Death Penalty As A Form Of Punishment

Professor Robert B. Ekelund of Auburn University and his colleagues analyzed the effect that executions have on single murder rates, while there was no effect on multiple murder rates”. In another study, Professor Robert B. Ekelund did find that “capital punishment does, in fact, save lives. Each additional execution appears to deter between three and 18 murders”. Professor Joanna M. Shepherd of Emory University found that each execution, on average, results in 18 fewer murders. By using state-level panel data from 1960 to 2000 they came up with three crucial findings. “First, each execution, on average, is associated with three fewer muders. The deterred murders include both crimes of passion and murders by inmates. Second, executions deter

Radelet, Michael L, and Traci L Lacock. "Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates?: The Views of Leading Criminologists." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. 09.02 (2009): 489-508. Print.

The justice system is filled with opposition. Those who support the use of Supermax, the death penalty and the execution of those who are mentally retarded and juveniles, and those who oppose the above mentioned. The following essay will discuss all mentioned topics.

The death penalty has been around since the beginning of time as a means of punishing criminals, undisputed until the last century or so in terms of whether or not it is an ethical practice. The proponents for the death penalty offer up its ability to deter crime as their main reason for supporting it, their view supported by a functionalist sociological view in that using the death penalty, enough fear will be generated that people will refrain from committing the types of crime that the death penalty is applicable to (Schaefer, 2009). Another reason for favoring it are of an emotional nature; if a person commits a crime of a particularly horrible nature, many may feel that they deserve the death penalty, feeling that “an eye for

Capital punishment has been a part of the U.S criminal justice system for centuries. The death penalty has been the most controversial aspect. The death penalty is legal in 33 states but the rest of the 19 states abolished it. There are over half of Americans that support the death penalty while the rest of them believe that it is unacceptable. People who support the death penalty believe that capital punishment lowers future crime rates, but people who are against it believe that it is a cruel and think innocent people could be mistakenly put to death for something they did not do. Capital punishment should be allowed because it saves lives, decrease the homicide rate, and saves more money for the government.

The death penalty has been around for several around for several years but consists of flaws. The death penalty is costly, it does not deter crime, it has not ended wrongful executions, it goes against almost every religion, abuses human rights, has been persuaded by the types of jury, and can be affected by terrible lawyers.

Some studies had shown that the death penalty actually saves between three and 18 lives when each convicted killer is executed.(Tanner, 2007) Naci Mocan, an economics professor, proves the studies by re-examining data from a previous study. Through re-examining the data, Mocat finds that “each execution results in five fewer homicides, and commuting a death sentence means five more homicides.”(Tanner, 2007) This means that by executing the life of a convicted killer, five lives could potentially be saved. Roy Adler and Michael Summers published a study on this subject. The authors examined U.S. homicides and executions from 1979 to 2004, and observed that the homicides decreased while executions increased (Radelet and Lacock, 2009).

Punishment by death dates back in multiple cultures and societies for as long as records have been kept. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), 4th century’s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets through 18th century Babylon, where around 25 crimes preempted punishment by death, included some documented forms of the death penalty. Common methods in these times included crucifixion, beatings, and burning while alive. European influence brought capital punishment to the Americas where the first execution, occurring in the early 1600s, brought death to Captain George Kendall for holding secretive loyalties to Spain according to DPIC. In the late 1700s Cesare Beccaria composed “On Crimes and Punishment” which strengthened the abolitionist movement (DPIC). Since this time, a movement toward tighter death penalty laws took form. Thomas Jefferson proposed a bill that ultimately fell to defeat in Virginia that would have increased the strictness on whom receives the death penalty and what act constitutes the penalty. In present the day United States, 16 states have outlawed capitol punishment and the other states have undergone a process by which the method attempts to be more humane. As society has become more civilized, a realization of the inhumanities has prevailed. Problems with current methods have become apparent and secondary methods do not offer a solution. Capital Punishment should be banned from practice and ruled unconstitutional because the process

The constitution has also recognized the severity of this sentence. The constitution states that death is a cruel and unusual punishment that should be prohibited. The eighth amendment clearly states there should be no cruel and unusual punishment, “in the Ferguson vs. Georgia case the court deemed the punishment in violation of the eighth amendment, it also discriminated against minorities” (Cassell).On the opposition side people argue that we are living in a new age were capital punishment has come up with more humane way when carried out however this bring me to my next point that this is costly.

I used to think that world of criminal justice was cut and dry, black and white. If you commit a theft you go to jail, if you rape someone you go to jail longer, and if you kill then you are killed. I am for Capital Punishment. I started class with this view and although I have been tested through some of the topics, I stand by my decision. It seemed easy to think that way. Through the course, I have learned how to better articulate and understand my views. I still have the same gut reaction that those who kill get killed, but I now understand why I feel this way. I agree in most part with the practices of the death penalty, although I do feel that some reform would help in the long run, but at the end of the day you get what you deserve. Thinking so harshly seems necessary as we live in harsh world. Murders seem to be awarded more rights than their victims even when it comes to their death sentence. By committing the act of homicide a killer is exercising a choice that they never gave to their victims; they are choosing to die.

North Carolina is one of the states in the United States that has the death penalty as part of the state’s sentencing options. Basically, the death penalty is a punishment for a crime, typically murder, where the individual is put to death by some approved execution method (e.g. lethal injection). The death penalty is mentioned in North Carolina’s constitution. Specifically, Article XI, section 2 of North Carolina’s constitution states that the General Assembly has the power to implement the death penalty as a punishment for specific crimes (N.C. Const. art. XI, § 2). The implementation of the death penalty has changed over the years.

The Death Penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. Death Penalty goes as far back as the Ancient Laws of China as established as punishment for crimes. In the 18th Century BC, the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes, although murder was not one of them. Lex Talionis is the principle or law of retaliation that a punishment inflicted corresponds in degree & kind to the offense of the wrongdoer. It goes along with the commonly known expression, “An eye for an eye,” and etc.

The death penalty sets an example for those who are thinking about doing the same thing. Louis P. Pojman, PHD, said, “Public executions of criminals seem an efficient way to communicate the message that if you shed innocent blood, you will pay a high price... I agree... on the matter of accountability but also believe such publicity would serve to deter homicide." He agrees that it sets an example it sends a message to those who are about to commit that crime. Kent Scheidegger stated, “I believe that an effective, enforced death penalty deters some murders." It will bring down the amount of crimes we have in the U.S and it will bring down the amount of life sentences. The article The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives states “commuted sentences, and death row removals appear to increase the incidence of murder…” With criminals being removed from death row, others may think that they won’t get capital punishment. This evidence proves that capital punishment deters other criminals from

The death penalty is not a discouragement to violent crime. In other words killing a person for a crime does not decrease the amount of crime going on. In fact some studies of states show that the more executions the more murders. A man by the name of Thorsten Sellin did a study on the number of executions vs. the number of murders in two states between the years of 1989 and 2002. Texas with a number of 239 executions had a higher murder rate than New York with a number of zero executions. There are many studies that show that the murder rate is higher in states with an execution law. There are little to no studies that show the opposite. According to, nodeathpenalty.org, The south where 80%

The death penalty is when someone like a criminal would do something so terribly bad that they are executed by lethal injection. The topic of this has been disputed for a lot of years and nobody has really agreed on if it is or is not effective. Study’s show that the argument is split a lot of people think it is bad and a lot of people think it is a bad thing most people don’t want there tax dollars to go to keeping inmates in prison and feeding them. But some people think that it is just too hard of a punishment to kill somebody instead of keeping them in prison.