Wide context

Complete PICLE corpus of essays by Polish advanced EFL students (330,000)

/^t/As the most violent century in human history comes to an end, and as a calmer, more peaceful era does not appear to be in sight, the average recipient of the mass media cannot but be worried that he or she, a family member, or a close friend might, at some point, become the prey of a vicious individual or gang. How might one react? Would it be reasonable to call for a tightening up of the law and stiffer penalties as disincentives to crime? And, in particular, would there be any justification in advocating the retention or (in countries where it no longer exists) the reintroduction of capital punishment? Is it legitimate to suggest that murder should result in the ultimate penalty for the murderer both as an appropriate punishment and as a deterrent to others? If the answers turn out to be in the negative and, above all, that the death penalty is not a reasonable response to serious crime in a violent society, one is compelled to enquire why this is so.