Capital Punishment Essay

Death Penalty The death penalty, outlawed in most of Europe, Canada, Australia and most other countries in the world, is still practiced in almost 40 states in the U.S. Today, there are more than 3,000 people on death row waiting the day of their execution. They are put to death by methods such as hanging, electrocution, lethal injection and by firing squad. Since the death penalty was reinstated bye the supreme court in 1976, by the Gregg v. Georgia decision, more than 525 people have been put to death.

In today’s society, where human rights and human life are supposed to be valued, “responding to one killing with another killing” is not an effective way to deal with the situation (source F). The kind of mentality and consequences capital punishment promotes, provides only revenge, and not justice. This compensation is not beneficial to anyone, because it makes the victim as cruel as the criminal and originates from violence. The Christian Doctrine does not support the capital punishment, and “with other forms of punishment available, the USCCB argues, capital punishment is not an effective cure for society’s greatest ills and crimes” (source E). This type of punishment has no place in modern society, because we are not barbarians, and have less cruel ways of dealing with criminals.

“Capital punishment is literally a life-and-death issue. Sometimes called the death penalty, it is the execution of people who have been found guilty of offenses considered to be capital crimes. In 2015, twenty-eight people (including one woman) were executed in the United States” (“Capital Punishment, Par. 1). During the 15th century in England, there were seven capitals crimes, the crimes included treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape, and arson. However, currently in the United States, murder is the only capital crime that Supreme Court punishes by death. (“Capital Punishment,” Encyclopedia). Capital punishment serves as a deterrent to those contemplating committing a capital crime because the consequence is so severe.

As far back as one can look into human civilization, justice for a murder victim has always been by taking the life of the killer. In today’s society capital punishment is needed to defend it from further harm, bring justice and/or vengeance to the victims of the loved ones, and encourage psychological deterrence. As of today, there are thirty-two states which offer the only just punishment for a crime without parallel and eighteen states having abolished the death penalty.

Capital punishment has been recorded since colonial times. The first death sentence by firing squad was carried out at the Jamestown colony on an alleged spy. The practice was suspended by the Supreme Court in 1972. The last execution before this period was in 1967, before being reinstated in 1976. The new death penalty was tweaked, barring execution for rape, and now mitigating and aggravating factors were considered. While imposition of the death penalty was now less common than before, it should never have been brought back. Life without parole is a more viable option. It costs millions less and also ensures that the public is protected while eliminating the risk of any fatal mistake in the judicial process. Proponents seek capital punishment in more emotionally charged trials than anything. It is more of a witch hunt than the pursuit of justice. An eye for and eye is revenge, and nothing more. Revenge sometimes looks like justice, but these two things are not interchangeable.

If someone committed a crime so harsh, and inhumane do you believe that they should be put to death? The death penalty, also known as capital punishment is defined as “punishment by death for a crime; death penalty.” (Dictionary.com). The first recorded execution in the United States English American colonies was in 1608 (Reggio). There are multiple execution methods such as; beheading, crucifixion, poisoning, hanging, and electrocuting. Currently, as of 2017 capital punishment is legal in 32 out of 50 States in the United States (CNN). This paper will be discussing the benefits and disadvantages of the death penalty currently in the United States.

Other people favour the death penalty because they believe that it prevents and eliminates crime, although there has been no found link between the death penalty and the murder rate. Studies have shown that there is no unusual increase in murders when capital punishment is abolished. According to Amnesty International, about 100 nations have abolished capital punishment. About 90 countries still permit capital punishment, including most developing nations.

Since 1977 there has been 1,188 people executed in the United States. From 1973 there has been 7,482 people executed in the world. The death penalty has been a highly discussed topic in today’s news because it is a controversial issue that has endless reasons of if it is justified or not. Our world is changing at a rapid pace and so our the criminals in it. Some may think that the crimes being committed are getting out of hand. The issue now is what type of punishment do the murderers and brutal criminals receive? Or what type of punishment do they really deserve? Death row and execution is the best option in some people's eyes, but the problem is that some people strongly disagree with this idea. Is the execution of murderers and other brutal criminals really justified?

