The legal definition of the death penalty is a sentence of execution for the crime including murder and some other capital crimes; serious crimes, especially murder, which are punishable by death. The earliest proof of the death penalty dates back to the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon in which 25 crimes were codified. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment, and stated in the eighth amendment would mean it was unconstitutional. The opinion of current methods of execution such as hanging, electrocution, and facing a firing were thought to be painfully slow, some sort of torture. In 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision they had found a new quick and painless method, death by lethal injection. Since capital punishment has been reinstituted the issue has been discussed in every view. One issue discussed in the criminal justice profession is whether or not the death penalty prevents recidivism. Is the death penalty a more effective deterrent than long term imprisonment, it has been debated for decades by scholars, policy makers and the general public. Theoretical explanations included the social, political and economical function and how it ties to capital punishment. Socially and more specifically culturally “…the ways in which the practices of state killing and the images, ideas and sensibilities that surround these practices function to shape Americans attitudes towards authority, towards responsibility and towards those social and racial groups from whom capital offenders are most often drawn” (Garland). Some people believe that race and ethnicity have to do with the likelihood of someone receiving the death penalty. According... ... middle of paper ... ...rnal of Economic Issues. June 2001. Davis, M. (1997). Punishment as societal-defense (Book Review). Ethics, 107, 532-4. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from Social Sciences Full Text database. Dieter, Richard C. “Costs of the Death Penalty and Related Issues.” Judiciary Committee Colorado House of Representatives. (February 7, 2007) Mooney, C., & Schuldt, R. (2008). Does Morality Policy Exist? Testing a Basic Assumption. Policy Studies Journal, 36(2), 199-218. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from Social Sciences Full Text database. Sorell, T. (2002). Two Ideals and the Death Penalty. Criminal Justice Ethics, 21(2), 27-35. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from Social Sciences Full Text database. Sorensen, J. R., et. al., An actuarial risk assessment of violence posed by capital murder defendants. The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology v. 90 no. 4 (Summer 2000) p. 1251-70.
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.
Capital punishment is based on the proposition that there must be consequences for one’s wrong doing. In society, the message is clear; if one does something punishable, au...
Colson, Charles W. “Capital Punishment.” The Rutherford Institute. 11 Nov. 2002. 30 May 2010 .
The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is when someone convicted of a crime is put to death by the state. This practice has been around for centuries. The death penalty has evolved from acts like public hanging, to the more “humane” lethal injection used today. Many people view this as the only acceptable punishment for murderers, mass rapist, and other dangerous crimes.
The death penalty has been around since the beginning of time as a means of punishing criminals, undisputed until the last century or so in terms of whether or not it is an ethical practice. The proponents for the death penalty offer up its ability to deter crime as their main reason for supporting it, their view supported by a functionalist sociological view in that using the death penalty, enough fear will be generated that people will refrain from committing the types of crime that the death penalty is applicable to (Schaefer, 2009). Another reason for favoring it are of an emotional nature; if a person commits a crime of a particularly horrible nature, many may feel that they deserve the death penalty, feeling that “an eye for an eye” is befitting for such a case (Jillette, Teller, & Price, 2006). It should be asked though, is emotional response and a theory of deterrence enough to justify the use of the death penalty? In this paper, I will answer that question and others.
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?
Mappes, Thomas A., Jane S. Zembaty, and David DeGrazia. "The Death Penalty." Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 105-53. Print.
Eagan, Jeffrey A. “Capital Punishment: Deterrent Effects and Capital Costs.” Law.columbia.edu. Columbia Law School, 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
"The Case Against the Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation., 2011. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.
Radelet, M. L. & Borg, M. J. (2000). The changing nature of death penalty debates. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 43-61. Retrieved February 7, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/223436.pdf
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.
Jacoby believes the death penalty protects society by threatening future murders with fear. Gaes believes the death penalty is necessary because the overpopulation in prisons causes emotional and physical distress. The stronger side of the debate seems to be that the death penalty does not discourage crime at all nor does it help the victim’s family heal. It would be useful to know whether or not death-penalty states as a whole have lower rates of crime than non-death penalty states when arguing for the death penalty.
Van Den Haag, Earnest, and John Conrad. The Death Penalty: A Debate. New York: Plenum Press, 1997.
. U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Capital Punishment 2005," appendix Table 4(2006)
The death penalty has been an ongoing debate for many years. Each side of the issue presents valid arguments to explain why someone should be either for or against the subject. One side of the argument says deterrence, the other side says there’s a likelihood of putting to death an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder itself. Crime is an unmistakable part of our society, and it is safe to say that everyone would concur that something must be done about it. The majority of people know the risk of crime to their lives, but the subject lies in the techniques and actions in which it should be dealt with. As the past tells us, capital punishment, whose meaning is “the use of death as a legally sanctioned punishment,” is a suitable and proficient means of deterring crime. Today, the death penalty resides as an effective method of punishment for murder and other atrocious crimes.