...problem with capital punishment in the U.S. is too costly to the taxpayers, we must plan to abolish it, or we all must pay the price. II. Capital punishment is placing a heavy burden on state budgets confronted with budget shortfalls and are forced to close schools, reduce police workforce, and health care state assistance for the poor and unemployed. A. The appeal process for death penalty cases takes over 15 years adding enormous cost to pre-trials and trials (Jost, 2010). 1. It cost states in excess of $1.5 million more to prosecute for each death penalty case as opposed to prosecuting for a life sentence without parole (Barnes, 2010). 2. The burden of the added cost is shared by the entire country in the form of state bailout money (Barnes, 2010). B. As the results of the added cost to the states, many needed services are being cut or eliminated altogether. 1. Over the next five years, it is estimated that it will cost the state of California over $1 billion on Death Row inmates; meanwhile Governor Brown was forced to drastically reduce the budget for education, health-care, and crime prevention (Clark, 2011). 2. The financially strapped citizens of California paid an additional 10% in 2009 wage taxes to help prop up the state budget shortfall (Goldmacher, & Hennigan, 2009). III. The solution is to plan for the federal government repeals of the death penalty and convert them to life sentences without parole. A. Supporters to abolish capital punishment are lobbying...
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...Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is when a person is put to death by the state as a result of a crime. Crimes that can result in the death penalty are known as capital offences. The death penalty is a long debated topic across the world. The word capital comes from the Latin word capitalis, which translates to “of the head.” The word refers to the ancient time when beheading was used to as capital punishment for the crimes. Punishment by death is usually reserved for murder, treason, spying, or military justice. Only the mentally competent adults could receive the capital punishment. The process of capital punishment today is very costly. It takes millions of dollars and only a small amount of people are actually executed. The judicial system is not a hundred percent accurate either, therefore innocent lives could be taken. The increase in cost as well as inconsistent executions results in a flawed capital punishment system which should be abolished. The death penalty began in the ancient times when murder, treason, or killing the ruler of an enemy. In the western culture, death penalty laws were established as early as the Eighteenth Century. Britain had heavy influence on America’s use of the death penalty. Each colony’s laws regarding the death penalty differed. The abolitionist movement started during the colonial times. The northeast was soon influenced by the abolitionist movement in the early to mid Nineteenth Century. In 1846, Michigan was the first state in...
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...It can be very difficult for a family member that have lost someone to the death penalty to express their loved one’s situation with the death penalty. Death penalty is also known as capital punishment or execution. Communities from all over the world have used this punishment at one point in history, in order to avenge criminals. Most common reasons for being sentenced to death were war crimes, war treason, murder, theft, property damage, practicing magic, and espionage. In America and England, there are still cases where the death penalty occurs. In America, the idea of capital punishment has been proposed to be abolished but was rejected. In England, the idea of capital punishment was abolished first and came back into the people’s lives. The idea of abolishing capital punishment is similar in America and in England because it was thought to be abolished by both countries but was approved in England. In America, proposals were made to abolish capital punishment, but were not successful, while in England capital punishment is abolished, which holds meaning to the people in both countries. The United States has had the death penalty since the eighteenth century. Execution in the United States became the first legal system which continues to enforce the law and its responsibilities. The death...
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...CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: SHOULD IT BE ABOLISHED? Capital Punishment: Meaning Punishment can be defined as suffering, loss, pain or penalty inflicted upon an individual by a legal authority, as a consequence of certain acts of commission and omission. Punishment has two aspects. First is ‘utilitarian’ in which punishment is used as a tool for increasing happiness of the society by pointing out to the criminal the wrongfulness of his crime as well presenting the punishment as a deterrent to both the criminal and the society for not repeating the crime. Second aspect is ‘retributive’ which serves as a consolation to the aggrieved or his kin that the criminal has been adequately punished. Capital punishment is the ultimate punishment in which life of a criminal is taken away by a legal authority under a process established by the law. International Scenario Although, UN “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” does not say anything explicitly about death penalty, Article 5 of the said declaration prohibits torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Activists have been arguing that death penalty is cruel and inhuman and hence covered under this article. The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, provides for the total abolition of the death penalty except in times of war or imminent threat of war. Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human...
