...Pros and Cons of Death Penalty Does the execution of a murderer serve justice for all? One of the most controversial topics in the world today not only deals with the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, but whether it should be abolished or not . While some believe that the death penalty is “cruel and unusual punishment” violating the 8th amendment of the United States Constitution, others argue that “an eye for an eye” does justice. Thirty-four different states support this type of punishment including Oklahoma, leaving fifteen states that do not. According to Newport and the Gallup Polls, as of May 2007, “sixty-six percent of Americans -- almost the same percentage that supports the death penalty” consider the death penalty “morally acceptable.” Only twenty-seven percent of people believe the death penalty is morally wrong. Some say that the “legality in the United States is critically undermining American moral stature around the world (Ballaro & Cushman)." The death penalty is a very emotional, complex, and rather complicated matter that includes, but not limited to, the argument of the pros and cons as well as the fact that some convicted people whether executed or not are then later freed from guilt and blame (exonerated). There are many different pros of the death penalty, but I have chosen to only discuss a few of the most controversial topics. Supporters of death penalty believe that “[j]ustice is only achieved when a crime is met with the proper punishment...
Words: 1837 - Pages: 8
...Death Penalty Pro/Con – Preparation for discussion and writing We have spent a great deal of time looking at this highly controversial issue. Now, you must make some decisions. Remember that there is not a right or a wrong – your goal is to look at the issues that comprise the topic and to discuss the complexity of the issue. Use your readings as the basis for your answers. Provide specific textual references as evidence. Name the top 5 reasons that support the death penalty. (in order, please) Offer at least three concrete examples from your readings that illustrate this position. Name the top 5 reasons that oppose the death penalty. (in order, please) ) Offer at least three concrete examples from your readings that illustrate this position. Opposing Death Penalty: * Violates international human rights laws. * Executions cost more than life in prison. * $2 million per person vs. $500,000 (4x as much!). Free counsel for defense, for appeals, maximum security on a separate death row wing. * The innocent may be wrongly executed. * Since the DP was reinstated in 1976, 82 inmates have been freed from Death Row. That's 1 Death Row inmate found to be wrongfully convicted for every 7 executed. * Is not a deterrent; crime rates have not gone down. * In fact, the murder rate in the US is 6 times that of Britain and 5 times that of Australia. Neither country has the DP. Texas has twice the murder rate of Wisconsin, a state that doesn't...
Words: 631 - Pages: 3
...In 2017, 23 people were executed in the United States. The Death Penalty has been a part of history since the eighteenth century B.C. Although the United States Supreme Court suspended the death penalty in 1972, it was reinstated in 1977. Since then, there has been over 1500 executions carried out. Capital punishment is just because it is reserved for the sinister criminals, provides justice for the family, and deters future criminals from committing felonies, and has a natural deterrent effect which pushes away future convicts from committing violent acts. however others fear innocent lives are being taken. One of the most popular counter arguments from the non-supporters of the death penalty is the notion that innocent lives through the use of capital punishment....
Words: 1085 - Pages: 5
...opinion on this heated subject. Some say "we need it" others say "the person pulling the switch would be no better than the person in the chair." We need to look at other options beside prison. There are too many murderers running loose because the jails were full of shoplifters and gang members. Some of these loose maniacs kill mere months later. For the sake of argument lets look at the Pros and Cons. The Pros: There are many reasons why the Death Penalty should be used again. There is too much money going into holding killers, rapists and psychos. It cost more to hold one inmate one years than to put him through Harvard Law School. These people knew what they were doing when they did the crime, give them consequences. There is also the "eye for an eye" argument. Make them feel what their victims felt. The punishment for murder right now is three square meals a day, a roof over their heads, a bed to sleep in, very often activities to do. That include Tennis, Weightlifting, or even Prostitutes. Lets change the penalty for murder from country club to Death. The Cons: "What if the man is innocent?" That is the flip-side. Sure it is easy for us to say If they murder, kill them too. But what if the man is wrongly accused and convicted of murder. What if the man was sitting at home alone, and therefore had no alibi. Why would we want to kill a innocent man? I even ran across someone who said the only true justice is divine justice, she said God will...
Words: 345 - Pages: 2
...Should the death penalty be used on violent criminals? Did you know that exactly 32 states use the death penalty? 18 states have death penalty bans. The Death Penalty should not be a punishment for justice because it violates the eighth amendment, innocent lives are at risks of death, and we also pay millions for the death penalty just as much as we pay for the criminals to live in the prison. One day there was a man named Nicholas Stokes, he got his car stolen by a woman named Lucy Mistress who murdered her abusive ex-boyfriend. Lucy drove the car to the crime scene and unfortunately for Nicholas he didn’t notice his car was stolen because he was off of work and just so happend to sleep all day. The police got to the crime scene and ran...
Words: 775 - Pages: 4
...The word “murder” often makes people think of knives, criminals, and guns. However, a method of murder that no one talks about is the death penalty. The death penalty is an inhumane technique of serving punishment to criminals with major crimes and currently legal in thirty-one states (“Death Penalty”). It is “...the most extreme form of criminal sanction that the criminal justice system can implement” (Ross 183) and has been a controversial topic throughout the United States. Those for the death penalty often say, “a life for a life” or that it is “costly to keep them in prison” (Ziesel 289). Those against it say it is “wrong to take a life” or “punishment should be left to God” (Ziesel 289). This tactic has a discriminatory nature, violates...
