...John Vera English 101H Professor Kaufman 23 October 2014 Is the Death Penalty Actually Effective? Of the many crimes one could commit, murder, felony manslaughter, espionage, genocide, and treason are a few of the crimes that can lead to one paying with the ultimate price, their own life. Lethal injection, gas chamber, firing squad, electrocution, and hanging are the methods of death afforded for those who commit such heinous acts. However, does knowing the possible consequences of capital offenses deter individuals from committing the crimes? Did it make you stop and think? In the United States the death penalty is used as a punishment for capital offenses. These specifically can vary from state to state, but commonly include first-degree murder, murder with special circumstances, rape with additional bodily harm, and the federal crime of treason. (Facts) The goal of the death penalty then, is to deter these crimes from even taking place, to be so feared that offenders think twice about committing such horrible crimes. But does it? In the following paper, the above question will attempt to be answered by looking at the background of capital punishment and the death penalty, the ideas behind it, viable alternatives, and finally, the effectiveness of the death penalty at deterring crime. Early death penalty laws date back to the Eighteenth Century B.C.. The death penalty also had a heavy presence in the Fourteenth Century Hittite Code, the Seventh Century Draconian Code...
Words: 1473 - Pages: 6
...me is writing. At that time, I realized that writing is never easy for an international student. It is a big challenge to write an academic paper by using the second language. The argument, thesis, word choices and grammar always bother me. However, I know that writing is the most important skill for a college student, so I never stop practicing and improving it. I took a writing class 20C and 39A in my first year. Both of them helped me a lot to improve writing skills. Last quarter, I took 39B, which was my first time to know rhetorical writing. When I take writing 39C this quarter, I learn deeply about the rhetorical and research...
Words: 2375 - Pages: 10
...Is the Death Penalty a Fair and Effective Deterrent in the United States? Abstract The death penalty is the most severe punishment that may be imposed on an individual by the United States government. It denies a person one of their most basic human rights, which is the right to live. One of the purposes of the death penalty is to serve as a deterrent for other would-be criminals. There have been studies conducted to determine if the death penalty is effective in this regard. There is another point of disparity surrounding the death penalty related to the equality of its application. Are all citizens treated equal? This paper takes a closer look at the equality in the application of the death penalty and its effectiveness as a deterrent. Is the Death Penalty a Fair and Effective Deterrent in the United States? The death penalty came to the United States with the first European settlers and continued until the 1960’s. “The 1960s brought challenges to the fundamental legality of the death penalty. Before then, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment, and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.” (Bohm, 1999) Since the 1960’s courts have been battling the issue of the death penalty. Currently there are 38 states that have provisions for the death penalty. What is the purpose of the death...
Words: 1575 - Pages: 7
...three subtopics. Write your thesis statement in the box below: The death penalty is one of the most flawed forms of punishment in the court systems today. It does not penalize a convicted person of 1st degree murder, it echoes ancient roman/ medieval spectacles. | Thesis Statement Grading Criteria: Consider the following questions when developing the thesis statement for your essay. These criteria will be applied when this assignment is graded. The answer to each of the five questions below should be yes if you have drafted a quality thesis statement. 1) Does the thesis statement respond to the writing prompt? Yes 2) Did you take a position that others may oppose? Yes 3) Is the thesis statement specific? Yes 4) Does the thesis pass the “So what?” test? 5) Does the thesis statement not leave the reader with questions? Part 2: Gathering Resources Assignment Directions: Use the GCU elibrary to find three sources to use in your persuasive essay. Fill out the requested information in the table below about your sources. | Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3 | Title and Author(s) | Challenging the Death Penalty w/Statistics: Furman, McCleskey, and a Single County case study.Shats, S. and Dalton, T. | Religious Characteristics and the Death Penalty.Miller, M K., Hayward, R D. | Ending death by dangerousness: A path to the de facto abolition of the death penalty.Berry, William W. | Persistent GCU Library Link |...