Capital Punishment, also known as the Death Penalty, has been a part of the United State’s justice system for the majority of the country’s existence. Today, 31 out of the 50 states still recognize the death penalty as a viable option when dealing with high profile crimes, most notably murder and sexual assault. While many people argue that the death penalty should be made illegal, there is also widespread support in favor of keeping the death penalty, leaving the nation divided on the issue. Both sides of the argument possess valid evidence that supports their claims, but in the end, the arguments in favor of the death penalty are noticeably stronger. The death penalty is an appropriate sentence that should continue to be allowed in the …show more content…
One example of the closure that is provided can be seen with a victim of Boston Marathon Bombing, Adrianne Haslet-Davis. In a quote for Time magazine, Adrianne expressed her feelings on the situation. “Many in the survivor community feel like the death penalty offers a sense of justice being done. And that’s what his sentence felt like to me” (Cushing, Renny and Adrianne Haslet-Davis). After the perpetrator was sentenced to death for his actions, Haslet-Davis was able to leave the courtroom feeling satisfied, knowing that the man who had caused her and so many others harm would finally get the justice he deserved. Even more evidence of the justice and closure families of the victims can be seen through the results of a recent study. According to the recent study, over 50% of the families of victims felt fulfilled once the person accused of committing that crime was sentenced to death. (Do families of victims feel justice with the death penalty). The family of a murder victim would most likely not be satisfied if the suspected killer was able to keep his life after taking someone else’s. Knowing that the killer would pay the price for his actions with his life would be a rewarding feeling. The fact that the death penalty provides justice and closure for the families of the victims and the victims themselves is yet …show more content…
Many of those who argue against the morality of the death penalty tend to be backed by Christian beliefs. However, the Bible argues that justice needs to be fair and to the point. “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (The Holy Bible, Deuteronomy 19:21). This quote argues that is it fair to take life from someone if they have taken someone else’s life, and that justice should be viewed as ‘getting even’. With all things considered, this way of thinking seems completely justified, Another argument of those who are concerned about the morality of the death penalty is that lethal injections are inhumane. In reality, death by lethal injection is one of the most fair and most humane ways to die. “Lethal injections work by first rendering the individual unconscious, and then by using the chemical potassium chloride to stop the victim’s heart” (Lethal Injection). Complaints about the amount of pain inmates suffer after undergoing lethal injection and unreasonable and unjustified. Death by lethal injection seems like a much more peaceful way to go than almost any other option out there, which makes it an absolutely ethical process. Even though some people may argue that the death penalty is an immoral process, the truth of the matter is that it is actually quite
More than two centuries ago, the death penalty was commonplace in the United States, but today it is becoming increasingly rare. In the article “Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?”, Diann Rust-Tierney argues that it should be abolished, and Joshua Marquis argues that it should not be abolished. Although the death penalty is prone to error and discrimination, the death penalty should not be abolished because several studies show that the death penalty has a clear deterrent effect, and we need capital punishment for those certain cases in which a killer is beyond redemption.
In the article "The Case Against the Death Penalty," which shows up in Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints, Eric Freedman contends that capital punishment does not discourage fierce crime as well as conflicts with decreasing the crime rate. This essay will analyse Freedman 's article from the perspectives of a working man, a needy individual, and a government official.
Many criminals take the lives of or hurt many people around them. They are later released after doing time in prisons to go on the streets again where they will do the same things over again. "[W]e reserve the death penalty in the United States for the most heinous murders and the most brutal and conscienceless murderers. To sentence killers like those described above to less than death would fail to do justice because the penalty – presumably a long period in prison – would be grossly disproportionate to the heinousness of the crime. Prosecutors, jurors, and the loved ones of murder victims understand this essential point…” Death penalty does the justice right for seriously violent criminals instead of having them do time in prisons to be released.
The death penalty is quickly becoming one of the more controversial topics in the United States. Currently, there are 31 states where capital punishment is legal. As of April 2016, there have been 1,431 executions in the United States, but the number of executions in recent years has been steadily decreasing (Timmons 2017). The death penalty can be put up for moral debate, and one can ask oneself whether the death penalty is ever morally permissible. There are some pros and cons to having capital punishment. For example, deterrence and prevention are good reasons to have the death penalty, but, in reality, the cons far outweigh the possible benefits that may come from capital punishment. The cost of imposing capital punishment is
As stated earlier, people try to convince others that the death penalty is okay by dragging the victims’ families into the argument. Many families just want the trial done and over with. Lorilei Guillory, mother of molested and murdered six year old boy, even asked for mercy for the killer. She had to go through many hurdles just to speak at the trial because she was so against the death penalty. She begged the killer to just plead guilty and accept a life sentence(DPIC, Lupo). On the other side, some families do feel closure when someone is sentenced to death. However, those are far and few between. Most families oppose the death penalty because it drags them through years of trials and ordeals. When it comes down to it and families do not think the death penalty helps ro brings closure, it goes to show that the death
The Death Penalty, or capital punishment is nothing new in the world. SInce the dawn of civilization people were sentenced to death for sometimes even the most minor of crimes, such a theft. As the world has changed in the last few thousand years, so have attitudes toward the Death Penalty,yet it is still a punishment that is carried out throughout the world today. In the United States, as of July of 2015, 31 states in the Union actively carry out the death penalty. Only 19 states have abolished the death penalty and replaced it with life in prison without the possibility of parole as the maximum sentence. However, with the declining popularity of the death penalty in the United States and throughout the world, the question that needs to be
The death penalty is quickly becoming one of the more controversial topics in the United States. Currently, there are 31 states where capital punishment is legal. As of April 2016, there have been 1,431 executions in the United States, but the number of executions in recent years has been steadily decreasing (Timmons 2017). The death penalty can be put up for moral debate, and one can ask oneself whether the death penalty is ever morally permissible. There are some pros and cons to having capital punishment. For example, deterrence and prevention are good reasons to have the death penalty, but, in reality, the cons far outweigh the possible benefits that may come from capital punishment. The
Some crimes cannot be forgiven. That is why we have the death penalty to punish those who did these heinous crimes. Some people oppose this and believe that it is wrong and cruel to put a person to death, no matter how awful the people who did these terrible deeds. I am here to oppose that argument, and to say that we absolutely need the death penalty, to end the lives of these hellish figures. However, the current capital punishment standards should change, as the system is not perfect. I will list my reasons on why we need the death penalty, and analyze the opposing side to the death penalty.
