Capital Punishment

607 Words2 Pages

In 2013, the United States as a nation executed a total of thirty-nine people. In the last five years, the number of executions has been decreasing. If someone commits a capital crime and they are found guilty, they can be put on death row where they wait in prison until it is their turn to be executed. This is capital punishment, or the death penalty. According to CNN.com, “since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court, 1,362 people have been executed as of January 2014.” When the constitution was first composed, citizens convicted would only need to wait on death row for days or weeks. The length of time has increased dramatically; nowadays someone must wait numerous years. This is a widely debated topic in the U.S. and could directly affect any one of its citizens someday in the future. Some people believe capital punishment is considered cruel and unusual punishment, however, others think it deters crime and helps families of victims cope. The death penalty should be viewed as constitutional and ethical, for it has several beneficial attributes such as giving families closure, deterring murder, and it costs the government less money overall. The families of the victims, and in some cases the victims themselves, can benefit from the capital punishment as it gives them closure. When the executions take place, the families can finally dismiss any fear or anger left over from when the crime was committed. They can understand that they have been taken seriously and that it is finally all over. They can feel safe knowing that the condemned cannot take revenge. They can feel relief and peace knowing that justice has been served. It might give them comfort to know that the offender cannot do anyone else ... ... middle of paper ... ...104. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Rogers, Simon. "Death Penalty Statistics from the US: Which State Executes the Most People?" Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. "Statistics: Death Sentences, Capital Case Costs, and Executions." Capital Punishment: Cruel and Unusual?. Kim Masters Evans. 2012 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. "Executions by Year." DPIC. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. "Argumentative Essay on Capital Punishment." Web log post. Hot Essays. N.p., 5 Oct. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. "Death Penalty Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. "Retribution (In Support of the Death Penalty)." Retribution (In Support of the Death Penalty). N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Capital Punishment
1397 Words | 3 Pages
Many positions can be defended when debating the issue of capital punishment. In Jonathan Glover's essay "Executions," he maintains that there are three views that a person may have in regard to capital punishment: the retributivist, the absolutist, and the utilitarian. Although Glover recognizes that both statistical and intuitive evidence cannot validate the benefits of capital punishment, he can be considered a utilitarian because he believes that social usefulness is the only way to justify it. Martin Perlmutter on the other hand, maintains the retributivist view of capital punishment, which states that a murderer deserves to be punished because of a conscious decision to break the law with knowledge of the consequences. He even goes as far to claim that just as a winner of a contest has a right to a prize, a murderer has a right to be executed. Despite the fact that retributivism is not a position that I maintain, I agree with Perlmutter in his claim that social utility cannot be used to settle the debate about capital punishment. At the same time, I do not believe that retributivism justifies the death penalty either.
Read More
Dead Death Closure
1281 Words | 3 Pages
In the movie Dead Man Walking, Earl Delacroix, the father of a murder victim, is seen at the funeral of the murderer, Matthew Poncelet, after his execution. While there, he says that he hasn’t found the peace he thought he would have after Matthew was executed and that his heart was still filled with hatred (Dead Man Walking.) This is the case for many families, capital punishment may give the impression that the murder victim’s family gains closure from the execution of the murderer, but that is rarely the case; even years after the execution has taken place, some family members of the victim suffer from unresolved grief and the murderer’s family is also affected in a negative manner. Capital Punishment is often viewed as the “right” option to put the families out of their pain and suffering, but in many cases, it’s just not effective in providing closure for the families and might make things worse; therefore, it should not be a valid reason for execution.
Read More
Capital Punishment Should Not Be Instituted
1345 Words | 3 Pages
Since 1967, a total of 1392 executions have occurred in the United States ("Executions by Year"). What a shocking amount! This staggering number creates questioning on the topic of capital punishment. Is the death penalty really constitutional? Research and study over the topic leads to the conclusion that capital punishment should not be instituted in the United States for various reasons. The death penalty is immoral, unconstitutional, and inaccurate due to human errors.
Read More
The Death Penalty in the United States
1557 Words | 4 Pages
Capital punishment results in the victims family gaining a greater sense of security, making sure the criminal is able to be punished to the highest degree for his crime, and honoring retribution. The issue of capital punishment has created a division
Read More
The Case Against Capital Punishment
787 Words | 2 Pages
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).
Read More
Death Penalty: Needed Sacrifice or Legal Homicide?
922 Words | 2 Pages
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...
Read More
Capital Punishment
1112 Words | 3 Pages
Murder, a common occurrence in American society, is thought of as a horrible, reprehensible atrocity. Why then, is it thought of differently when the state government arranges and executes a human being, the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed and studied for many years, exposing several inequities and weaknesses, showing the need for the death penalty to be abolished.
Read More
Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty
1644 Words | 4 Pages
...ding, deterring crime, and saving tax dollars. The death penalty also ensures equal justice in America and ensures justice to those deceased in homicides. In the future, such issues can be resolved by keeping the death penalty: overcrowding in prisons will be less likely to happen, more criminals would be apprehended because of the plea bargain and crime rates will go down. This changed America by locking up more criminals in prison in these past two millenniums alone then altogether in America before while deterring crime due to convicts facing the chance of execution and being placed on death row. The death penalty also ensures the innocent who have suffered as a victim in a homicide have received their justice. With this being said, the death penalty works as a solution to the overcrowded prisons and overwhelming crime rates in the United States.
Read More
capital punishment
950 Words | 2 Pages
murder rates in given areas both before and after an execution. Clear and cole(2000) have
Read More
Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty
1667 Words | 4 Pages
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.
Read More
Capital Punishment
2330 Words | 5 Pages
One of the most controversial topics that affects the United States and other nations in
Read More
The Ethics of Capital Punishment
1503 Words | 4 Pages
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.
Read More
History of the Death Penalty and Why It Is Not Wrong
3309 Words | 7 Pages
Simon, Mallory. “Fast Fact: Breaking Down the Current State of Death Penalty.” CNN.com. Turner Broadcasting System, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
Read More
Capital Punishment
983 Words | 2 Pages
The death penalty has been around for centuries. It dates back to when Hammurabi had his laws codified; it was “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Capital punishment in America started when spies were caught, put on trial and hung. In the past and still today people argue that, the death penalty is cruel, unusual punishment and should be illegal. Yet many people argue that it is in fact justifiable and it is not cruel and unusual. Capital punishment is not cruel and unusual; the death penalty is fair and there is evidence that the death penalty deters crime.
Read More
Capital Punishment: The Best Solution
2375 Words | 5 Pages
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...
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Capital Punishment