Annie Nagele
Mr. Hill
PreAP English II 2nd Period
3 February 2017
Executing the Death Penalty
In 2015, over one thousand six hundred and thirty-four people were executed through the death penalty, and eighty-nine percent of them occurred in just three countries alone. The United States is one of these countries, with thirty-two states who allow capital punishment, primarily by lethal injections. Although many people believe that the death penalty is a deserving punishment for criminals, capital punishment is inhumane because it makes us as a society commit the same violent acts we hold criminals accountable for.
Killing anyone is wrong, whether they’re a criminal or not. When any state goes through with the death penalty, they are
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Innocent people could also easily be blamed for a crime they didn’t commit. Anyone can plant evidence to make it seem like someone else is in the wrong, and it could cause the innocent to be punished by execution. Although it doesn’t happen often, the wrongly accused on the death row proves that capital punishment may be more inhumane than you think.
Even after these devastating facts, the death penalty still isn’t being put down in the United States. Thirty two of the fifty states in America allow for capital punishment. Lethal injections are the number one way to execute a criminal in America, and there are many other methods offered in select states. Texas, a state that strongly supports capital punishment, was the first state to carry out lethal injections on December 7, 1982 for the execution of Charles Brooks. Texas is also the first in the number of executions in the United States. If Texas made the death penalty illegal, the number of executions in the United States would decrease dramatically. Electrocution, lethal gas, a firing squad and even hangings still occur in the United States and are secondary options for many criminals in the country.
Capital punishment in many places can also be seen as racially bias. Those who make most of the critical death penalty decisions in this country are caucasian. Many studies have shown that around the
Think about it, in some situations, we are people killing people because they killed people. Confusing, I know, but it makes sense. There is also the fact that the death penalty violates what the U.S. was built upon, the Constitution. According to the eight amendment, “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” and last time I checked, capital punishment is a cruel and unusual punishment that resulted in the death of so many people. It proves that the death penalty is unconstitutional and is an inhumane punishment that is forced upon many. Also, the fact that some states in the United States allow capital punishment is duplicitous. Our government allows it in certain places, yet based on one of our amendments; it should not be allowed whatsoever because it really is a “cruel and unusual
have laws for capital punishment. However, upon review of these punishments it is easy to see why they should be unconstitutional. These punishments harm the innocent, waste money, and are simply barbaric. When executioners can perform state sanctioned executions without batting an eye there is a problem. Executions simply do not work and cause unnecessary agony. Instead of punishments states should try to focus on
Since 2012, the use of lethal injection has been legal in 31 states, to contaminate a convict. 1,423 people innocent and guilty have died from the death penalty since 1972. I strongly believe that the death penalty is unconstitutional being that it violates the Eighth Amendment, irreversible, and executes a large amount of hypocrisy.
Out of the 50 states, 26 of them have had at least one death row execution. American people (approximately 65%) say that they are still strong supporters in the Death Penalty. That is over half of the American population, for the Death Penalty. One may argue that it is a horrible way of giving people what they deserve; however, those people may not see the mistakes these people have made, making them not agree with this act. As this may be a contradiction, capital punishments is one of the life learning punishments known. It is legal in many states, but that doesn’t make it fair to all because its blameful, the cost is outrageous, and it’s time that needs to be spent helping, instead of killing.
In the United States, there are around 40 to 50 executions per year, Texas with 10 or more prisoners put to death each year. Texas has the highest rate of deaths out of all the other states with the death penalty. Texas currently has three prisoners put to death already. The United States has currently 31 states with the death penalty; the remaining states abolished it. The death penalty should be abolished because of the cost, it shortens punishment for the person who did the crime,and it puts innocent lives at risk.