“The use of the death penalty in the United States has been rapidly declining since the end of the 1990s” (Dieter, 2015). This is contrast to the believes of the Founding Fathers where “the death penalty was widely accepted at the time the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights were ratified” (Gardner & Anderson, 2014). While the crimes have not changed, aspects of capital punishment which were once viewed as constitutional, today are deemed cruel and unusual. The prevailing liberal view sees the death penalty as morally unjustified and a vengeful form retribution. “It is the most brutal form of state power, requires massive state administrations and it costs significantly more than life imprisonment which is both more humane and equally effective” (Davidson, 2015). They point to the lack of deterrence it provides and highlight the racial and gender biases of the criminal justice system and the potential for the execution of the innocent by the State. In contrast, those in favor of capital punishment see it as a valid, moral and constitutional punishment as punishments should be imposed in proportion to the crime. The death penalty is reserved for the most violent of crimes in society and without it, justice is not achieved for victims and their families. The death penalty must be viewed again as a valid, moral and legal
The primary reason why people argue against the reinstation of the death penalty is because of the execution of innocent people which in turn, leads to serious miscarriages of justice. This is the primary argument as to why Capital Punishment should not be reinstated because, there have been unlawful executions of innocent civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. This argument aims mainly towards the Derek Bentley case as Derek Bentley was wrongly executed for the murder of a police officer when it was his accomplice, Christopher Craig who pulled the trigger and killed the police officer. It was the phrase “let him have it” that was interpreted to state that it was Bentley who told Craig to kill the officer instead of surrendering the weapon. This case was one of the main pieces of evidence required for protestors to protest about having Capital Punishment abolished in the United Kingdom as Bentley was only 19 when he was executed. The conviction for Derek Bentley was eventually abolished in 1998. Mahmood Hussain Matan was another example of a wrongful execution as he was executed in 1952 after being wrongfully convicted for the murder of Lily Volpert. His case was eventually quashed in 1998 by the Court of Appeal making it the first case referred to the Court of Appeal under the new Criminal Cases Review Commission. This proves why people want the Death Penalty to stay abolished because, over time, there have been serious miscarriages of justice towards the
Every day the news is filled with stories about people being killed in cities such as Chicago, Illinois even Orlando, Florida!! Detectives now have to ask questions about the victims like whether it was the car they were driving, the colors they was wearing, the shoes/clothes they had on, or their choice of partner that caused them to be shot. Some of the motives behind these senseless shootings vary from robbery, drug deals gone wrong to hate crimes which resulted in countless numbers of innocent individuals being killed daily. Some of the perpetrators are identified, apprehended, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Sentence to death may be
Premise 2 your argument was to keep future victims safe and one of your example are prison guards. Prison guards are trained to handle dangerous situations and protect themselves from inmates. It is there job so why would it be okay to kill another person to keep them safe from doing the job they choose. Also, as an abolitionist I believe the death penalty is clearly a denial of a person’s human rights. The death penalty goes against the 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States explicitly prohibits the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment. Well isn’t that what the death punishment promotes. It’s a cruel, heartless and degrading punishment.
The Supreme Court of the United States yesterday ordered the suspension of executions of prisoners waiting on death row since before 2012, when the practice was abolished, reiterating once again that this punishment is completely unconstitutional. This happened after the adoption of a law at the state level was established three years ago in the state of Connecticut banning since then again condemn capital punishment convicted of serious crimes , except for 11 prisoners who were already awaiting their conviction.
In order to become a good communicator, whether it is within a workplace, sport’s team, classroom, community, etc., you must be able to understand, listen and appreciate the perspective of other people, even if you agree with them or not. When arguing for or against a topic, the goal is to convince others to accept you opinion, take your opinion seriously, and you must seek common ground in order to establish some form of compromise. A good communicator must be specific, contestable, significant and reasonable. For this assignment, I will be arguing for and against The Death Penalty.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty is when a state executes someone mostly due to the person committing a serious crime. For the longest time, the death penalty was one of the only forms of punishment but clearly over the last several years that has changed dramatically. Over time the Supreme Court has put in an effort to make restrictions on the death penalty and have hoped that this has strengthened capital punishment in every aspect (Mitchell, 2017). The Supreme Court has taken the time out to make sure that it is a fair and reasonable sentence due to not wanting people behind bars for no apparent reason. Even though today in society citizens have viewed opinions, they either are for or against the death penalty and most have developed several reasons why.