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...Should Thailand abolish the death penalty? As 31 December 2011, 71 Thai male prisoners were executed by Department of Correction. Most of them are drug traffickers. At least 676 people worldwide were under death sentence in 2011. However, the 676 figure does not include the thousands of people who were believed to have been executed in China. Do you think that is right to put someone guilty to death? Personally, I do not agree with this legal process to put a person to death as a punishment for a crime. I strongly believe that Thailand should abolish the capital punishment. I have three reasons to support my opinion. In my view capital punishment is immoral, cruel, and inhumane. First of all, Thailand is a Buddhism country. Lord Buddha teaches us not to kill any animals. How can kill humans who did something illegal. Is it better to give them a chance to feel guilty and improve themselves by giving them a life sentence? By doing these they can make a social distribution, such as cleaning drains or roads, and so on. Moreover, the Christianity and Bible tell us that no man has the right to decide if another man should live or die. All in all, to kill is sin in all religious. Secondly, death penalty is really cruel because the method of execution. For example, beheading in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, electric chair in the US, hanging in Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore. In addition, every body involved can be psychologically affected. Not only the officers who...
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...the criminal justice system. This paper will attempt to assess the previous, current, and imminent trends in the criminal justice system. This paper will attempt to evaluate and identify recent and future trends, and contemporary issues that the criminal justice system is faced with. The criminal justice system is viewed as a system that presents a harsh existence. Some view the system to be too lenient. There are many people who believe that the criminal justice system has been judged to be one sided. Criminal justice has had trends that have taken place for many centuries. A major issue within the criminal justice system which has had many trends and this is capital punishment. Capital punishment has always existed in the criminal justice system. And it was way worse centuries ago when the form of capital punishment was beheading, this was done with an axe or a sword, this was a cheaper way of executing a criminal and axes and swords were easy to come by. Beheading was considered to be less painful and dishonorable type of execution according the Greeks and the Romans. Beheading was used for its citizens by the Roman Empire. This form of...
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...Most everyone has different views or opinion of the criminal justice system, such as harsh, too lax. favor one side, or the other. Trends have been there for many years but the main issue has been the capital punishment. Capital punishment has been around for centuries but was cheap in those days where they use an axe or a sword to behead a criminal, and this was the method used, and the tools used were always readily available. Throughout the history capital punishment has been an aspect within the criminal justice system, but not accepted by many. Capital punishment is still used but there has been so much controversy, different methods has been used in the past and present, and have advanced with technology, with lethal injection and electrocution. When creating the new method, there were many items being viewed to forbid cruelty and barbaric. Today these methods are used in certain states; although this is legal there are states that want to do away with the practice of capital punishment, and this remains an issue in the criminal justice system. This will always be an issue in the future because there are people who are against the death penalty as others are for it, this will cause more debate as time goes on. There are countries that outlaw capital punishment,...
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...DEATH PENALTY IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT PHI 103: INFORMAL LOGIC JUNE 2, 2012 THE DEATH PENALTY IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT In the United States there are currently 33 states that have the death penalty as a form of punishment. The legal system in the U.S. is imperfect resulting in many innocent people’s convictions of death. There have been several exonerations of innocent people on death row. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, “From 1973-1999 there was an average of 3 exonerations per year. From 2000-2011, there has been an average of 5 exonerations per year” (Death Penalty Information Organization, pg 2 para 3). Because of the imperfections of the legal system there are thousands of people as well as politicians that believe the death penalty should be abolished in the the United States, I am one of the people that are against the death penalty but for more reasons other than just the imperfections of the legal system. The other reasons the death penalty should be abolished are more based on the ethical issues, people’s rights to life, and the economic issues associated with the death penalty. Because of all the exonerations in the past three or four decades this form of justice should be abolished, it is not applies fairly and just and it makes me wonder how many people were actually put to death that were innocent. Fact is that in the 33 states that use the death penalty as a form of punishment do not all use the same guidelines...
