You are the main speaker in an inter-house debate. Write your speech for or against the motion: "Corrupt Public Officers too, Deserve Capital Punishment"

Answer Details

Debate Speech: "Corrupt Public Officers too, Deserve Capital Punishment" (Speaking FOR the motion)

The Chairman, the accurate timekeeper, esteemed panel of judges, my worthy opponents, fellow students, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I stand before you today to support the motion which declares that corrupt public officers too deserve capital punishment.

Definition: A corrupt public officer is a government official who abuses the office and public funds entrusted to him for selfish gain. Capital punishment is the penalty of death imposed by law for the gravest of crimes. My argument is that large-scale corruption is exactly such a grave crime.

My first point is that corruption kills, though silently. When an officer steals the money meant for hospitals, patients die for want of drugs. When he embezzles the funds for good roads, thousands perish in avoidable accidents. The corrupt officer is therefore a mass murderer in disguise, and the murderer already faces death; why should his better-dressed twin escape?

My second point is that the severity of the punishment will deter others. Fines and short prison terms have failed woefully; the thief simply enjoys his loot after release. But no one steals when the price is his own life. The fear of the ultimate penalty will cleanse our public service as nothing else has done.

My third point is that corruption destroys the very life of the nation. It cripples the economy, breeds poverty, and robs millions of unborn generations of their future. A crime so devastating to an entire people surely deserves the highest penalty the law can impose.

My opponents will plead that the death penalty is too harsh and that human life is sacred. But I ask them: was the life of the child who died in an empty hospital not sacred? Mercy for the thief is cruelty to his countless victims.

Ladies and gentlemen, a crime that starves the poor, murders the sick and mortgages our future is no ordinary theft. If we truly love our country, we must treat its plunderers as we treat its murderers. I therefore urge this honourable house to support the motion wholeheartedly.

Thank you, and long live our great nation.