Words: 1307 - Pages: 6
...sentence and executed 38 people by the means of the death penalty (mic.com/articles). That statistic shows that the United States death penalty is not a punishment that is tossed around lightly. However, it is a punishment that the United States needs to keep. The writers of the Constitution wrote that there should and will be a death penalty (Is the death penalty unconstitutional?). Many people who oppose the death penalty say that it has racial bias, well according to Roger C, race is not a factor in the sentencing of the death penalty. Many people also try to say that it is far too expensive, this is false because sentencing criminals to life without parole adds to the expenses that prisons and taxpayers already have to pay ( does the death penalty cost less than life without parole?). The death penalty is fair, and effective and needs to be kept at all costs....
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...legalized the death penalty, it is still a highly controversial and debated topic throughout America. The death penalty is such an immensely arguable topic because the states have the control over the life and death of a human. Advocates of the death penalty believe that it is a deterrent, but evidence has proven otherwise; they also do not recognize the many faults tied up in the system. The death penalty should be abolished because the prisoners are treated inhumanely not only from living on death row, but from receiving a bad batch of lethal injection drugs. Many people do not realize the immense cost required for the execution of a single inmate and the discrimination {against African Americans} that lives in the courtroom. After being sentenced to execution, prisoners are sent to death row; a section located in in a prison that deprives them of their sanity. Death row is like solitary confinement; the inmates are isolated and confined to a cell the size of a bathroom for at least 22 hours a day. The prisoners are constantly subjected to atrocious conditions to the point that they are getting their human rights taken from them. The prisoners...
Words: 1348 - Pages: 6
...out the correct way to deal with law-opposing criminals. From crucifixion and slavery, to death by firing squad and life sentences, the world has utilized different forms of discipline. The death penalty has formed into the most questionable form of punishment, drawing the most attention from the public eye. The United States government uses this sanction to punish criminals for committing the most heinous crimes and offenses. The crimes that obtain the death penalty mostly consist of murder which include murder during a kidnapping, murder for hire, drug-related drive by shooting, and genocide. However, the crimes can also consist of other capital offenses, such as espionage, treason, and death resulting from aircraft hijacking. The United States of America...
Words: 990 - Pages: 4
...speaker once said, “Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all”. Capital punishment is one of the most controversial topics in the world. Punishment is only effective if it is constantly enforced, and capital punishment can't be enforced all the time. People who commit crimes of personal violence may or may not premeditate the crime. Death is irreversible and there is nothing that will make the victim come back to life. Since 1990, in the United States, there has been an average of more than four cases each year in which an entirely innocent person was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Notwithstanding, it can help control crime and in some cases, it can be just. It also gives closure to the families...
Words: 1369 - Pages: 6
...I feel that the death penalty should not be abolished, at least not here in the United States. I feel that the death penalty should be administered because: • There’s an overflow of the human populace and the death penalty can (at least somewhat) keep the populace in check. However, if we were to abolish the death penalty, there might be an even greater inflation of the human populace. • There’s an overflow of criminals in the court systems and not many efficient ways of handling these prisoners; however, with the death penalty set in place, there’s at least one guaranteed method of dealing with inmates if they step too far out of line. • The death penalty is a significantly cheaper and more efficient way of handling prisoners; especially those with a life sentence on their heads. The cost of keeping a...
Words: 1251 - Pages: 6
...PiG Task 1- Death Penalty James Chen The American Justice System was meant to build for keeping the society structured. Anyone who committed a crime would face corresponding punishments. And the death penalty is one of them. This kind of penalty has been around for decades. But there are still a lot of controversies around it. Many people are against the death penalty because of many reasons. For example, everyone should have the right to live, sometimes juries are racially biased and wrongful executions could happen. And some people want the death penalty. They say some felony criminals need retribution and the court needs to show deterrence. This conversation has been brought up again recently because of the case Foster V. Chatman. ABA (American...
Words: 1035 - Pages: 5
...and used a wheelchair. He was the last person the state has executed. A decade later, California's death row population has increased by 100 to 746, making it the largest in the nation. The state has executed 13 prisoners in 40 years at an estimated cost of $4 billion, while more than 100 other prisoners have died on death row. Prisoners wait 11-15 years to be appointed counsel, and the entire appeal process routinely takes...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
...Legalizing the Death Penalty On April 19, 1995 at 9:02 not only was our nation impacted by the largest terrorist act to date on American soil. Timothy Mcveigh was convicted and executed for the attack, killing over 168 people. Though people have different views on whether or not the death penalty should be legalized in all states, it is not. The death penalty is only legal in 32 states. There are many reasons to why such as justice being served especially to the families of someone who suffered, it costs the government less, and life in solitary confinement. There is many pros as to why the death penalty should be legal. We really may never know if the death penalty will stop a person from committing murder, but it is something that can be put to look at it. It is wrong to let someone sit in prison for life and still get the...
Words: 807 - Pages: 4
...The first death penalty laws were established in the eighteenth century making it so you could only be hanged for murder. The first recorded death penalty that took place was in 1608, it was Captain George Kendall. This execution took place in the new colonies, he was put to death because he was suspected of spying for Spain he was executed by a firing squad. Capital Punishment has not been proven to deter crime and opens the possibility of executing innocent people; finally, the Death Penalty/Capital Punishment can cause 2nd hand trauma to the victim and their family. Capital Punishment violates the 8th amendment, it is labeled as cruel and unusual punishment. Capital punishment also violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection,...
Words: 1359 - Pages: 6