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...Penalty Death penalty, from a legal perspective, is the killing of a person by a state authority through judicial process as a punishment for an offense. The capital punishment has been used by nearly all societies and the use of it extends to the beginning of recorded history. People believe that if we owe one’s money, we must pay back for it, so as one’s life. This kind of idea has deeply carved in many people’s mind for a long time. Compared with Christianity, who are strictly on the side of abolishment of the death penalty, Chinese tend to in favor of the saying of an eye for an eye and teeth for teeth. According to Amnesty International, at least 23 countries were known to had executions in 2010 and at least 17,000 people worldwide were sentenced to death. In addition, there are countries which do not publish information on the use of capital punishment, most significantly China, which is estimated to execute hundreds of people each year. Although there are many execution in China each year in the present day, there was a time in Tang Dynasty when the death penalty was abolished. This was in the year 747, enacted by Emperor Xuanzong. Depending on the severity of the crime, a punishment of severe scourging with the thick rod or of exile to the remote Lingnan region might take the place of capital punishment. However the death penalty was restored only 12 years later in 759 in response to the An Lushan Rebellion. At this time in China only...
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...The death penalty, black point of the American democracy Unfortunately Death penalty still exists and is applied in the U.S.A. According to Amnesty International, 58 countries around the world have maintained the capital punishment. United States included. Who has never heard of this controversial and polemical debate? The death penalty is controversial due to its lack of coherence regarding to basic human rights. First of all, it was shown that the American model has advocated democracy and self- determination in the entire world. Consequently, the presence of death penalty in a democratic and developed country can appear as a strange contradiction. How this singularity can be perceived and explained ? As the sociologist Arnaud Gaillard explains in the newspaper “Le Monde”, several hypotheses are possible. Firstly, the violent environment shown by the legalization of guns or the important criminality would agree that death penalty has been part of the American culture for decades. Another plausible cause proposed by A.Gaillard is the young age of the population influencing the construction of the United States by its excesses. This argument can seem excessive since young people should be in favor of the system’s abolition. The youth are certainly more open-minded than the past generation. It is contradictory to Gaillard’s argument. Then, if we look at the death penalty itself...
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...Abolishment of Capital Punishment Desmond Tutu, a South African activist, once famously said, "To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice." I cannot emphasize enough how much I concur with his statement, and how much I feel against the death sentence. After all, it clearly sends out the wrong message: Why kill people who kill people to show that killing is wrong1? The use of capital punishment, frequently known as the death penalty, has extended to the beginning of recorded history. Used by nearly all societies, it has served as a punishment for the most heinous of crimes; ranging from murder to rape, from treason to espionage and even corruption2(Yes, in China!). Through the years, capital punishment has evolved and there were extensive movements towards a less painful and more humane execution. However, can the use of capital punishment ever be justified? There is no doubt it has served its duty of crime deterrence(partly), but I deeply believe that it is time we walk out of the dark history of mankind and into civilisation. As a Singaporean, I am ashamed to say that capital punishment is still legal in my country. Just last year, four people were sentenced to the gallows; two for murder and the other two for drugtrafficking. Despite pressing calls from the public to abolish the death penalty, the government has repeatedly reiterated its position, saying that ‘it is only reserved for very serious crimes3.’ Until the time when capital punishment is abolished...