Criminals convicted of murder or rape need to be executed because they are danger to society and the human race. Other people still argue that one method of execution is just as brutal as the next. The common sense argument that death is the best deterrent of crime

The thought of retribution as a form of capital punishment makes a whole lot of sense too many people. According to Adams (2004) “Retribution has its basis in religious values, which have historically maintained that it is proper to take an "eye for an eye" and a life for a life” (p.1). People have come to believe that if one has done something horrible they should be punished for their actions regardless of religion. When a life is taken by a person the equilibrium of fairness becomes deeply disturbed by nature. The fairness of the life that was taken if it does not receive any justice the people will uproar into violence. The taking of the killer’s life can restore the balance that society needs and shows society that murder itself is intolerable with a hefty consequence attached to it. The taking of the murder’s life will not bring back the victim to their family but it will bring the closure needed for the killer’s crime. The death penalty is needed for the heinous crimes that deserve the worst punishment possible under the law. Any less punishment then this is merely undermining the value that society places on protecting lives. (http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/arguments/argument2a.htm) Elizabeth Adams

Some people say that revenge is sweet yet sentencing capital punishment on another human being for murdering another is rather extreme. It’s absolutely barbaric and makes zero sense to execute a person for killing someone else. The death penalty does not illuminate anything, nor does it settle any issues or issue one might have. We as people ought not be given such power over someone else's life. Someone’s right to life is far more precious than a few week trial. Rather than having just one person’s life taken away from them, you now have two people stripped of their life on this earth. There are numerous upsides and downsides to dealing with the argument of the death penalty. A portion of the facts, assessments and opinions of this issue may

Capital punishment is the execution of a perpetrator for committing a heinous crime (homicide), and it is a hotly debated topic in our society. It has always been a belief for some that if another person wrongs them, they should have the right to take revenge against that person. In the present day, this view still remains, but has been toned down by laws that state the rights of the accused and have developed punishments for offenders. Many, me included, still believe that those punishments are not harsh enough and allow criminals to take advantage of them, knowing that if caught, the punishment is not near enough to make it wise to simply avoid the risk. I believe that capital punishment is an effective

Capital punishment has been around for many years as a way of executing criminals. Despite what most believe, capital punishment is not functional in the American society. Defenders of the death penalty often claim that the execution of criminals will teach others not to do bad, initially decreasing crime rates. Unfortunately, statistics prove that thought to be wrong. Capital punishment also has great flaws. For example, many innocent people have been put to death because of capital punishment. There also is no consistency. Two of the same crimes can be convicted in two different states and the consequences with be different for both offenders. The death penalty shows to be

Thus, governments turned to these violent spectacles in order to curb criminal activities. (Hayburn, 2011). Lastly, the financial cost of death punishment is several times that keeping a person in prison for life. “Many opponents present, as fact, that the cost of the death penalty is so expensive (at least $2 million per case), that we must choose life without parole ('LWOP') at a cost of $1 million for 50 years. Opponents ludicrously claim that the death penalty costs, over time, 3-10 times more than LWOP” (Sharp, 1997)

With all of the arguments against the death penalty, you would think that it’s still being implemented due to its effectiveness at inhibiting crime rates. However, this is not the case, as it has been heavily discredited and proved to not discourage crime rates at all (McElwee). According to “Death Penalty Information Center”, since 1990 there has actually been a higher rate of homicide in states with the death penalty than states without, and in 2015 there was a 25% higher rate of homicide in those death penalty states. This proves that in fact, the death penalty is so brutal on society, that when such violence is condoned via the death penalty, more violence is to follow (Brook). In addition, while one belief is that it is cheaper to kill the criminals instead of housing them, the overall costs of proceeding with the death penalty overtake those of its alternative; life imprisonment. Over the full extent of a case, executing prisoners can be up to three times as expensive as life in prison, due to factors like higher costs of capital punishment trials, automatic appeals, the long review process, and heightened security on death row (Brook). There is no need to fund a more expensive and inefficient means of punishment if there is a more humane and cost effective one available in life