Capital punishment in the United States is a highly debated topic. Arguments that want to get rid of this method of punishment usually mention the many problems that capital punishment is plagued with. The death penalty has many issues that cannot be resolved, and since these issues can’t be solved, the death penalty should be abolished. “The irrevocable nature of the death penalty renders it an unsustainable and indefensible remedy in an imperfect justice system.” (Evans 3) Even though the death penalty has been around since the 18th century, capital punishment has many issues such as wrongful convictions and high costs, proving it should be eliminated.
...ed United States. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Capital Punishment. Washington: GPO, 1994 Cheatwood, Derral and Keith Harries. The Geography of Execution: The Capital Punishment Quagmire in America. Rowman, 1996 NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Death Row. New York: Hein, 1996 "Ex-Death Row Inmate Cleared of Charges." USA Today 11 Mar. 1999: 2A "Fatal Flaws: Innocence and the Death Penalty." Amnesty International. 10 Oct. 1999 23 Oct. 1999 Gest, Ted. "House Without a Blue Print." US News and World Report 8 Jul. 1996: 41 Stevens, Michelle. "Unfairness in Life and Death." Chicago Sun-Times 7 Feb. 1999: 23A American Bar Association. The Task Ahead: Reconciling Justice with Politics. 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Report. Washington: GPO, 1994 Wickham, DeWayne. "Call for a Death Penalty Moratorium." USA Today 8 Feb. 1999: 17A ILKMURPHY
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In an average year about 20,000 homicides occur in the United States. Fewer than 300 convicted murderers are sentenced to death. But because no more than thirty murderers have been executed in any recent year, most convicts sentenced to death are likely to die of old age (1). Nonetheless, the death penalty looms large in discussions: it raises important moral questions independent of the number of executions (2).
Murder, killing, fatality, and mortality: all words that are associated with the disgrace that is the death penalty. Debated for decades, the death penalty continues to be a prominent topic for discussion across the United States. In 1977, the Death Penalty was reinstated by the use of lethal injection. Now, each state has their own take on the death penalty and on how its rules should apply to the criminal, of whatever crime they have committed, in said state. Have you ever thought about what a death sentence is? If you sentence a man to death for committing a murder aren’t you just a murderer yourself? These questions are frequently argued over, and there is always going to be two sides arguing: pro or anti-death penalty. Although many American’s believe that the death penalty is necessary for people who have done terrible things, the pros of not having the death penalty surpass the cons with factors such as money, mental issues, cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the possibility of wrongful convictions.
Capital punishment and the practice of the death penalty is an issue that is passionately debated in the United States. Opponents of the death penalty claim that capital punishment is unnecessary since a life sentence accomplishes the same objective. What death penalty opponents neglect to tell you is that convicted murders and child rapists escape from prison every year(List of prison escapes, 2015). As I write this essay, police are searching for two convicted murders who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York on June 6th, 2015. The ONLY punishment from which one cannot escape is the death penalty.
Hugo, Adam Bedau, Ed., The Death penalty in America: Current Controversies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997)
Green, Melissa S. ( 24-Mar-2005 ). "The Death Penalty: Specific Issues." In Melissa S. Green, compiler (1998-2009), Focus on the Death Penalty (website). Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage. (14 April 2014).
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"Is the death penalty unjust?" 10 March 1995: Online. Internet. 25 Sept. 2000. Available www: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/.pages/frontline/angel/procon/deathissue.html
By implementing the death penalty for each convicted killer, an estimated three to eighteen lives would be saved. (Tanner, Robert) One murder could be prevented for every 2.75 years less a person spends on death row. (Emory University) This data alone provides information about how to save innocent lives. The more research and testing completed, the more accurate today’s DNA testing is becoming. The reliability of determining guilt related to violent crimes is becoming increasingly more precise. The debate for the death penalty is an ongoing process. Some feel that the death penalty is a direct opposition of the Bill of Rights “cruel and unusual punishment” portion while others stand firm that “an eye for an eye” is fair.
Richard C. Dieter, 2009. Smart on Crime, Reconsidering the Death Penalty in a Time of
Lowe, Wesley. “Pro Capital Punishment Page.” Pro Capital Punishment Page. 22 July 2009. Web. 02 Jan. 2015.