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Ethical dilemmas about the death penalty
The morality of the death penalty
The morality of the death penalty
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Few issues have been as hotly argued and controversial as the death penalty, with its many conflicting moral, social and legal implications. Compelling arguments exist in favor of the final punishment, and equally strong arguments exist to end its practice. Furthermore, considering its conflicting history, on the grand scale of the whole world, and in just America, it is unlikely that this issue will be resolved any time soon. In the United States specifically, the issue has great significance to the bill of rights and the 8th amendment, which prevents cruel and unusual punishment. The death sentence, due to the intense debate on its morality and constitutionality, as well as the many conflicting decisions made about it until this day, still is and will likely remain a very controversial issue in the United States. The death penalty has existed almost as long as civilization itself, established in the Eighteenth Century B.C. in one of the first large societies, by the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which prescribed the death penalty for 25 unique crimes. Furthermore, the death penalty continued to be used in early civilization, such as in the Hittite Code, the Draconian Code of Athens and the Roman law of the Twelve Tablets, which spanned hundreds of years. At the time, most death sentences were horrific and painful, including drowning, beating, burning, impalement and crucifixion. Later, in countries such as Britain, hanging became the predominant method of giving capital punishment, and William the Conqueror, who ruled at around that time, abolished the death penalty altogether, then, a dramatic move. However, the death penalty was restarted in the Sixteenth Century under Henry VII, where thousands and thousands of people w... ... middle of paper ... ...etter, Michael. "Death Penalty and Crime Rates: Need To Know." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. KENNEDY v. LOUISIANA. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 25 February 2014. . "Part I: History of the Death Penalty." Deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. "Methods of Execution." Deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center, 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Banks, Cyndi. "Capital Punishment: Overview." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. "Capital Punishment: Timeline." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. "U.S. Death Penalty Support Lowest in More Than 40 Years." Gallup.com. Gallup, 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
Radelet, Michael L. and Borg, Marian J. “The Changing Nature of Death Penalty Debates.” Annual Sociology Review. 2000: 43-57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 November 2013.
The death penalty, as administered by states based on their individual laws, is considered capital punishment, the purpose of which is to penalize criminals convicted of murder or other heinous crimes (Fabian). The death penalty issue has been the focus of much controversy in recent years, even though capital punishment has been a part of our country's history since the beginning. Crimes in colonial times, such as murder and theft of livestock were dealt with swiftly and decisively ("The Death Penalty..."). Criminals were hanged shortly after their trial, in public executions. This practice was then considered just punishment for those crimes. Recently though, the focus of the death penalty debate has been on moral and legal issues. The murderers of today's society can be assured of a much longer life even after conviction, with the constraints of the appeals process slowing the implementation of their death sentence. In most cases, the appeal process lasts several years, during which time criminals enjoy comfortable lives. They have television, gym facilities, and the leisure time to attend free college-level classes that most American citizens must struggle to afford. Foremost, these murderers have the luxury of time, something their victims ran out of the moment their paths crossed. It is time this country realized the only true justice for these criminals is in the form of the death penalty. The death penalty should be administered for particularly heinous crimes.
The death penalty dates all the way back to Eighteenth Century B.C.. It was codified in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon and it was used as punishment for 25 different types of crimes. It was also a part of the Hittie Code in Fourteenth Century B.C., the Draconian Code of Athens, the Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets, and in Tenth Century B.C. in Britain. The death sentence was carried out in various ways including, drowning, burning alive, crucifixion, beating and hanging (Death Penalty Information Center, 2014).
Is the death penalty fair? Is it humane? Does it deter crime? The answers to these questions vary depending on who answers them. The issue of capital punishment raises many debates. These same questions troubled Americans just as much in the day of the Salem witch trials as now in the say of Timothy McVeigh. During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials they had the same problem as present society faces. Twenty innocent people had been sentenced to death. It was too late to reverse the decision and the jurors admitted to their mistake. The execution of innocent people is still a major concern for American citizens today.
Radelet, Michael L., and Marian J. Borg. "The Changing Nature Of Death Penalty Debates." Annual Review Of Sociology 26.1 (2000): 43. Business Source Complete. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Radelet, Michael L. and Marian J. Borg. “The Changing Nature of Death Penalty Debates.” Annual Review of Sociology 26 (2000): 43-61. Annual Reviews. Web.
The death penalty, created in the Eighteen Century B.C by King Hammurabi of Babylon, was a way to punish those who went against the laws and committed crimes. Back in the B.C. era and all the way until the late Tenth Century the methods of the death penalty were being crucified, beaten to death, burned alive, and drowned. The methods of execution died down in the Tenth Century, the execution methods became less heinous and over the top. Hanging became the most used method of execution, but that soon changed in the Sixteenth Century. Henry VIII of Britain brought back all the horrible and gruesome methods of execution and also implementing more ghastly methods. Over 72,000 people were executed either by being boiled to death, burned at the stake, hanged, beheaded, and drawing and quartering. Drawing and quartering is where the accused is tied to a horse and dragged to the gallows where he is hung by the neck for a...
Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. “Capital Punishment.” Our Duty or Our Doom. 12 May 2010. 30 May 2010 .
This essay will discuss the various views regarding the death penalty and its current status in the United States. It can be said that almost all of us are familiar with the saying “An eye for an eye” and for most people that is how the death penalty is viewed. In most people’s eyes, if a person is convicted without a doubt of murdering someone, it is believed that he/she should pay for that crime with their own life. However, there are some people who believe that enforcing the death penalty makes society look just as guilty as the convicted. Still, the death penalty diminishes the possibility of a convicted murderer to achieve the freedom needed to commit a crime again; it can also be seen as a violation of the convicted person’s rights going against the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Radelet, Michael L., and Traci L. Lacock. "Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates? The Views of Leading Criminologists." The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology99.2 (2009): 489-508. Death Penalty Information Center. Northwestern University School of Law, 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Pasquerella, Lynn. “The Death Penalty in the United States.” The Study Circle Resource Center of Topsfield Foundation. July 1991. Topsfield Foundation. 03 Feb 2011. Web.
Lester, D. (1998). The death penalty issues and answers (2nd edition.). Springfield, IL: Library of Congress Cataloging.
“The Death Penalty: Pro and Con.” Wgbh.org. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
Stewart, Gail B. "The Death Penalty Is Legally Unjust." The Death Penalty: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1998. 24-28. Print.
Costanzo, Mark. Just Revenge: Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty. New York: St. Martin's, 2001. Print.