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Discussion about the death penalty
Capital punishment and its effects in society
Death penalty in the usa
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Even before the twelve century when Christians were fed to lions in the amphitheaters of Europe, capital punishment has been a debate; the moral, social and history of capital punishment have been an ongoing discussion; and it will remain so until time ceases to exist.
A few years ago an Iranian girl was disfigured with acid thrown on her by a would-be suitor. Her assailant was caught and on the day of the trial the judge asked her what punishment should be given to him; she told him, throw acid on him the way he did to her. The judge granted her request; is this cruel and unusual punishment? Yes, but sometimes justice requires stepping over the norm. A drug dealer who kills another drug dealer and is sentenced to life in prison is given fair punishment; but what punishment should a grown man who rapes an eight year old girl and kills her in the process receive? Most of the other countries that have abolished capital punishment used it as punishment for any crime; in America, only criminals who commit murder are sentence to death.
Firstly, capital punishment is argued as an immoral act by those who oppose it. In America, one of the few industrial countries that still practices capital punishment, some of its crimes are so awful they would cause one to think that they are not committed by fellow human beings. About two years ago a pedophilia asked the judge to sentence him to death because if he is set free he will go back to hurting children. According to Baird and Rosenbaum, “We punish criminals principally in order to pay them back, and we execute the worst of them out of moral necessity. We surely don’t expect to rehabilitate them. It would be foolish to think that by punishing them we might thereby deter others”...
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...ebster.utahbar.org/barjournal/2012/09/the_death_penalty_debating_the.html. Access 24 April, 2014
“Death in Prison Sentence for Children.” Available at hitp://www.eji.org/childrenprison/deathinprisonweb. Accessed 24 April, 2014
Galik, Laura. “America’s Ten Deadliest Cities in 2012” Available at http://www.policymic.com/articles/22686/america-s-10-deadliest-cities-2012. Accessed 23 April, 2014
Pierce, Glenn., Radelet, Michael. “The Impact Legally Inappropriate Factors on Death Sentencing for California Homicides” http://www.deathpenalty.org/downloads/Radelet%20SCU%20lawreview_46sclr001.pdfw eb. Accessed 23 April, 2014
Politi, Daniel. New York Celebrates Record low Homicides in 2012 While Chicago Grapples with Spike” Available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/chicago- homicide-rate-new-york_n_2378073.html Accessed 27 April, 2014
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570630/Capital_Punishment.html
I do not consider the death penalty to be cruel and unusual punishment for persons convicted of one or more murders. For instance, my example of a convicted criminal deserving of the death penalty is Andrea Yates. I believe the only adequate justice for the murder of her five children is that she be given the death penalty. What she did to those children was certainly cruel and unusual and since she was given a fair trial by a jury of her peers and found guilty she be subject to death due to the heinous nature of the multiple homicides she committed. To spite my personal disdain for her actions under the law she and persons like her are still entitled to a fair trail (which she already had), as well as the appeals process, but I feel strongly that the death penalty should be used in place of life sentencing.
Capital punishment is something no person should endure, no matter how awful the committed crime may be. It is a cruel and sick punishment, for example, someone who has killed somebody has to undergo various gruesome and awful forms of capital punishment such as electrocution where they strap you to a chair and 1000 watts of electricity flow through your body or decapitation where the person is restrained to a wooden device with a sharp blade and then the blade is released or even immurement where the person is left to starve and dehydrate to death. When they are convicted to capital punishment, they are just waiting for death, and how slow and/or painful the procedure might be.
Capital punishment is an age-old practice. It has been used in civilizations for millennia, and will continue to be used for millennia to come. Whether used for the right or wrong reasons, capital punishment is unmistakable in its various forms. From hangings, to firing squads, to lethal injections, capital punishment and the associated proceeding have evolved over time. There have been many arguments against capital punishment, many of which still hold true. As capital punishment has evolved over time, however, many of the most valid arguments have been proven all but null. Capital punishment still has its ethical and moral concerns, but as it has evolved over time these concerns have not necessarily become less valid, but fewer in number when specifically addressing capital punishment. The proceedings that come hand-in-hand with capital punishment, however, have become increasingly more rigorous and controversial and are the main focus of most capital punishment concerns.
Capital punishment only shows how America as a nation still clings on to practices used from long ago. Now with the implementation of new forms of justice it’s seems reasonable that nefarious traditions be omitted from the itinerary. Rehabilitation is far better for the people than the use of life-ending threats that do not help to deter the committing of crimes.
