Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Prison overpopulation problem in america
Prison overpopulation problem in america
Capital punishment deters criminals
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Prison overpopulation problem in america
There are many people who believe that capital punishment could be a possible deterrent of crime. However, there are others who believe that it is very unethical. In case you were unaware, capital punishment can be viewed as unethical because it is the death penalty or execution of a person. These crimes are known as capital crimes such as murder, espionage, etc. Given this form of punishment is extreme, there are many people who have many different opinions on this topic.
Many would argue that there is a positive and negative side to enforcing capital punishment or the death penalty. Some wish to enforce it because they believe it will cause crime rates and homicide rates to decrease. They believe that if people knew they would be sentenced
…show more content…
They believe it to be morally wrong to kill another human being just because they killed one. Some also believe it to be wrong because of their religious views; they believe in rehabilitation and forgiveness. Some believe the death penalty to be wrong because they view it as people seeking revenge. Others do not have a lot of faith in the justice system for the evidence to be 100% correct; many believe this to be impossible. Years ago there were people who were arrested and sentenced to prison for life because the police officers and jury were convinced that these people were guilty. Now we are finding out that based off of the newer and more efficient biological evidence, there were people sentenced to life in prison that were not actually guilty and did not actually commit the crimes in the first place. There are concerns that the cost of the death penalty is much more expensive than the cost of their life in prison sentences. But then the problem becomes overcrowding in prisons. There already is not enough room in prisons, so many believe the ones awaiting the death penalty should just be taken care of and if the state does not have the death penalty then they should start using it, …show more content…
For example, murdering more than 3 people, raping more than 5 people, torturing someone, holding them hostage and kidnapping them, etc. Yes, capital punishment may be more expensive, but honestly I do not like the idea of knowing that someone I could be living next to or working with has killed more than 3 people or raped more than 5 women. That really scares me. Unless these people are deemed mentally ill, then they need someone watching them around the clock, making sure they are taking their medications, and so on. It may be morally wrong for us to kill them just because they killed someone, but it was also morally wrong for them to kill. So what is really fair? I also do not like the idea that a person who killed 10 people for example, has the opportunity to be imprisoned for up to 20 years before they are even executed. I feel they only truly deserve a grace period of about 5 years; especially with all of the better evidence we are finding these days. I do believe that if more people were given the death penalty then eventually the homicide rates would
This paper will examine the pros and cons of the death penalty. Is it a deterrent or is that a myth. Does it give the family of the victim peace or does it cause them to suffer waiting for appeal after appeal. What are the forms of execution and any evidence of them being cruel and usual punishment. Is the death penalty fair if there are glaring, disparities in sentencing depending on geographic location and the color of the offender and victim’s skin?
Death penalty has always been a topic of controversy. Interchangeably known as capital punishment, death penalty legalizes the authorization to sentence the execution of a criminal. Controversy that rise from death penalty involve the notion of ethics and epistemology. Many people questions whether it is morally right to take another person’s life, tieing into the 8th amendment that prohibits people from suffering from a certain type of punishment. Another factor is that what exactly determines whether a person deserves execution or not. The justice system has the legal dilemma of properly determining to what extent of a crime committed is reprehensible enough to face death or if it is not as grave and more suitable with merely a life sentence.
Proponents of capital punishment believe that killing criminals is a moral and ethical way of punishing them. They feel there is justification in taking the life of a certain criminal, when in fact that justification is nothing more than revenge. They also feel that the death penalty deters crime, although there have been no conclusive studies confirming that viewpoint (Bedau).
Opponents of this position argue that the death penalty is a necessary evil. One of the top arguments is that you must punish offenders to discourage others from committing similar offenses (Radelet 44). Many people also feel that the victim’s families deserve closure. The prisoners have to pay for their crime and deserve the punishment that they get. Using the death penalty helps deal with the overpopulation in prisons. There are not enough resources or space to house prisoners for life. This statement can be true to a certain point. However, when talking about sacrificing one person’s life for the greater good of society, no man should have the authority to end someone’s life. One of the biggest issues that opponents argue is how much the victims suffer if the killer is not put to death. A murderer not only affects the person they kill, but also the victim’s friends and family’s life. They have to live with the grief of losing a loved one. If the killer is not put to death they could get the feeling that someone is out to get them. They will not be able to rest until the killer is tried and executed. Although this side of the argumen...
