People don’t agree that the death penalty should be enforced like it is now. Hear the arguments.
Sayoka, Chisae, Keita, Hiroaki
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Script
Introduction
（sounds of “Death Note”）
narration：Hello, this is ＿.In Japan, the movie “Death Note” caught on. In this movie, the hero killed many evil criminals. Are criminals allowed to be killed? Japanese Students, Sayoka and Takesima, after watching this movie, talk about today’s Capital Punishment System in Japan.
Debating (for: hiroaki, against: Sayoka)
Sayoka: The Genocide Convention is agreed to by many countries, and world is changing away from Capital Punishment. It should be abolished in Japan too.
Hiroaki: I don’t think so. Many people in Japan are for the Capital Punishment. I don’t think Japan should always go along with other countries. Whoever commits murder should make up for the crime, and be put to death.
Sayoka: But criminals may give up their evil ways. They should be alive and make up for the crime. And, if there is Capital Punishment, a false charge might kill a person who seems to have committed murder, but actually didn’t.
Hiroaki: In order to avoid that, in Japan, if you demand a retrial after sentence of Capital Punishment, your execution is delayed for years, and surveyed more in detail. Menda Jiken is the successful case of this system. Mr.Menda was arrested for a murder, which had happened in 1948. He was sentenced to capital punishment. However, he insisted on his innocence, and at last the retrial was accepted in 1980. Then he was proved to be innocent. The retrial system saved his life.
Sayoka: But all false charges can’t be avoided. Once lost life can’t be given back again.
Hiroaki: There may have been a lot of cases of mistaken arrest in old days, but today, with help of advanced DNA research, there are almost no false charges, I think.
Sayoka: It might be true, but… anyway, Capital Punishment is a murder by the government. Hanging is adapted as a way of Capital Punishment in Japan, but this is too cruel. There is no humanity.
Hiroaki: That is a high-winded idea. The bereaved family can’t bear the thought that the criminal who committed murder is still alive. Their family members have actually been killed! If Capital Punishment is abolished, the bereaved family might commit murder as revenge. Endless murders might occur. More and more evil crimes might be committed. In fact, Capital Punishment has come back after being abolished in some states in America
Sayoka: There are many countries without Capital Punishment, and I don’t think such a thing has happened in there. And, in Japan today, there are a cases of a murderer who commits murder in order to be put to death.
Hiroaki: That is an extreme case. After all, prisons are full, and it takes a lot of money to run prisons. The money we paid as a tax! Without Capital Punishment, a lot much money is needed to care for criminals. I think it is unfair that people who had not commit crime should care for people who had committed murders.
Sayoka: I can’t agree with your idea. You are saying that criminals should be killed because it took money to care for them. That is a thoughtless idea.
Hiroaki: Hmm…But if Capital Punishment is abolished now, without life imprisonment, evil criminals can get out of prisons. They might kill people again. A victim’s family said that they can sleep at night peacefully because they know the criminal is in prison.
Ending (Not Conclusion, though)
Sayoka: anyway, Capital Punishment is too cruel. Can you understand how it feels when you are sentenced to be death?
Hiroaki: What? Criminals should be dead. That’s all.
Sayoka: What a cruel man! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!
(Sound of knife stabs man’s body.)