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Essay on The Death Penalty Is Morally Unjustified

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The earliest historical record of the death penalty otherwise known as capital punishment goes back as far as the eighteenth century B.C., when the code of King Hammurabi of Babylon listed 25 crimes which were punishable by death. Since then, the uses of the death penalty have prevailed throughout the ages in laws and justice systems of different civilizations. For instance, the Draconian Code of Athens punishes all crimes with the death penalty. During those times, the death penalty involved suffering a gruesome death such as being burnt alive, impaling, crucifixion and stoning (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011).

In America, capital punishment was first implemented with the arrival of early European settlers as a form of …show more content…

On the other hand, those who are against the death penalty hold firm to their belief that the state should not have the power to impose the death penalty since it is an extreme punishment which disregards the sanctity of life.

However if we review the evidences and arguments in depth, it is fair to argue that death penalty should be abolished since firstly, it is an unethical and unjustified punishment. Secondly, it is ineffective at preventing crimes and finally, there has been much evidence of it being arbitrarily imposed.

In this report, the area of research is focused directly on capital punishment in America excluding that of religious and cultural beliefs.
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According to opponents of the death penalty, the death penalty, not only does not heal the wounds and hearts of the victim’s family and society, but it will also inflict more hatred and vengeance in the society. As Morgan (2011) said in her chapter “The Death Penalty Does Not Deliver Justice”, death penalty does not allow the relative of the victims to forgive and forget. For instance, she believes that seeing the cold-blooded execution of the criminal will not bring any peace or healing, rather, she believes that being involved in activities with other friends and relatives of the victim, such as the memorial service for the victim will be more effective in bring about peace and healing. In addition, she believes that arresting rather than executing the offender will bring more

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