Introduction The use of capital punishment has been a forceful being throughout the history of the United States. In the very beginning of our country, the use of public executions was fairly prevalent. Over time public feeling towards the act of executions began to decrease as the concepts of basic human rights started to be created over the years. At one point in time the Supreme Court ruled that the use of the death penalty is illegal. Eventually the Supreme Court reversed its decision making, it legal for states to start reinstating the law, the use of the penalty is used in 31 states. There are several reasons the death penalty should be abolished. Firstly, the uses of the death penalty have long been held to be fundamentally unjust. This …show more content…
According to The Center for Constitutional Rights, the United states helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR) during the aftermath of World War II, and later adopted in 1946. Within the third article of the UDHR, the most essence of human rights is the right to life (Death Penalty). The death penalty is the biggest violation of this human born right. Capital punishment has been found to breach the prohibited acts of inhumanity, or mortifying treatment and could go so far as to be called torture of the death row inmates. With any medical procedure, there is a margin of error, the death penalty is subject to the same possibilities of error. According to the Amnesty International in the article Death Penalty Abolition Campaign there are many sources of problems that may accrue during the execution, if the chemical mixture is not mixed ineffectively rendering the person unconscious the inmate would feel excruciating pain. Furthermore, execution has been known to last between 20 minutes to over an hour, with the inmate seen gasping for air. With the use of paralyzing agents such as pancuronium bromide which are used during the execution to mask any suffering caused during the death penalty, the American Veterinary Medical Association has rejected the use of this on animal and in some states it is actually banned all together, yet it is legal to use on humans (AIUSA Death Penalty). With the amount of suffering undergone by the inmates, it is unclear as to why the death penalty isn’t considered as cruel and unusual
Many people are led to believe that the death penalty doesn’t occur very often and that very few people are actually killed, but in reality, it’s quite the opposite. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1,359 people have been executed as a result of being on death row since 1977 to 2013. Even though this form of punishment is extremely controversial, due to the fact that someone’s life is at stake, it somehow still stands to this very day as our ultimate form of punishment. Although capital punishment puts murderers to death, it should be abolished because killing someone who murdered another, does not and will not make the situation any better in addition to costing tax payers millions of dollars.
want to end up dead. I think this is a good way of using the death
Since 1967, a total of 1392 executions have occurred in the United States ("Executions by Year"). What a shocking amount! This staggering number creates questioning on the topic of capital punishment. Is the death penalty really constitutional? Research and study over the topic leads to the conclusion that capital punishment should not be instituted in the United States for various reasons. The death penalty is immoral, unconstitutional, and inaccurate due to human errors.
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 2 Cruel and Unusual Punishment in the United States: Continuity and Change within the Last Two Centuries A significant aspect of the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution is that the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments is prohibited. However, interpretations of the definition of what a cruel and unusual punishment consists of have become extremely ambiguous. For example, many argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is cruel to take another person’s life willingly; however, others argue that it is acceptable if it is done in a controlled and humane manner. Over the course of the United States history, punishments have ranged from public whippings and hangings, to the electric chair and life in prison. Physical punishments have decreased as society has progressed, yet they continue to be a major source of controversy.
Capital punishment should be abolished in Louisiana in order to optimize rehabilitation methods and increase spending in more important areas of the state budget.
This paper will present facts that will help the reader understand the real nature of capital punishment, presenting the case against the death penalty for reasons of unconstitutionality and human rights violations.
Almost all nations in the world either have the death sentence or have had it at one time. It was used in most cases to punish those who broke the laws or standards that were expected of them. Since the death penalty wastes tax money, is inhumane, and is largely unnecessary it should be abolished in every state across the United States. The use of the death penalty puts the United States in the same category as countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia which are two of the world’s worst human rights violators (Friedman 34). Lauri Friedman quotes, “Executions simply inject more violence into an already hostile American society.”
