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Is the Death Penalty Just and Applied Fairly

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Is the Death Penalty Just and Applied Fairly?
Susan Doe
PHI 103
Instructor Robert Bass
April 15, 2013

Is the Death Penalty Just and Applied Fairly?

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is the punishment of execution, administered to someone convicted of a capital crime; it is the most severe form of corporal punishment. The death penalty in the United States has been an ongoing debate throughout history. Capital punishment has been banned in many countries, except in the United States; there are thirty-three states that currently have the death penalty. According to ProCon.org, the United States has executed 1057 people from 1997 through 2006. There are some that are against the death penalty, they feel that it is unconstitutional and immoral. Then, there are others that have a different feeling towards the death penalty; they feel that the ones that commit serious capital crimes should be punished with their own life. Those that support capital punishment say that it is deterrence and that it wastes money on the ones that are doing life. Those that are against capital punishment say that it is killing innocent people and that it is not saving money, that it costs more to put someone on death row. Is the death penalty just and applied fairly? There is no evidence that supports the death penalty being a deterrent to violent crimes. The death penalty is a waste of taxpayer’s money. There have been many innocent people have been sent to death row. Both sides will be argued to give an unprejudiced look with the anticipation that the one who reads this paper will have a better understanding that the death penalty is unjust and not applied fairly.
Part I: Argument
Is the death penalty a deterrent to crime? The death penalty is no more a deterrent to crime than with a sentence of life in prison without parole. Most people who commit violent

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