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...Daniel Kontoh-Boateng Dr. Susannah Chewning ENG 101-301 13 December 2013 The Death Penalty: An Exaggerated Punishment Furman v. Jackson, a case ruled in the State of Georgia in 1972 really aroused concerns regarding the death penalty. Technically, William Henry Furman was found guilty of murder which was supposed to attract a death sentence. However, his death sentence was said to be “arbitrarily and capriciously “applied and therefore regarded a contradiction to the eighth amendment that prohibits excessive bails and fines as well as cruel and unusual punishment. In effect, this argument hindered the death penalty law of forty states and the federal death penalty decrees and altered the sentences of 629 inmates who were on death row during that period (“The Death Penalty in America”). Now, if the death sentence of 629 inmates were commuted at the time, it means that there could have been an alternative form of punishment applied in place of the death penalty. Therefore this gives rise to questions, is the death penalty really necessary? Is the life of the murderer any less valuable than that of the victim? Over the years, the view that the death penalty is a deterrent to serious crime has been immensely debated, in this paper the debate against death penalty as a good deterrent to serious crime will be continued. Democracy is a prime feature of the system of governance in the United States and as part of democracy the freedoms and rights of the people are held in high...
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...Death Penalty Death penalty or capital punishment is the killing person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offenses. People have different opinion about this issue. Some people support death penalty and some people are against death penalty. It is very hard to decide what is right thing with this issue, but both sides have good reasons why should and why we should not have death penalty. In “The Federal Death Penalty as a Safety Valve” the author asserts that “Fifteen states do not have a death penalty, and yet the federal government can federally prosecute capital cases on historically state-prosecuted violent crimes”(Mysliwiec 255). The author thinks that government has to much power when it comes to the death penalty. In U.S. states have power to decide do they want to have death penalty or not. This depends on who is majority in government. Usually republicans are for death penalty and democrats are against death penalty. In “Death penalty views in China, Japan and U.S” the author shows us the study where we can see the level of death penalty support and views on capital punishment among college students from China, Japan and U.S. (Jiang 1). This study is very interesting because we can see how young people from these countries are thinking and what is they opinion about this issue. It was found that Chinese respondents reported the highest level of death penalty support, followed...
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...The Death Penalty: Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right Some crimes that a person may experience in their lifetime are too horrible to put into words. How can one be punished for a crime so unthinkable? Capital punishment could be one way, but how ethical is it really? The first capital punishment recorded on our land was in 1608. The hanging of George Kendall in Virginia’s Jamestown colony was for the offence of “spying for the Spanish.” In the following four centuries people will killed for crimes such as murder, rape, theft, witch craft, and many others (Bedau, Cassell, 2004). Innocent people are killed by capital punishment proving the age old saying “two wrongs do not make a right;” if a person murders another person that person should suffer the punishment of life imprisonment with no chance of parole and not be given an easy way out. Over the last century 139 countries have abolished execution for any crime starting in the 1940’s. The only eight countries had abolished capital punishment and six of those countries were in South and Central America (Sangiorgio, 2011). Abolishing capital punishment really took flight in the 1960’s and over the past two decades and least one country a year has abolished it leaving 58 retentionist countries often practicing capital punishment (Sangiorgio, 2011). In the mid-1990s, an average of 40 countries were known to carry out executions each year, at the beginning of this century executions were reported in 30 countries on average. ...
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...Maira De Leon Professor Bell ENG 1102 July 27th, 2015 Right Denied: The Effects Being Ignored Death by lethal injection, death by electrocution, or any form of the death penalty given that people find to be fit for capital crimes is not a human’s right. We as humans do not have the right to end someone’s life based on the fact that they committed a crime. We have to take into accountability the countless amounts of lives that are impacted by this. Even on the international level, there are hundreds of countries who have abolished the death penalty completely. There is more to this than others think, yet they do not take the time to research or study the adverse effects of what this kind of punishment can cause. The death penalty violates the human right to life and causes a ripple effect that destroys the lives of the families of the individuals being executed. Death penalty supporters can be very profound with their opinions on what they believe is an excellent crime deterrent. In an article written for the Journal of Criminal Justice between May and June 2009, one of the authors by the name Shanhe Jiang stated, “Supporters of the death penalty argue that sentencing criminals to death deters others from committing a similar crime in the future.” He states that future crimes could indeed be deterred because of the continued support for the death penalty. In many cases, people see the death penalty as a form to punish those who commit murder, mass murder, rape and any...
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