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...NAME: SALONI KUMARI SEM: 2 ; SECTION: A ROLL NO. : 405 ABSTRACT: DEATH PENALTY “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind” * MAHATMA GANDHI SHOULD THE DEATH PENALTY BE ABOLISHED? According to oxford dictionary death penalty is the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for crime. It is the death sentence awarded for capital offences like crimes involving planned murder, multiple murder, repeated crimes, rape and murder etc. where in criminal provisions consider such person as gross danger to the existence in the society and provide death punishment. So, the purpose of this research paper is to highlight, how death penalty infringes individual’s Right to equality before Law and Right to life and personal liberty under Article 14 and 21 of the constitution as death penalty is one of the most barbaric way to deal with the murder and morally there is nothing that makes us better if we kill those who kill. And, whether the judiciary system removes the chances of punishing innocent completely? Apart from these, do the criminals deserves such an easy death, Is it not important for the criminals to suffer more than the person they attacked as dying at once by death penalty is very easy but dying every day in the jail for the completion of life imprisonment is very tough. But whether the abolishment of death penalty would amount to a rational decision, as the abolition of death penalty completely would amount to repeated crimes or can give a second chance...
Words: 315 - Pages: 2
...Current Event – Role of Special Interest Groups Paper AJS 552 Week 4 The Death Penalty - Public Safety vs. Individual Rights Introduction This paper will focus on the criminal justice system, public safety and civil rights in specific relation to the death penalty as a form of punishment and its effects on society. The execution of criminals and the effects on society are most intriguing and can be debated upon both for and against the issue give a thorough elaboration on criminal executions and the effects on society. In this day and age, research not only illustrates that the death penalty is complex, in more ways than one, but has also raised questions about its relations to deterring crime and the financial impact it has on society. Using current and historical information, such as articles and scholarly articles, to support why this research is important and possible methods society could use to help improve this controversial debate. Summary The Orange County register printed an article on the death penalty and possibly being considered as immoral. “While the commission drops the dime on the mind-numbing cost of administering the death penalty, it barely hints at the moral and ethical depravity of the practice” (Mears, 2008). The article states that there are racial and socioeconomic bias towards the death penalty and how this can and may lead to a cause for concern among citizens. This seems to initiate that in most cases the targets of race are African...
Words: 1072 - Pages: 5
...Death Penalty English Composition CM-220 Unit 2 Assignment March 31, 2013 Death Penalty My “Big Idea” topic is on the death penalty. My thesis statement is: Capital punishment is controversial and people have many different feelings about it but I believe that the death penalty is beneficial to society and the public and that the United States should continue to use capital punishment. When doing research for an essay paper it is important to use reputable sources and avoid unreliable or opinionated web sites or articles, such as Wikipedia and Answers.com. Areas or items I will use to do research for my death penalty paper will be the U.S. Department of Justice, Amnesty International, CNN news reports and articles, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Pro-death Penalty web site. The Kaplan library has a Homeland Security Digital Library database which might contain some information that I can use and the Newspaper Source database is bound to have some pertinent information. The Kaplan library also has an abundance of articles and reports as well as a database with news and current topics I can explore for information. To get an idea of some material readily available in the Kaplan library database I did a keyword search on “pro death penalty” articles and three periodicals came up that I am going to review and they are: Top Ten Death Penalty Myths: The Politics of Crime Control; Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment; and Capital...