The topic of the death penalty is one that has been highly debated throughout history. In the Intelligence Squared debate, Barry Scheck and Diann Rust-Tierney argue for the notion of abolishing the death penalty while Robert Blecker and Kent Scheidegger argue against abolishing the death penalty. Diann Rust-Tierney and Barney Scheck uses logos and ethos to debate against Robert Blecker and Kent Scheidegger who masterfully manipulate ethos and pathos for their case.
The death penalty is racist, it punishes the poor, it causes the innocent to die, it is not a deterrent against violent crime, and it is cruel and unusual punishment. More than half of the countries in the world have already abolished the death penalty and the U.S should abolish it too. It is wrong and cruel. Some states in the U.S still hold the death penalty because they think it will keep U.S citizens safe, but we can just keep the murders in a separate patrolled jail. Abolish it and we may save the lives of the people that may have been executed innocent.
The death penalty has been around for centuries. It dates back to when Hammurabi had his laws codified; it was “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Capital punishment in America started when spies were caught, put on trial and hung. In the past and still today people argue that, the death penalty is cruel, unusual punishment and should be illegal. Yet many people argue that it is in fact justifiable and it is not cruel and unusual. Capital punishment is not cruel and unusual; the death penalty is fair and there is evidence that the death penalty deters crime.
Why should the death penalty be abolished? The death penalty should be abolished because of many reasons. Many people believe the saying, 'an eye for an eye'. But when will people realize that just because someone may have killed a loved one that the best thing for that person is to die also. People don't realize that they are putting the blood of another person life on their hands. This makes them just as guilty as the person who committed the crime: the only difference is that they didn't use weapon except their mouth to kill them. The death penalty should be abolished because it is racist, punishes the poor, condemns those who are innocent to death, and is a cruel punishment.
Some even claim that it is cruel and unusual punishment. I would like to shed light on the issue and inform everyone as to why we should keep the death penalty and possibly even use it more than we do now. First of all, it is hard for anyone to argue that we already use the death penalty too much because facts say that we hardly use it at all. Since 1967, there has been one execution for every 1,600 murders. There have been approximately 560,000 murders and 358 executions between 1967 and 1996(UCR and BJS).
This is due to the fact that the drugs being used in the lethal injection are not tested prior to the execution. Joseph R. Wood is a perfect example of these botched executions. According to a reporter he gasped at least 640 times before dying (Smith, 2014). The point of a lethal injection is to not cause pain so that we do not breach the 8th Amendment. However, on many occasions we have breached the 8th Amendment. Clayton Lockett’s execution in 2014 is one that won’t be forgotten. It took him 43 minutes to die and in that time he also experienced a heart attack according to Mariano Castillo a CNN reporter. Due to the fact that Lockett died from the execution drugs many believe that his execution was not botched. Yes, he died from the lethal injection but it also took him over 40 minutes to die and he experienced a heart attack. Not only was the heart attack in play but, “he started kicking, twitching, and writhing and moaning in agony” his lawyer described it as “torture” (Smith, 2014). If an execution, that is only supposed to take 10 minutes maximum, exceeds 15 minutes it would be declared botched just as Lockett’s was. Both men experienced a cruel and unusual capital punishment and although neither occurred in Connecticut it’s a relief that we don’t have to handle such mismanaged
Does just one murder justify another murder as long as it is done in the name of justice? It is not justice if it is taking a life to show that the crime is wrong. The death penalty causes much pain for everyone attached to it in anyway. It rips apart families hoping for a better life and it tears down hope for the innocent inmates on death row. If the inmates know they will die. they can give up on anything and anyone. The death penalty is cruel to the inmates and not helpful to the inmates families most ways. The death penalty should be abolished because it puts the U.S in financial stress, kills many innocent people, is a slow and painful process for the inmate and their families, and shows much racial bias throughout it.
The death penalty has many other names; execution, capital punishment, death sentence, death warrant. This harsh sentence is usually handed down to those who commit murder or rape to deter crime. Like a coin there are always two sides to the argument. The reasons for pro abolish death penalty are it costs more to serve capital punishment than keeping someone in prison for life and it violates the “cruel and unusual” clause in the Bill of Rights.