In the hypothetical scenario that the federal government legalizes the death penalty for murder in the first degree, I would protest in the streets. This is because I simply disagree with the notion of capital punishment as a form of justice even in the case of murder in the first degree which I shall expand on later. In the event that the Australian government does legalize the death penalty in this country, I am positive that this will go against many people’s personal beliefs and as a result, there will be sufficient people who are angered enough to start protests. It would not be long until some form of protest is organized by the public, whether through conventional methods such as social media or more traditional ways such as knocking on people’s doors for support. Since the most noticeable and public form of protest is protest on the streets, this will surely be carried out one way or another. This is where I want to play my role in expressing my disagreement for the death penalty.

However, protesting in the streets is not a level of action that just involves the actual protest. In the build-up to it, it is vital to spread awareness among the public so that the protest will be as effective as possible. Therefore, upon receiving news and information on where and when the protest is happening, I would be a normal tech-savvy teenager and share it through arguably the most effective way, social media. I would post up the related information on the protest to spread the word so that my friends and family would be aware of it, giving them the chance to take part while also increasing protester numbers. Furthermore, I would also contribute by coming up with catchy slogans and essential statistics regarding the failure of the death penalty to bring justice so that when the protest is filmed by news outlets, citizens around Australia would understand why I, and so many people are protesting. On the actual day of the protest, I would turn up in full force with spirit, hopefully with friends and family members by my side. That being said, if the protest does turn violent, I would try my best to get out and return back home. This is because while violent protests and revolutions arguably bring about the biggest change, fighting against the death penalty is just something that I would protest but honestly not risk my life for. I would also take videos and pictures throughout the protest. Using this, I would then post it up on social media so that even more people will be aware that people are disillusioned with the legalization of the death penalty.

I disagree with the death penalty as a form of proper punishment both on the basis of personal/ethical belief and evidence that it has more negatives than positives. As a Christian, I believe that the government and legal system does not have the right to sentence a person to death, regardless of atrocious crimes committed. The fate of a person should lie alone in God’s hands. A person should not have the right to right a wrong with another wrong. I realize that many people may disagree with this view, but that is my personal view. On the basis of legal justice, the death penalty is a poor choice. Firstly, this is because capital punishment mostly fails to take way the hurt and pain caused by murders. The victim is already dead and nothing can change that. Yes, maybe a sense of justice will be felt by family members but I seriously doubt that the heartbreak of losing a loved one can be healed through the death penalty. There have even been some cases where family members finally feel a sense of closure and peace when they forgive the murderer, something that rarely happens through the execution of the murderer. Maybe my view on this will change if I’m personally affected, but as of now, I truly believe the only way to heal hurt is with love. Corny, yes but true.

Next, the death penalty fails to act as a deterrent to future murderers. Some criminologists claim that they