Words: 468 - Pages: 2
...Sally Sunshine Research Proposal Section 1 – Summary of the Argument In my research paper, I will argue the case for the abolition of capital punishment. Outside of the United States, there are only three industrialized democracies that still use the death penalty as part of their justice system (Japan, Singapore, and South Korea). The global movement toward peace can never be led by a country that continues to sanction killing. First, I intend to give an overview of capital punishment, including its history, Supreme Court decisions, and the general controversy. Next, I will present my case by establishing the most relevant points in my argument, including statistics that contradict capital punishment as a crime deterrent, evidence that shows the inconsistency in how defendants are sentenced to death row, and finally evidence of mistaken executions. For my counterargument section, I will acknowledge those who support the death penalty by highlighting their cogent points. The primary counterargument in favor of the death penalty rests on giving the families of victims a sense of closure and justice. This counterargument will be refuted using evidence gathered primarily through national studies and statistics. Finally, I will conclude by summarizing key points in the argument, by offering possible alternatives to the death penalty, and be reasserting the case to federally abolish capital punishment once and for all.Sunshine 2 I do need help with a few questions...
Words: 717 - Pages: 3
...The Use of the Death Penalty A Paper Presented by the National Policy Committee to The American Society of Criminology National Policy Committee James Austin, Chair Kitty Calavita Roland Chilton Jeffrey Fagan Calvin C. Johnson Delores Jones-Brown Mark Moore Ira Schwartz Linda Teplin Franklin Zimring November 2001 The findings and opinions contained herein are those of the National Policy Committee and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the American Society of Criminology. Ronald Weitzer, Professor of Sociology, Dana Coleman, Research Assistant, and Sarah Benatar, Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute on Crime, Justice, and Corrections at George Washington University provided substantial assistance in the preparation of this document. Introduction Capital punishment is among the most hotly debated issues in American politics. Passions run high for both those who want the death penalty abolished and those who seek to preserve or expand its use. What follows is a summary of key issues in the death penalty debate, research findings on the application of capital punishment, and a discussion of policy considerations. The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is greatly concerned with the death penalty and its application in the United States. This year, ASC President Ronald Huff and the ASC Executive Board authorized the ASC’s National Policy Committee (NPC) to develop a policy paper that would focus on...
Words: 6090 - Pages: 25
...capital sanctions are imposed on the state level for murder. Currently, thirty-two states have death penalty statutes. Of those thirty-two, only seven states carried out executions in 2014 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). Those executions total 35 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). As a result of the low number of executions carried out, experts in the United States have examined the efficiency of the death penalty. To accurately assess the economic costs of the death penalty, the difference between the costs...
Words: 3210 - Pages: 13
...The Death Penalty PHI103: Informal Logic Professor Donald Ceplenski March 26, 2012 The Death Penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the lawful infliction of death as a form of punishment. It is considered to be one of the most controversial and a debated topic across the United States which leads to the logical question; is the death penalty just and applied fairly? Although in theory sentencing a criminal to death may bring closure to the victim’s families, the practice of sentencing someone to death is an unjust form of punishment with factors such as costs, deterrence, and rehabilitation failure show that putting a criminal to death is counterproductive and inhumane. Death Penalty laws have been around since Eighteenth Century B.C., but the execution in American dates back to the colonial days in 1608, when Virginia carried out the colonies first execution to Captain George Kendall (Randa, 1996). According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), in the last four hundred years, 36 states have instituted the death penalty, making execution the ultimate form of punishment (2012). In theory the death penalty appears to be a reasonable method of punishment but in reality it has major flaws that damage the integrity of the state. Not only does it have serious flaws it is absolutely inhumane in every way. The death penalty goes against our rights as human beings. We are supporting the message that killing is okay if the reason...
Words: 2264 - Pages: 10
...punishment or as some refer as “the death penalty” is an emotional subject for all Americans and is a sensitive subject especially on the political stage. This research paper will discuss how the death penalty is not murder nor is it cruel. The death penalty is the delivery of justice to a suspect that has committed the most hideous crime of murder. The death penalty is justice being served after the suspect has been found guilty by a jury and has been through countless hearings in an appellate court. Our society has to have a defense in the battle of good versus evil, and a punishment that would cause one to pause before they commit an action that would end the life of another human being. This research paper will show why it is important to fully understand Capital Punishment and why it is important for all levels of Criminal Justice to have a defense against those who would do society harm. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT The death penalty causes a lot of debate throughout the United States. The death penalty delivers a retribution for the victim by ending the defendant’s life. The penalty is a deserved punishment that protects society and causes the defendant to pay the price to the victim for the harm he caused. A killer facing death as retribution is justified in the Holy Bible, “ Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Genesis 9:6, ESV). According to the Death Penalty Information Center, approximately 32...
