Essay about Gustav Dorés picture
US’ sentences and capital punishments

The picture is called ‘Exercise Yard’, and is made by Gustav Doré in 1872. The picture illustrates a flock of prisoners walking around in a circle at Newgate Prison in London. In the time the picture was made, London also had capital punishment and rough prison sentences. In the US some states still have capital punishment - for example California, Texas, Tennessee and Florida etc. Many states have abolished it, but it still exists, especially in the US.
Capital punishment is in debate and discussion all over the world, and it has always been a taboo as everyone knows they are going to die someday, but apart from that we do not know anything about death, and many people fear it. Capital punishment was repealed in 1972 because of an innocent man who were charged with death penalty for a murder he did not commit. Four years later in 1976 capital punishment got re-established and today in year 2016 the US still has it. As I said before there are many different opinions and arguments for and against capital punishment – so it is basically impossible to define whether it is wrong or right.

Some people believe that death penalty is a good punishment to have in society. These people believe that if you do something horrible, for example kills a significant or major person, you are not suitable for the society and you have to “kick the bucket” and evaporate from the surrounding world. It is not only political and personal views that have a great influence in people’s opinion, but also religious convictions. As The Old Testament says: “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” This is a really famous quote that says revenge is acceptable, as long as the revenge is the actual same as the grieve that was applied to you. However the Bible also says that murder is wrong no matter what, which is pretty