[#13] Capital punishment is essential to control violence in society | IELTS Writing-2

Sample Answer:

The question of whether the death penalty or capital punishment, is necessary to preserve social order and lower violent crime has been controversial. This essay explores the complex arguments supporting different strategies while examining whether the death penalty is necessary to reduce violence in society.

First and foremost, potential criminals are deterred from conducting violent acts by the threat of the death penalty. However, empirical studies have frequently yielded conflicting findings, making it difficult to determine a direct link between lower rates of violent crime and the death sentence, making other criteria, like socioeconomic status and access to education more important in preventing crime.

Additionally, it is also important to take into account the moral and ethical issues raised by the death penalty. Particularly, a serious concern is the possibility of cruel and inhumane treatment during executions, while it is vital to protect human life and avoid the long-lasting effects of unjustified executions. Not only this, it cannot be denied that witnesses, executioners, and the relatives of the victims experience emotional distress.

Lastly, the death penalty involves costly legal procedures that put a heavy financial strain on governments. To justify this, the funds used to uphold the death penalty might be better used to combat the underlying reasons for criminal behavior, prevent crime, and provide rehabilitation.

To recapitulate from the above discourse, it can be deduced that the death sentence is not an appropriate way to deal with violent crime because of the moral and ethical issues it raises as well as the difficulties it has in actually being implemented.

IMPORTANT VOCABULARY

• Controversial: Arousing strong disagreement or debate due to differing opinions or perspectives.
• Deterred: Discouraged or prevented from taking a particular course of action.
• Empirical Studies: Research investigations based on direct observation, experimentation, or data collection.
• Socioeconomic Status: An individual’s or group’s social and economic position within society, often determined by factors like income, education, and occupation.
• Ethical Issues: Moral concerns or dilemmas related to what is right and wrong in a particular situation.
• Inhumane: Lacking compassion or humanity, often involving cruelty or brutality.
• Unjustified: Lacking valid or reasonable justification or support.
• Executions: The act of putting someone to death as a legal punishment, often through methods like hanging, lethal injection, or electrocution.
• Executioners: Those responsible for carrying out executions, typically as part of their official duties.
• Emotional Distress: Severe psychological suffering or mental anguish.
• Financial Strain: Pressure or stress resulting from financial difficulties.
• Uphold: To support, maintain, or defend a principle, law, or position.
• Combat: Engage in a fight or conflict, often in a military or adversarial context.
• Underlying: Situated beneath or providing the basis or foundation for something.
• Rehabilitation: The process of restoring or helping someone regain physical, mental, or social abilities and functioning after an injury, illness, or wrongdoing.