The Death Penalty Is Not Justice

The death penalty also known as capital punishment is an execution in which the person who committed the offence is put to death by the state. It was first practiced in Jamestown colony, 1608. The person was hanged for spying for the Spanish government and was the 1st person sentenced to death in America. Since then, it has been a form to punish the criminals for committing such heinous crimes and putting end to violence and crime rates. Despite how people agree that the death penalty is justifiable, however; it still violates the international human rights laws. These laws were created to protect the lives of all human beings including the criminals, who some might agree they do not deserve to live. Even though some might say that the

“The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes.” Capital punishment has been used as a form of justice in the United States for nearly four centuries. It was first used by Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia

Before achieving independence from Britain, the US followed Britain’s laws and that included capital punishment. The reasons of why someone would be executed varied from colony to colony. (DPIC) The United States Supreme Court almost declared the practice of capital punishment in 1972 because people thought it was unconstitutional. The eighth amendment states ‘Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.’ This particular amendment is suppose to protect the citizens of America from “excessive punishments.” Even if the convicted person plead not guilty and stuck to their original story, if they got the death penalty then that is it. This amendment, though, has not stopped the countless lives—innocent or not—, that have been sentenced to death. Capital punishment supporters argue that death is the only option for people who have allegedly committed heinous crimes such as murder and rape, that is their strongest argument. It is said that the death penalty is supported out of “desire for vengeance or retribution.”

The death penalty is when a person is put to death, by the state, for a crime that they have committed. The death penalty is also called Capital Punishment. The first recording of the death penalty was recorded in 1608 when a man named George Kendall was sentenced to death for spying in Spain. This happened in Virginia and after four years things such as, exchanging goods with Native Americans or killing chickens were considered crimes and people could be punished by death. Capital Punishment had then spread through Pennsylvania to Michigan, and then started spreading throughout the United States.

For many years, there has been a debate of whether or not the death penalty is morally justified. This debate has centered on whether humans have the right to take the lives of other human beings and has long divided people politically and socially. People who are in favor of the death penalty believe that, “Intentionally taking the life of an innocent human being is so evil…the perpetrator forfeits his own right to life”(Pojman, 232). Pojman is unambiguous about murderers as evildoers who do not deserve to live. On the other hand, people who are against the death penalty believe that it is morally wrong to take anyone’s life even if that person committed a heinous crime. The consequences of each position may determine its feasibility.

The United States learned got their use of the death penalty as a form of punishment from their parent country the United Kingdom (Marcus). The first record of capital punishment in America was in the colony of Jamestown in 1608. George Kendall accused John Ratcliff of violent acts towards Indian girls. Ratcliff responded by accusing Kendall of being a Spanish spy and had him executed by firing squad (Adcock). With the countries, new freedom and the issuance of the constitution along with the Bill of Rights, the founding fathers left out anything address capital punishment. This left it up to the individual states to decide their own stances. This resulted in America’s use of capital punishment to vary depending on the state. The supreme court didn’t address Capital Punishment until the 1970’s with the court cases McGautha v. California and Furman v. Georgia. The McGautha v. California case ruled that capital punishment is a fair, just punishment upholding the philosophy that it is okay under the constitution. This ruling was overturned just one year later with the Furman v. Georgia case. In Furman v.

The act of killing another human being cannot be considered retribution because it is irrational. According to a Jesuit priest and community professor, Raymond Scroth, the cycle of vengeance will never end through the enforcement of the death penalty. Expressing this anger will not get rid of the emotion and will instead grow. Others argue that the death penalty is a form of retribution and the offender receives what he deserves, emphasizing the phrase “an eye for an eye.” It should not be left up to the majority to decide another’s punishment. Continuing the quote. according to Gandhi, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world go

Capital punishment in United States also titled as decease penalty, which is a permitted verdict in thirty one states and the American civilian and services lawful systems. Its application is restricted by the amendment of the eight to intensified killings committed by psychologically competent people. Capital punishment existed a consequence for numerous misdemeanors under English mutual regulation, and it was imposed in entire of the early US colonies preceding to the Declaration of Independence. The procedures of execution and the misconducts subject to the decease consequence diverge by state and have reformed over period.

