Some People Advocate Death Penalty for those Who Committed Violent Crimes- IELTS Writing Task 2

Some people advocate the death penalty for those who committed violent crimes. Others say that capital punishment is unacceptable in contemporary society. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the death penalty and give your opinion.

Outline

Essay Type

Advantages/Disadvantages essay

Introduction

Paraphrase the topic of the essay and mention that capital punishment is the right approach to severe offenders.

Body paragraphs

Paragraph 1 – Talk about the advantages and exemplify them too.

Paragraph 2 – Implore the disadvantage of how the death penalty is wrong.

Conclusion

Restate your opinions.

Sample Essay

Many people have the perspective that people who commit heinous crimes should be given capital punishment. In contrast, others believe it is not the right approach to punish serious offenders. However, I agree that we will become more vulnerable to violence without it.

On the one hand, compensating the victim’s life with the criminals’ life is an “an-eye-for-an-eye” justice. Apart from that, the cost of imprisonment is avoided. The money which is used in accommodation and budget food can be spared when criminals are punished with state-sanctioned killing. This money could be wisely spent elsewhere, like for the development of the society and the welfare of the people. Furthermore, this way of retribution may create fear in the mind of the perpetrators and many criminalities can be avoided.

On the other hand, no one has the right to take away anyone’s precious life, even for justice. The survival right is the ultimate prerogative of humankind. Additionally, extenuating circumstances and miscarriage of justice should be considered that make people face execution while being wrongfully convicted. Such unfair confinement can take away the lives of innocent people and make other citizens lose faith in law and justice. The right to live is the fundamental right of any human being, and no one can infringe this right, irrespective of the person’s actions.

In conclusion, although the death penalty is an unusual and inhumane method of punishing severe criminals, it is also the best deterrent. Besides, it proves to be the best way of controlling criminals, lessening governmental expenses and preventing other people from committing crimes.

Vocabulary

• Heinous

Meaning – (of a person or wrongful act, especially a crime) utterly odious or wicked.
Example – He got caught red-handed in the most heinous of crimes but she saved him.

• Vulnerable

Meaning – exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
Example – Limited water for washing leaves people vulnerable to skin diseases like scabies.

• Victim

Meaning – a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.
Example – The father of the 16-year-old kidnap victim appealed to her abductors to release her.

• Spared

Meaning – refrain from killing, injuring, or distressing.
Example – Hundreds of dogs and their owners were spared from bad encounters with rattlers.

• Prerogative

Meaning – a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class.
Example – Shades of yellow that included brown were the prerogative of the princes and princesses.

• Extenuating

Meaning – (of a factor or situation) serving to lessen the seriousness of an offence.
Example – The two had a stimulating discussion about whether extenuating circumstances can ever justify murder.

• Execution

Meaning – the carrying out of a sentence of death on a condemned person.
Example – Jews faced execution by the Nazis during the First World War.

• Infringe

Meaning – breaking the terms of a law, agreement, etc.; violation.
Example – If you infringe this particular law, it can lead to severe punishment.

• Confinement

Meaning – the action of confining or state of being confined.
Example – Ken suggested that prisoners will be kept in solitary confinement.

• Deterrent

Meaning – a thing that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something
Example – I have sympathy with anyone who has suffered a burglary, but I fail to see how any of these alarms had a deterrent effect.