A just society ought not to use the death penalty as a form of punishment

Thank you Pro: Just Society: A morally and rightly fair ordered community. Punishment: Penalty imposed, as for a violation of law. Death Penalty (capital punishment): A death penalty for a punishment. "I note the continued difficulty of justifying capital punishment in terms of its ability to deter crime, to incapacitate offenders, or to rehabilitate criminals." Stephen Beyer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Since I agree with this quote, it is easy to bring up my value for this round: Utilitarianism. My value criteria will be Equality. Contention 1. The death penalty helps to deter crime. The death penalty, a severe punishment, would be more effective in stopping crime than a life imprisonment would. When someone is actually killed for a crime, it puts a permanent inscription in your mind; when you know you can be killed for a crime you might think twice before committing crimes. When you kill someone and you only get a lifetime imprisonment for it, other people will not be afraid to commit the same crime again. But if you give the person a death penalty, others will learn not to commit horrible crimes anymore. By using death as a punishment, since it is a serious punishment, it will open up the eyes of people around and help them to learn their lesson. Now then, more and more people will stop committing crimes and have a less dangerous community to live in. Contention 2. What would be the best for everyone in the future and present day. When you are on death row because you were the main committer of a huge massacre, then more people would want you dead than alive. It would be best for the society as a whole to take away this killer forever instead of leaving him imprisoned for life where there is a possibility of escaping. He should not still be allowed to be part of a society; people would not want him there anymore, and nobody would want him anywhere near themselves for fear that he might try and do something to them. Also, if you give this guy a death penalty, then the people who have lost their loved ones will have a better feeling inside of them. Plus, if someone where to murder your parents purposely, when you grow up the possibility is high that you would want to take revenge on the killer's family too, thus killing innocent people who had nothing to do with the killing. By using the death penalty, you are eliminating years of feud. Now less people will get killed, which is a good thing for all of us because if you were in a society that had many killings everyday, then I bet that you would not want to live there anymore. Contention 3. The death penalty balances the deaths of people. When you have just killed someone, you have no right to be living either. Lifetime imprisonment would not work in this type of situation simply because it would not be an equal deterrent. By killing someone, you are taking away their right to life, so someone else should be able to take away your right to life too. That way, the deaths are balanced and everyone is still living fairly. If you give this dude a lifetime imprisonment, nothing is balanced out because many people have their lives taken away, but you are still letting the guy stay alive! This way, it would be equal for everyone. Thank you everyone, and please vote for me!