The death penalty is not a justifiable or moral punishment for Dick Hickock’s actions on the night of November 15, 1959, because he is mentally impaired, which causes him to act antisocially and impulsively without thought of future consequence. Additionally the only crime he committed that night was breaking and entering, and robbery.

The death sentence is a form of punishment for the criminals that create first degree offenses or worse. That is the ultimate punishment. It began in the Eighteenth Century B.C. when death penalty laws were first put in place. In the Eleventh Century A.D. William “the Conqueror” would not allow people to be hanged except in cases of murder. Then in 1608 Captain George Kendall became the first recorded execution in the U.S. Over time history changed and new rules were made for the Death Penalty. The constitution eventually came to be, and abolitionist believed that America had evolved within morality standards, away from the death penalty and petitioned to repeal it.

The death penalty has been around since the time of Jesus Christ. Executions have been recorded from the 1600s to present times. From about 1620, the executions by year increased in the US. It has been a steady increase up until the 1930s; later the death penalty dropped to zero in the 1970s and then again rose steadily. US citizens said that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was believed that it was "cruel and unusual" punishment (Kurtis 67). In the 1970s, the executions by year dropped between zero and one then started to rise again in the 1980s. In the year 2000, there were nearly one hundred executions in the US (Biskupic 34). On June 29, 1972, the death penalty was suspended because the existing laws were no longer convincing. However, four years after this occurred, several cases came about in Georgia, Florida, and Texas where lawyers wanted the death penalty. This set new laws in these states and later the Supreme Court decided that the death penalty was constitutional under the Eighth Amendment (Biskupic 34).

Due to the brutality of capital punishment, two human rights are breached when the death penalty is used on convicted criminals: the right to life and the right to live free from torture. Rights for humans are tremendously important to the human race. They are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“Death Penalty”). Within the Universal Declaration, the right to life and to live free from torture are protected. When a person is executed, the death penalty violates both of them. The right to life is a moral principle based on the belief that a human being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another human being (“Death Penalty”). The judge sentencing a person to death is breaking the human right

By reinstating the death penalty, it is not guaranteed that justice will be served. Family and friends of victims of serious crimes are left longing for closure for the actions inflicted and often seek retribution (SOURCE). By allowing the death penalty, the victim’s family and friends are offered closure by the means of taking the assailants life. Commonly known as an “eye for an eye,” this form of punishment is classified as retributive justice as it requires the assailant to give up his or her own life to balance out the social order (SOURCE). In some cases, victim’s families have commented on the closure that the execution of the offender has brought them, as it ends the period of longing for justice for the victim (SOURCE). However, case 36 in Murder Victim Family Members describes the victim’s family feeling relief instead of closure, commenting that they will only receive closure after working within themselves. This view is further evident in comments about closure not being achievable through the execution of the offender as it does not bring back their loved one while allowing the offender to get off easily. The family and friends of the victims that found the death penalty to be unsatisfactory, agree that a life sentence in jail without parole would have been a better opinion. This is due to the offender suffering to the same extent of the victim while in solitary confinement (SOURCE). Furthermore, cases with individuals receiving the death penalty tend to span

When one thinks about the death penalty, they usually think of capital punishment, which is punishment by death as well as a practice by the government of killing people as punishment for serious crimes. Capital punishment has been used in the United States since 1775 when all thirteen colonies were at the outbreak of the American Revolution. It was not until 1787 that the founding fathers allowed the death penalty when writing the constitution. In 1790 United States Congress established a Federal Death Penalty, which was also called the Crimes Act of 1790, that created six capital offenses, treason, counterfeiting, three variations of piracy or felonies on the high seas, and aiding the escape of a capital prisoner, also in that same year the first person was executed under the United States Federal Death Penalty for committing “murder on the high seas”. The end of the 1700s, brought reform for the death penalty laws, like in 1793 the concept of varying degrees of murder was introduced, which softens the death penalty laws.

From the time that America was first colonized, the death penalty has been a punishment carried out in our country (Part I: History of the Death Penalty). Many viewed it as an integral part of