Death Penalty Versus Life Impisonment

743 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Death penalty supporting argument

DEATH PENALTY VS LIFE IMPROSONMENT
INTRODUCTION
Capital punishment or death penalty is the legal process by which the state punishes an offender for a heinous crime by execution. The law dates back to the 1700s BC but has evolved over time and has faced several criticisms. The rationale lies in phenomenon that certain crimes, for example murder are so heinous that the damages cannot be financially paid and only retribution or taking away the right to live could compensate them. The law also has grounds based on the deterrence perspective and has economic and social efficiency arguments attached. On the flip side, there are arguments based on humanity regarding death penalty being a rather cruel punishment and some based on an economic standpoint as well. Certain alternative punishments have been suggested globally as replacement for death penalty, the most popular one being life imprisonment. Most countries have abolished capital punishment; Amnesty International reports 140 countries around the world to have abandoned killing the offenders. Whether it should be carried out or abolished is one of the most heated topics for debate around the world.
HISTORY
In the 1700s, a formal legal code was written in Babylonia Called the code of Hammurabi (?) which dictated death penalty for certain crimes such as adultery or stealing from temples or state property. The next most popular documented death sentences were given for treason, especially in British colonies. When the British arrived at America, they brought along the penal code. In 1602 Captain George Kendall was executed for treason in the Jamestown colony of Virginia (Ron Fridell). Other non-heinous crimes like stealing fruits were also punishable by death back then. In 1682, Will...

... middle of paper ...

...cuss, one of the greatest arguments against death penalty is execution of innocent. These results spread caution in the legal world and imposed additional pressure on judges ordering the capital sentence.
In 1994, under President Bill Clinton, a crime bill was passed which further sophisticated the statutes for the death penalty. Around 60 new crimes that could result in the sentence were added, including terrorist activities, mass drug trafficking etc. While the laws supporting death penalty were being streamlined and solidified, efforts working against it had also increased. The media played a critical role in informing the masses of the ethical and humane concerns posed by the punishment. A book written by Helen Prejean titled ‘Dead man walking’ and film based on the book released under the same title educated the public on the issue and its moral implications.

Show More
Related

  • The History of the Death Penalty

    2054 Words  | 5 Pages

    A brief history of the death penalty is in order so that one can be aware of this laws nature since that is how one would start to understand how it can be applied most virtuously and to understand its morality. The death penalty can be traced as far back as the Eighteenth Century, B.C.E. where the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon applied the death penalty to be instated as a punishment for 25 different crimes. Also it has been seen in the Fourteenth Century B.C.E in the Hittite Code; in the Seventeenth Century B.C.E’s Draconian Code of Athens (a code which made the only punishment for all crimes death); and in the Fifth Century B.C.E.’s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets(this law was the start of a formal law which carried out death sentences by means such as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burring alive, and impalement)

    Read More

  • Essay On The Death Penalty

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. The death penalty was also part of the Fourteenth Century B.C. 's Hittite Code; in the Seventh Century B.C. 's Draconian Code of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes; and in the Fifth Century B.C. 's Roman law of the Twelve Tablets. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. In the Tenth Century A.D., hanging became the usual method of execution in Britain. In the following century, William the Conqueror would not allow persons to be hanged or otherwise executed for any crime, except in times of war. Some common

    Read More

  • The Functionalist Theory Of Capital Punishment In Colonial America

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    Capital punishment, or better known as the death penalty, began around the eighteenth century B.C. when The Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon implemented the death penalty for 25 different crimes. In the 16th century, Henry VIII created edicts that caused about 72,000 people to be put to death by acts such as hanging and drawing and quartering. New Colonial America did not have prisons to hold criminals so the main source of punishment was the death penalty. Captain George Kendall was the first person on record, in the new colonies, to be sentenced to death. In 1632, in Jamestown, Virginia, a woman by the name of Jane Champion became the first woman to receive the death penalty in the colonies. On June 29, 1972, in the case of Furman V. Georgia, the supreme court ruled that capital punishment violated the

    Read More

  • Death Penalty is Legal in 32 States

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the legal authorization of killing someone as punishment for a crime they committed. The death penalty is legal in 32 states of the 50 states in the United States and ever since 1976, the United States has performed 1379 executions. For many years, there has been a serious controversy regarding the death penalty. It is often questioned whether the death penalty should be continued or abolished. The death penalty should be abolished because it is unconstitutional, costly, immoral, and can kill innocent people who were wrongly accused.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment, Is It Ethical?