The use of capital punishment is a contentious social issue in the United States. Currently, it is a legal sentence in thirty-two states and illegal in eighteen (States With and Without the Death Penalty). Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty is “the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime” (Oxford Dictionaries). A sentencing for the death penalty can be mete out due to a capital offense of treason, murder, arson, or rape. The most commonly used methods for capital punishment include lethal injection, handing, and electrocution. The act of capital punishment is unethical and immoral. Capital punishment is
My initial assumption on how racial bias affects the capital punishment. Racial bias has a major factor in capital punishment case. We have to take into consideration on how society sees and feels about the individual race and skin color. For example, we have Jose who did not commit the crime, but he belongs to a race that society see them as thugs, criminals, people who break the rules and hurt other people. On the other hand, we have Billy an individual who committed the crime, but he belongs to a race that society see them as the good people, people who follow the rules and help others. Jose will have a bigger opportunity to be sentenced to death than Billy just because society sees his race as criminals. Racial bias does have a significant
Capital punishment is a global issue and it is a question of life and death. Capital punishment is when the government kills a person by using legal means, and sometimes it is called the death penalty. The death penalty is the prosecution of people who have been found guilty of malefaction that is measured to be worthy of capital punishment. Capital punishment has been practiced for many years, in the United States and across the world. In the United States, each state has the right to accept if they will use capital punishment for committed crimes by an individual in their state or not. There are many factors that should not be ignored because there has to be actual evidence and people who can testimony on exactly what happened, but that is not what happens. As Stephen mentions, “America is still one of the world’s Big Six when it comes to putting its citizens to death – along with China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan. Gallup says that around 65 per cent of Americans still favor the death penalty, and only one of the 2008 presidential frontrunners has the courage to oppose it” (32-33). The death penalty is practiced in the United State, but few states have abrogated it, including Minnesota. States like Texas still practice the death penalty in the United States. According to Fuller, … Texas has executed 876 people since 1964, and it is one of the States that practice the death penalty more than any other State . The state accounts for nearly 40 percent of executions in
R: 38 of 50 states practice death penalty and every state has its own laws about death penalty. Crimes, which are being considered as a federal crime for example a murder of a police officer, the criminal is sentenced death penalty, regardless of the laws of the State and the prosecutor has the right to require the capital punishment. The U.S has always practised the death penalty except for a period between 1972 and 1976. 1,080 people have been executed since 1976, and the state of Texas has been responsible for the 394. The first American who was executed was Gary Mark Gilmore, who was shot in Utah 17 January 1977. Texas is the state in America that executes the most people. In 2008 they executed 17 people. When George W. Bush was governor of Texas 1995 to 2000 he ordered a total of 152 executions carried out. Texas has been responsible for over 36 % of all executions since 1977. A lot of Americans are against death penalty and so is the organization, Amnesty
How would you like to be put into a situation where you or a loved one is innocently executed by the death penalty? I know that I wouldn’t. Seeing this, the death penalty is a very controversial issue in which I believe that it should be banned from its allowance in the United States. The three biggest reasons for this are that innocent people are wrongly executed, it is also a form of revenge, and mental illness plagues some victims of the death penalty
Executions have been a method of punishment for many years, yet the different types of executions have advanced in technology over the years. Every state has a different way of executing criminals. For example, Texas follows out the execution plan by conducting death by lethal injection. Our state law allows a jury to vote for “death by lethal injection” for convicted criminals, and I would vote to change this law.
punishment by death, crimes that are punishable by death include first degree murder, terrorism, and espionage (“Capital Punishment”). The death penalty can be viewed as inhumane because if someone is sentenced to death and later found to be innocent there's no bringing that person back to life. Today there are thirty-six countries that practice the death penalty and the U.S. is the only western country that still uses the death penalty(“Capital Punishment”). The U.S. being the only western country to still use capital punishment can cause controversy because of all the money that is spent on it. The death penalty is inhumane and puts an economic burden on
The death penalty is faulty in its age and obsolete in its usage, and frankly should be put out of its misery. Capital punishment began its time in the Middle Ages, as people were executed for simply thinking differently from the rest of society. Even now, as we look back on history we find their ways of execution purely barbaric and malicious in all its forms. However, we continue to practice these forms of butchery; the traditional method of execution, hanging, is still an option available in certain states. In addition, couple of states also still allow firing squads, and the electrocution chairs has been readily used throughout the last century. The United States stands as one of the few developed nations with a death penalty still in place. There’s a reason most of the European countries have banned the usage of death as punishment, it’s cruel, unusual and barbaric! Is that the image the U.S. wants to portray the alling regions, one of intolerance and unforgiveness? The United States surpasses those barbaric ways, with its exceedingly advanced ways and state-of-the-art technology, yet it’s one of the only countries left of the Western world that still has
The issue of the death penalty has been of great concern and debate for a number of years now. Prior to 1976, the death penalty was banned in the United States. In 1976, though, the ban was lifted, and many states adopted the death penalty in their constitutions. Currently, there are 38 states that use the death penalty, and only 12 states that do not. The states that have the death penalty use a number of ways to go about executing the defendant. Thirty-two states use lethal injection, 10 use electrocution, 6 use the gas chamber, 2 use hanging, and 2 states use a firing squad (Death Penalty Information Center, 1997). The 12 states that do not have the death penalty are Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Capital punishment is a controversial debate in the United States. Many Americans believe that the death penalty is immoral because of its ethical complications. Still others believe that capital punishment is a cheaper and quicker way for justice to be served. When the government houses inmates, vast amounts of money are spent on food, medication, and clothing for inmates to survive in prison. Yet, the majority of America still allows for the practice of capital punishment in several manners such as: hanging, lethal injection and electrocution. However, Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont along with sixteen other states have outlawed this practice. Capital punishment should no longer be practiced in America because of its societal complications.