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Death Penalty Debate

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SOC: 101 Introduction to Sociology

The Death Penalty: Is It a Crime Deterrent?

The death penalty is morally permissible punishment for those who kill. Intentionally taking the life of an innocent victim is so malicious that in short supply extenuating circumstances, the murderer surrenders his or her own right to live and society is justified in sentencing him to die. Every year more people are convicted and sentenced to death row. Many are executed. Once a jury has convicted a criminal of an offense they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death penalty and the judge concurs then the criminal will face a form of execution, lethal injection is the most common form used today. There was a period from 1972 to 1976 that capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (Honeyman & Ogloff, 1996). Their reason for this decision was that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. The decision was reversed when new methods of execution were introduced (Honeyman & Ogloff, 1996). The Gallup pole lists public opinion of the life without parole as compared to the death penalty 48% versus 47% (Stop killing, 2007). Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are as many different opinions as there are people. There are many murders each year. Does the death penalty create a deterrent for these criminals? There is a need for the death penalty. There are always two sides to every argument. Both sides may be valid. Those in favor of the death penalty proclaim that it is not used enough (Murry, 2003). According to Murry (2003) there are several points people consider. First is the simple fact that there are way too many murders a year. Next, many people believe the murder rate can and will

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