distracted in a meat store. The boys wandered around with James for approximately two and a half hours while torturing him the entire time. They spent most of their time with him at a local canal that was secluded from the public eye. There, they beat him relentlessly and killed him, leaving his body along the train tracks for the next train to come and finish him off (Scott The Death of James Bulger). What prompted these boys to commit such an act of violence is still pondering the minds of people today. This act took place in England, which at the present time does not have capital punishment as a mode of punishment. However, what would have happened to these boys if this act were committed in the United States or in any other country that uses the death penalty to punish criminals? The results could have been dramatically different. Capital punishment is a mode of punishment used in the United States and in other places around the world that is at great debate because of the different issues, systems, levels, players, and perspectives involved with this topic.

Stories about the death penalty are often prevalent in our society today. One reason for this is because writers like to write about the stories to make them seem dramatic and suspenseful. When stories are told about these kinds of cases, they are taking the artistic approach to the murder stories. With the case about James Bulger and his two young killers, many people want to make their story into a book or movie (Scott The Death of James Bulger). There are many other movies out there that are also based off of murder stories. One example of a murder story that turned famous was a book and movie called Dead Man Walking. This is simply one of many stories that have been publicized and turned into and artistic feature film.

The historical perspective of capital punishment is interesting because individual morals were never addressed as strongly until this century. It may be true that this has always been an issue for people in previous times, but it doesn't appear that the issue was dealt with as strongly. The evidence that it was not addressed as strongly comes from the fact that the issue of capital punishment has never been such a public controversy until this century. In previous times, leaders from all over the world carried out death sentences with the intent of teaching people what the results were if they committed a crime. This was often prevalent in England. When the death penalty was still in ordinance, England carried out many executions in front of crowds in order to hopefully set an example to what may come if anyone disobeyed the laws. England alone had over 200 capital offenses that existed in the early 1800's. Because of this, they were widely known for their cruelty and there reputation of cruelty is a possible reason for its abolishment (Strange 25). For many of these capital offenses, public hanging, disemboweling, and burning at the stake were the primary means of punishment (25). Public displays also took part in many other places including the United States. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the last recorded executions in the United States was in 1936 when a young black man was hanged in front of a crowd of 20,000 people ( Stat House 1). Places such as England, Canada, and Australia, that all had capital punishment before, no longer have capital punishment for various reasons. The United States is the only democracy left still using capital punishment as a means of punishment for crime.

Not everyone has the same opinion when it comes to whether or not we should have capital punishment. There are many different players who are involved that express their own perspectives on the issue. One of the major players that are involved in this debate are the victims and the victim's families. The opinions of this group tend to vary greatly. It isn't surprising that the victim's families would want the killer or perpetrator severely punished for what they have done to a member of their family. In the murder story about James Bulger, his mother Denise wanted the boys severely punished for their actions. She said that she was against releasing the boys anytime soon because she felt that they were still capable of repeating such acts of cruelty (Scott The Death of James Bulger). Although capital punishment was not an option for the boys because the act was committed in England, she still wanted the boys to be severely punished for what they did. She would possibly consider capital punishment as a reasonable form of punishment if the option were given to her. There are also families out there who forgive the offender and decide that another death would not help the situation or bring back the lost loved one. These situations are harder to come by but are still different perspectives from the same group of players about what to do when faced with this situation.

Other players that are involved in the debate about capital punishment are the criminals themselves. Although they really don't have much say in what happens to them after they have been convicted of a crime, they are still contributors to the debate. The reason for this is because they are the ones having the punishment inflicted upon them. This group of players is obviously a group that is against capital punishment because they do not want to suffer the punishment of death.

This debate has also affected many others including the general public. The opinions of the general public fall under philosophical ideas because it discusses what we as a group tend to believe about capital punishment. The general public often tries to get involved in this situation when they here about it through the media or other means of communication. There are many groups of people who are against capital punishment for several reasons. One of the major reasons that people are against capital punishment is because there is research that shows that capital punishment does not deter crime, which was a major reason for why we had capital punishment in the first place. In previous times when capital punishment was still present in England and other places, the public displays of death were thought to reduce the crime rate by showing what would happen to people who committed such crimes, but this has proved to be false in our time period. According to Capital Punishment: Life or Death, the death penalty doesn't deter crime at all. Isaac Ehrlich did a study of the murder rates across the country for certain years and found that in 1957 there were 8,060 murders committed while in 1982 there were 22,520 murders committed. This shows that capital punishment between these times has no effect on the deterrence rate in the United States (Capital Punishment: Life or Death, Cantu).