Words: 1115 - Pages: 5
...Death Penalty: How Newspaper Coverage Has Perpetuated Negative Stereotypes about Female Violence & Gender Roles Tonya Rice Capella University MPA 5416– Quantitative and Qualitative Research [ January 25, 2013 ] Dr. Gangl Introduction of the Problem Chimene Keitner argues that, “the uncritical resort to sex-role stereotypes pervades the trials, sentencing’s, and media reactions to women who receive the death penalty” (Keitner, 2002). Often, women who face the death penalty are portrayed in a negative light, for example, they are portrayed as deviant and/or unwomanly by the media. The media tends to focus on gender stereotypes, such as the notion that women are and should be having more virtuously than men and aspects that are not related to the crime and/or charge. In doing this, the media reinforces negative images of women and female violence. Since society and the media have difficulty understanding women who commit violent acts, they tend to emphasize certain characteristics of these women in order to dehumanize them. Under this mind set, society and the media/press is essentially arguing that normal women, who fit into traditional female gender roles, do not commit violent acts; and therefore, those who do are unwomanly or somehow deviant. As a result, the females that do commit violent acts are viewed negatively and the only way to understand their behavior is to cast them to the periphery of society and expose everything about them that goes against the status...
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...August 18, 2009Death Penalty Filed under: Free Essays — Tags: death penalty essay, death penalty essay examples, death penalty essay topics, death penalty research paper, death penalty term paper, free death penalty essays, sample death penalty essay — admin @ 10:55 am My argument will be for the death penalty because it is not actually justice killing a person but if that person goes out and kills another, than he or she should have the death penalty. “The death penalty is our harshest punishment. It is irrevocable: it ends the existence of those punished, instead of temporarily imprisoning them” (p.440). It is the serious and best punishment for murderers, and therefore we should not abolish the death penalty. If we abolish the death penalty, the murder rate will mostly likely increase because the murderer would be like, ah, all I have to do is go to prison for life and try to get parole. This would not be fair to the victim’s family, whose life was erase by a murderer. Death is more fearful than life imprisonment, so murderers who are sentence to death would rather have life imprisonment. What would be the reason for a murderer to be living in this world after taking the life of another person? There should be no light punishment for a murderer because that person should have thought about the consequences before he or she did it. I not saying punish every person that kills another because there are some situations where people are defending themselves as in self-defense...
Words: 828 - Pages: 4
...lobby group role paper University of phoenix The lobby group role paper The key point of this paper will discuss the criminal justice system, civil rights. In the public safety particular relation with the capital punishment, as a way to punish also it affects the public when criminal put to death. The impact on the public is most impressive it could debate upon this so many times. Also against the matter, give a thorough explanation putting to death, criminal also the impact on the public. At this current time, research does not only show that the sentence to the death penalty is intricate in many ways. However, capital punishment has started to make people ask many questions it connection with preventing criminal act's effect. That it has on the public economically by having information that recent and from the past, also using articles of scholarly and other articles on the topic as well. To help support, the reason this research is essential and he would aid society to use different tactics. To help benefit both side issues, within the debate, they have on this matter. The costly and ethical standpoint of the death penalty The Kentucky lawmaker stated that it was too expensive to use the methods of using the sentence to death as a form of punishment. Also, how it might seem as morally wrong, to do, although the commission tells the truth about the expensive cost of administering the sentence to death penalty. It hardly talks...
Words: 1651 - Pages: 7
