It is popular nowadays to execute violent criminals in order to make community safer for governments in the modern world. According to some, death penalty is brutal way to decrease criminal activity. I entirely agree with this point of view for two cogent reasons. It is worthwhile to look into this phenomenon from different aspects.
There is no doubt that in legal system, mistakes can happen. Sometimes, innocent people are wrongly convicted and executed. A good case in point is in United States, eighteen people have been proven innocent and exonerated by DNA testing after serving time on death row. This makes capital punishment very risky as there is no way to undo the mistake.
It can be also argued that death penalty is inhuman and degrading punishment. Because, it violates the most fundamental human right. It is right to live. For examplez more than 35 countries including Brazil, Chile and Uzbekistan are abolished capital punishment but their crime rates not increased. Therefore, there are better ways to deal with criminals without taking their lives.
On the other hand, death penalty help to avoid cost of imprisonment and offenders cannot pose a threat to others. Take in England as an instance, it costs about $60,000 per year to house one prisoner. For this reason government prefer to execute criminals in order to ensure safety of others and avoid imprisonment costs.
By way of conclusion, it seems impossible to create a safer living space without putting violent offenders to death for governments these days. Even though, capital punishment avoids prison expenses, innocent people are wrongly executed and it is inhuman punishment. My personal opinion is that governments should focus on education, rehabilitation and better law enforcement to prevent crime.