Another reason that people are against capital punishment is because they consider this form of punishment to be cruel and unusual. There are many methods that were used in the past and are still being used in certain states such as firing squad, gas chamber, hangings, and the electric chair. In many cases these were considered cruel when killing a person and are no longer the primary methods of death. The primary method used today in the United States is the method of lethal injection. Many believe that this method is just as cruel as the others that have already been discarded. There have been mishaps with these methods of executions, which is why many people consider them cruel and unusual today. There have been many instances in which the prisoner has not died on the first attempt to kill him. All of these methods have had this happen. The electric chair is widely known for having things go wrong while executing the prisoner. There are many times where the prisoner has caught on fire from the electricity and burned before they were pronounced dead. They have also had to electrocute the prisoner several times before they died. The electric chair is not the only method that has had mishaps. When killing people with the firing squad, it often took several minutes for the prisoner to die because some have bled to death. Even in such cases when lethal injection has been used, which is supposed to be the most painless procedure of all, there have been cases where the person didn't have adequate veins because they were IV drug users and were probed for up to an hour to find a vein to inject the lethal poison into.

Another reason that some people are against capital punishment is because there have been some cases in history that have resulted in innocent people dying as a result of mistakes made in the jurisdiction process. There have been more than seventy-five reported cases in the last hundred years in which wrongfully accused people have been found innocent after their sentence was made. Eight of these people were executed (Capital Punishment: Life or Death 1). This statistic alone has made people weary about whether or not they support capital punishment. People who believe that innocent people have died often think that if one person died as a result of mistakes made then there are probably countless others that have also died too.

The issue of cost has also remained an issue when dealing with death penalty cases. This issue takes a look at the economic perspectives regarding capital punishment. According to the Death Penalty Information Center the death penalty costs in North Carolina are approximately $2.16 million per execution over the costs of a person sentenced with life imprisonment (DPIC Report Costs). Although this statistic is based on North Carolina's statistics, the ratio of death penalty money to the money spent on life sentences is the same ratio. The reason that the death penalty is such an expensive method to use is mainly because of all the appeals that are involved before the person actually has the sentence carried out. The appellate court is a major part of the appeals system because it reviews the prisoner's case several times to find out if any errors were made. Also according to the DPIC Reports, if the death penalty was eliminated it would result in several tens of millions of dollars savings annually (DPIC Report Costs).

Although there are many statistics showing that there have been innocent lives lost due to mistakes made in the sentencing process, many people are still supportive of capital punishment. In regards to the idea of killing the innocent, many today believe that with technology and a better penal system that fewer errors will be made so that no innocent people are executed anymore. People who support the death penalty are skeptical about lives being lost nowadays because of the appeals systems that we have. A prisoner on death row goes through the appellate court several times throughout their sentence to ensure that they are guilty, or in some cases innocent of the crimes they were convicted of. There are also many other technological advances that have been made to make sure that they only condemn the person who deserves it. Some of these methods are finger printing, blood sampling, and DNA testing. With these kinds of methods, it is less likely that an innocent person will die as a result of mistakes made.

Another reason why people are supportive of capital punishment is because it is said to be a more humane method than life imprisonment. Supporters of capital punishment feel that life imprisonment is actually more torturous than capital punishment because with capital punishment you do not have to spend the rest of your life in prison. The execution may take as many as ten years to actually get to but it is better then spending the rest of their existence in a cell with no stimulation what so ever (Capital Punishment: Life or Death, Cantu).

The idea of Hammarabi's Code has also been a contributor to why people are supporters of capital punishment. Many feel that the basic motto an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth is an important concept in today's society. This phrase basically means that if you do something to someone else then the same thing should be bestowed upon you as well. For example, if a person kills another person then that person should have the same treatment done to him.

Capital punishment has a very complicated arrangement of levels and systems involved in this debate. The main level in this controversy is the actual death of the prisoner. This is expressed in several areas around the world, including the United States. It is no longer present in places such as Canada, England, and Australia. The alternative in these areas where capital punishment is no longer used for punishing criminals for certain crimes is life imprisonment. Canada, England, and Australia are all places around the world that disagree with the use of capital punishment because of the moral dilemma that often goes along with it. The kinds of crimes that result in either the death penalty or life imprisonment vary greatly. They range anywhere from drug dealing to rape and murder. However, there are also many other forms of punishment that are used today that are meant for crimes less serious than the ones mentioned above. These would include such punishments like house arrest, probation, or seeking professional help if the courts deem that it is necessary. There are many places that exist around the world that don't find capital punishment as an appropriate means of punishment like Canada, England, and Australia to name a few. These are places that believe in alternative systems that should be used when sentencing people who have committed crimes that are considered severe in that particular place.

In the case of James Bulger, nothing can be done to bring him back and justifiable retribution will never be served for what has happened to him. The child murders will never see the effects of the death penalty themselves, but in many places the death penalty would be an appropriate method to use for this case. Capital punishment exists in many places throughout the world and is responsible for much controversy over the issue. The reasons that this topic is so controversial is because there are many players involved who all share different perspectives about this topic. The different players that are often involved in this controversy are the victims and victim's families, the criminal, and the pro/con side that the general public shares. Some of the perspectives that are involved in this controversy are historical perspectives, economic perspectives, anthropological perspectives, artistic perspectives, psychological perspectives, and sociological perspectives. As a result of all the differing perspectives and different players involved, it is evident to see that capital punishment is a hard topic to discuss. It is especially hard to deal with when the criminals are minors like the two killers that killed James Bulger.