... middle of paper ... ... Having the death penalty in our society is not cruel or unusual punishment as it is. not torture nor degrading punishment to those who have committed the said crimes. Although no punishment can completely eliminate violent crimes, more.
Capital punishment is a hotly debated topic in the United States, it has and will continue to be a controversial social issue. Arguments from each viewpoint are valid, but the view with the most reasons and well thought out arguments is that of those against capital punishment. It is faulty in its ways of executing innocent people. Unethical and immoral, when it is not used fairly. It causes some to take discriminatory actions towards African Americans and the mentally ill. Capital punishment is costly, it is practically destroying the United States economy. Lastly, it is a violation of our humanitarian rights. We should not resort to such harsh methods of punishment when there are other perfectly good ways to punish those who have done wrong. With the abolition of capital punishment, we can end a cycle of violence.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is defined as the pre-meditated or planned taking of a human life by a government in response to a crime committed by that legally convicted person. It has been discussed extensively over the years by many people. There are many reasons to agree or disagree with capital punishment, but the reasons against it completely outweigh the ones that support it. Many of the justifications for affirming the death penalty either do not apply wholly to our justice system, are misunderstood, or just do not make sense. There is no justification for killing other human beings and all of the arguments cannot change this. Since 1976, over one thousand people have been executed by the government.
The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).
Capital Punishment Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is "death by execution" as stated in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. The death penalty is a sentence given to criminals charged with first degree murder, although most often than not, the majority of inmates on death row live years in a state penitentiary before their execution takes place. There are many historical changes, religious beliefs, and opposing view points held with the subject of capital punishment. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the reign of King Hammaurabi in the eighteenth century B.C. There were as many as twenty-five different crimes all punishable by execution.
While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that capital punishment is being used for vengeance or as a deterrent. Capital punishment has been used worldwide, not only by the governments to instill fear, but to show that there are repercussions to ones actions. From the time we are born, we are taught to learn the difference between right and wrong. It is ingrained in our brains, what happens to people that do bad things? Capital punishment is renowned for being the worst thing that could be brought amongst ones life.
Capital punishment goes against almost every religion. Isolated passages of religious scripture have been quoted in support of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral. There is no credible evidence that capital punishment deters crime from the streets in America. Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from committing crime anymore than long prison sentences. Moreover, states without the death penalty have much lower murder rates. Executions are carried out at staggering cost to taxpayer.The funds spent for execution should be used to target the issue of killing and find solutions to help communities unite to demonstrate a more peaceful environment. Recent CNN reported how studies done have found that the death penalty criminal litigation, costs taxpayers far more than seeking life without parole. (CNN, 2015) The states spends millions of dollars to put away death row inmates when the funds could be used to help channel society in tune with how to become more positive and getting help to those who need
Capital punishment is the punishment of death for a crime given by the state. It is used for a variety of crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and treason. Many countries also have the death penalty for sexual crimes such as rape, incest and adultery. The lethal injection, the electric chair, hanging and stoning are all methods of execution used throughout the world. Capital punishment has been around since ancient times; it was used in ancient Rome, and one of the most famous people to be crucified was Jesus Christ. Capital punishment is now illegal in many countries, like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, but it is also legal in many other countries such as China and the USA. There is a large debate on whether or not capital punishment should be illegal all over the world as everyone has a different opinion on it. In this essay, I will state arguments for and against the death penalty, as well as my own opinion: capital punishment should be illegal everywhere.
Capital Punishment is a controversial topic discussed in today's society. Capital punishment is often not as harsh in other countries as we may call harsh in our country. There is a heated debate on whether states should be able to kill other humans or not. But if we shall consider that other countries often have more deadly death penalties than we do. People that are in favor of the death penalty say that it saves money by not paying for housing in a maximum prison but what about our smaller countries that abide by the rule of the capital punishment. If one were to look at the issues behind capital punishment in an anthropological prospective than one would see that in some cases no one would assume that capital punishment here in the U.S. is bad. Now those opposed say that it is against the constitution, and is cruel and unusual punishment for humans to be put to his or her death. I believe that the death penalty is against the constitution and is cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is cruel because you cannot punish anyone worse than by killing them. It is an unusual punishment because it does not happen very often and it should not happen at all. Therefore, I think that capital punishment should be abolished, everywhere.
---- World Book Online Americas Edition. Ed. Franklin E. Zimring. Capital Punishment. 17 Apr 2002 14 Apr 2002.