The federal government has an obligation to make just laws. Currently, US laws allow for the death penalty for certain heinous crimes. The supporters argue that the 5th Amendment, which guarantees that no one shall be deprived of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” implies that depriving someone of his or her life is permissible under the constitution as long as there is due process. However, there are several reasons why the federal government must abolish the death penalty - it weakens US moral authority over other nations; there have been too many wrongful convictions for death penalty in the US; the death penalty is in conflict with the 8th amendment of the US constitution; and finally, the cost of death penalty prosecution compared to sentencing someone to life in prison is very high.
The United States is among the minority of nations that still practice capital punishment. Its support of the death penalty puts it in the company of nations which routinely violate human rights- countries such as China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In fact, United States is the only western democratic country that has not abolished the death penalty (http://karisable.com). Out of 195 nations in the world, 113 have outlawed capital punishment either in law or practice. Additionally, with the increasing number of executions, international organizations such as the European Union have expressed their deep concern about violation of human rights in the United States. Furthermore, Article 3 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the UN in 1948, prohibits the death penalty (http://www.amnestyusa.org). If we don’t follow the norms established across the community of nations, we stand to lose our moral autho...
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...em. This is why the Federal Government must abolish the death penalty.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (n.d.). United Nations. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,
Before any legislation could be implemented, a definition of human rights had to be compiled and accepted. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was approved in 1948 by th...
Millett, Frederick C. "End the Death Penalty." 08 2002. Part I: Moral Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty. 16 Nov.
In this paper I will argue for the moral permissibility of the death penalty and I am fairly confident that when the case for capital punishment is made properly, its appeal to logic and morality is compelling. The practice of the death penalty is no longer as wide-spread as it used to be throughout the world; in fact, though the death penalty was nearly universal in past societies, only 71 countries world-wide still officially permit the death penalty (www.infoplease.com); the U.S. being among them. Since colonial times, executions have taken place in America, making them a part of its history and tradition. Given the pervasiveness of the death penalty in the past, why do so few countries use the death penalty, and why are there American states that no longer sanction its use? Is there a moral wrong involved in the taking of a criminal’s life? Of course the usual arguments will be brought up, but beyond the primary discourse most people do not go deeper than their “gut feeling” or personal convictions. When you hear about how a family was ruthlessly slaughtered by a psychopathic serial killer most minds instantly feel that this man should be punished, but to what extent? Would it be just to put this person to death?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948. Each of the 30 articles in this declaration defines rights humans need, from basic resources and education to freedom of thought and speech. Article 2 states, “Everyone
The death penalty is legal in thirty-two states. I shall argue that capital punishment should be abolished in our country because it is never moral to kill a human being no matter what they have done, because it often costs more money to keep someone on death row than to keep someone in prison for life, because of the men and women who are wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit, and because death is the easy way out.
“The case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
Why the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished Why should the death penalty be abolished? The death penalty should be abolished for 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's life on their hands.
On December 10th 1948, the General Assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration, although not legally binding, created “a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations.to promote respect for those rights and freedoms” (Goodhart, 379). However, many cultures assert that the human rights policies outlined in the declaration undermine cultural beliefs and practices. This assertion makes the search for universal human rights very difficult to achieve. I would like to focus on articles 3, 14 and 25 to address how these articles could be modified to incorporate cultural differences, without completely undermining the search for human rights practices.
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
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,
Nations, U. (2013). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from United Nations: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
Schroth, R. (2009, april 13). Top 10 pros and cons should the death penalty be allowed?. Retrieved from http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000