The death penalty, ever since it was established, has created a huge controversy all throughout the world. Ever since the death penalty was created, there have been people who supported the death penalty and those who wanted to destroy it. When the death penalty was first created the methods that were used were gruesome and painful, it goes against the Eighth Amendment that was put in place many years later. The methods they used were focused on torturing the people and putting them through as much pain as possible. In today’s society the death penalty is quick and painless, it follows the Eighth Amendment. Still there are many people who are against capital punishment. The line of whether to kill a man or women for murder or to let him or her spend the rest one’s life in prison forever will never be drawn in a staight.
“A Death in Texas” by Steve Earle is the true-life story of a friendship that occurred over ten
Those that are for it may see that it is a waste of money spent on criminals that deserve death to allow them to stay alive in prison. Also, the criminal could have a chance at causing more damage in some way while in prison. On the other hand, to those that oppose the death penalty, it may seem inhumane or cruel to take a person’s life because of the bad decision they made. It also may seem like a better use of money to let them suffer a possible long life in prison ("Death
Each year there are about 250 people added to death row and 35 executed. From 1976 to 1995 there were a total of 314 people put to death in the US 179 of them were put to death using lethal injection, 123 were put to death using electrocution, 9 were put to death in a gas chamber, 2 were hanged, and 1 was put to death using the firing squad. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment enforced in the United Sates today. Once a jury has convicted a criminal, they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death penalty and the judge agrees then the criminal will face some form of execution, lethal injection is the most common form used today. There was a period from 1972 to 1976 that capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Their reason for this decision was that the death penalty was "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment. The decision was reversed when new methods of execution were introduced. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are as many different opinions as there are people. In our project, both sides have been presented and argued fully.
On the other side of the debate, there are those that believe that the death penalty is a deterrent. For most criminals, they are aware of the fact that if they get caught, they will be sent to prison. However, other than being sent to prison, there are not really any other repercussions for committing a crime. They argue that if a person were to be presented with the possibility of the death penalty, they would more than likely think twice about their actions and realize that there are more risks than just im...
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.
There are many people that still believe that Capital Punishment is the best way to go to punish people who murder and commit other drastic crimes. I believe that murders should have the Death Penalty imposed to punish them for taking someone. else's life, although everyone has their own opinion and that is fine. to have a different opinion. Whether Capital Punishment is ethical is also up to your own beliefs, and I hope this essay has given you an insight into Capital Punishment and help you determine your own.
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).
One major objection is the morality of capital punishment. Multiple people believe that this sentence is cruel and unusual. In the article “Should we put the Death Penalty on the Chopping Block,” it is stated that “it is not a justification to kill offenders to show to the public that killing people is wrong.” Other objections are religious, and are established by people’s spiritual beliefs. Another objection that has made a tremendous impact on people’s opinions is the cost of the death penalty. When dealing with capital punishment, there are more trials and more attorneys that are needed. Various people argue that the cost of capital punishment is a con that outweighs any of the pros. These people suggest that life without parole sentences do not cost as much. The biggest objection of all would be that the death penalty does not cause deterrence of crime. In an article written by Daniel Nagin it is stated that, “the scholarly evidence on the deterrent effect of capital punishment is too weak to guide decisions.” Some research that has been conducted is flawed and does not have the ability to conclude anything major about the deterrence of crime made by the death penalty, which is also discussed in Nagin’s
There are many reasons why capital punishment is a good thing, and should be enforced and used more. First off, capital punishment is a good thing because it deters crime. For example, in the 1960s while the number of executions was decreasing, the homicide rate was increasing. As execution started to increase, statistics show that the homicide rate slowly decreased or stayed the same, but it did not increase. Fear of death deters people from committing crime. The...
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.