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    The concept of capital punishment has long been a part of human civilization with the first known laws mentioning it being the Code of Hammurabi in the 18th Century BC. In the United States the death penalty has been part of the legal system of since Colonial times with the first recorded legal execution occurring in the Jamestown Colony in 1608. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Furman vs. Georgia ruled that the death penalty as then currently practiced was unconstitutional and instituted a moratorium on capital punishment in the United States. This ruling was reversed in ...

    Read More

  • It's Time to Kill the Death Penalty

    2443 Words  | 5 Pages

    Death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is the punishment of execution that is administered to someone who committed a capital crime. Capital crimes include murder, treason, genocide and many other serious crimes (Did 1 of 3). Over 1,000 people were executed in the United States between 1977 and 2009. 32 states allow the death penalty, and 17 do not; the latest state to outlaw the death penalty was Maryland. The death penalty involves many debatable issues such as cost, religion, deterrence, possibility of executing an innocent and the cruelty of the punishment. The death penalty is cruel and the need for retribution is unjust, so it is unacceptable and shouldn’t be performed.

    Read More

  • The Death Penalty Debate

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Death Penalty Thesis

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Fact) Sending innocent people to the death penalty is wrong judges and lawyers make mistakes as well as regular people. Sending an innocent person to the death penalty only because they don’t have enough evidence or they have a gut feeling that they did the crime is wrong to do to a living life. There is a chance they did nothing wrong to be killed over something they haven’t done. Every person has the right to live whether its working, being free, in jail or in prison, but no one should have their life taken from them, even if they have done something wrong, that’s just giving them the easy way out of their punishment.

    Read More

  • History of the Death Penalty and Why It Is Not Wrong

    3309 Words  | 7 Pages

    The death penalty has been promoted for thousands of years, for countless crimes committed by humans. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. The death penalty was also part of the Fourteenth Century B.C.'s Hittite Code; in the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes; and in the Fifth Century B.C.'s Roman law of the Twelve Tablets. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. Now in today’s society the most common methods of execution are; firing squad, hanging, and in recent years: lethal injection which is undeniably more humane than any other form of execution throughout history. The death penalty has been used to protect society from the iniquities that mankind has presented itself. The criminals, rapists, murderers, and sadists, who harm innocent people, should undeniably forfeit their own right to live as Margaret Thatcher has stated. The use of capital punishment is essential to the security of our nation and the justice in which those who are innocent and those who are the victims deserve.

    Read More

  • The Death Penalty Debate

    1735 Words  | 4 Pages

    Early death penalty laws date back to the Eighteenth Century B.C.. The death penalty also had a heavy presence in the Fourteenth Century Hittite Code, the Seventh Century Draconian Code of Athens, and the Fifth Century Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. (History, 1) Today, thirty-four states in the United States of America still practice the death penalty as a means of punishment for capital offenses and heinous crimes. The death penalty debate is one that Americans are no strangers to; it has been abolished and repealed numerous times throughout our history.

    Read More

  • Pro Capital Punishment Speech

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    To start off, I will discuss the history of the death penalty. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, boiling, beheading, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment vs. Life Imprisonment

    2191 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are always two sides to every issue and capital punishment or life imprisonment is no different. This has been a very controversial issue for decades and still is today. Capital Punishment also known as the death penalty is defined as being the penalty of death for a crime. Some feel that capital punishment should be abolished because it is cruel; others believe life in prison is just as cruel. There are many reasons for the support of Capital Punishment and for Life in Prison.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment Persuasive Essay

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    Capital punishment has been a controversial topic in association to any person condemned to a serious committed crime. Capital punishment has been a historical punishment for any cruel crime. Issues associated to things such as the different methods used for execution in most states, waste of taxpayers’ money by performing execution, and how it does not serve as any form of justice have been a big argument that raise many eyebrows. Capital punishment is still an active form of deterrence in the United States. The history of the death penalty explains the different statistics about capital punishment and provides credible information as to why the form of punishment should be abolished by every state. It is believed

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment Should be Abolished

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Death Penalty vs. Life in Prison

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    The death penalty is a place no one wants to be. Several criminals have done death penalty during their life time. People say that once you do your crime you have to do the time and pay the cost of what you done. Death penalty is mostly done by the legal authority when you are doing death penalty you will be punished for your assault and your behavior you have caused. I think that death penalty is a bad place because I don’t want to have to take anyone life for their behavior just sends them to prison for several years. When some people are on death penalty they can’t see their family for a long time and that will affect some of the people that have children. That’s why now today children do the things they do like curse out their parents and fight, gambling and other bad things. The people in there probably don’t like it causes of the food they give them and how they have to take short showers every day. Some people get the death chair and don’t die when they get in the chair. I think they shouldn’t kill them they should just let them stay in prison until they die. Like C Murder he ...

    Read More

More about Death Penalty Versus Life Impisonment

Open Document