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How does death penalty affect society
The effect of the death penalty
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Capital Punishment and its Effects on Society
“Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.” While the infamous jump roping children’s rhyme is exaggerated from the 18 and 11 blows her stepmother and father received, respectively, the rhyme does give a sense of America’s horrendous history of violent crimes. In fact, the United States’ murder rate is about four times higher than the rate in the European Union (Turow 42). Keeping that drastic difference in mind, it would certainly make sense that capital punishment is more prevalent in the United States than in the EU. The majority of the world’s population lives in countries where the death penalty is legal (Kronenwetter 88). Does that statistic coincide with the higher murder rates? It definitely seems plausible, however there is no way to be certain. In all 38 states where capital punishment is legal, murder must be committed in the 1st degree in order to be eligible for the death penalty, meaning it is a capital crime (Kronenwetten 18). It is said that the death penalty is meant to serve two principle social purposes: retribution and deterrence of further capital crimes (Brenner 62). So, if that is capital punishment in its theoretical sense, how well does it work carried out in the real world? The current justice system, though effective the majority of the time, leaves plenty of room for error that could cause society real danger once a dangerous, convicted felon is released and, therefore, call for the need of the death penalty. This point is demonstrated in the words of Judge Alfred J. Talley from New York, “ If I, as an individual, have the right to kill in self-defense, why has not the State, which is nothi...
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... Stuart. The Death Penalty: An American History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2002. Print.
Bedau, Hugo Adam., and Paul G. Cassell. Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment?: The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
Brenner, Samuel. The Death Penalty. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven/Thomson Gale, 2006. Print.
Henderson, Harry, and Stephen A. Flanders. Capital Punishment. New York: Facts on File, 2000. Print.
Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital Punishment: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1993. Print.
Robinson, Martin. "Revealed: The Five Murderers Freed from Life Sentences to Kill AGAIN." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Turow, Scott. Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003. Print.
Randa, Laura E. “Society’s Final Solution: A History and Discussion of the Death Penalty.” (1997). Rpt.in History of the Death Penalty. Ed. Michael H. Reggio. University Press of America, Inc., 1997. 1-6 Print.
Bowers, W, Pierce, G., and McDevitt, J.(1984), Legal Homicide: Death as Punishment in America, 1964-1982, 333
Throughout America’s history, capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been used to punish criminals for murder and other capital crimes. In the early 20th century, numerous people would gather for public executions. The media described these events gruesome and barbaric (“Infobase Learning”). People began to wonder if the capital punishment was really constitutional.
There are over sixty offenses in the United States of America that can be punishable by receiving the death penalty (What is..., 1). However, many individuals believe that the death penalty is an inadequate source of punishment for any crime no matter how severe it is. The fact remains, however, that the death penalty is one of the most ideal forms of punishment. There are other individuals who agree with the idea that capital punishment is the best form of punishment. In fact, some of these individuals believe that this should be the only form of punishment.
...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
25 Hugo Adams Bedau, The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) 250.
Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. “Capital Punishment.” Our Duty or Our Doom. 12 May 2010. 30 May 2010 .
By placing convicts on death row, America has found a just way of preventing repeat offenders while decreasing the rate of homicide as justice deteriorates crime rates. For instance, “There is overwhelming proof that living murderers harm and murder again, in prison and after improper release. No one disputed that living murderers are infinitely more likely to harm and murder again than are those that are executed murderers” (Williams). Accordingly, with the chance of facing the death penalty and going on death row, criminals are discouraged from committing the crime they are proceeding in, apprehensive of being placed on death row. Revealing likewise, this also shows that punishing criminals by benefiting them with shelter, food, and basic accommodations does not discourage them from committing more crimes after an improper release occurs. Continuing on, “For every inmate in America who was executed on Death Row, seven innocent lives were spared because other criminals were deterred from committing murder”(Williams)....
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.
Americans have argued over the death penalty since the early days of our country. In the United States only 38 states have capital punishment statutes. As of year ended in 1999, in Texas, the state had executed 496 prisoners since 1930. The laws in the United States have change drastically in regards to capital punishment. An example of this would be the years from 1968 to 1977 due to the nearly 10 year moratorium. During those years, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, this ended in 1976, when the Supreme Court reversed the ruling. They stated that the punishment of sentencing one to death does not perpetually infringe the Constitution. Richard Nixon said, “Contrary to the views of some social theorists, I am convinced that the death penalty can be an effective deterrent against specific crimes.”1 Whether the case be morally, monetarily, or just pure disagreement, citizens have argued the benefits of capital punishment. While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that is capital punishment being used for vengeance or as a deterrent.
Simon, Mallory. “Fast Fact: Breaking Down the Current State of Death Penalty.” CNN.com. Turner Broadcasting System, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
Andre, Claire. "Capital Punishment: Our Duty or Our Doom?." Santa Clara University, n.d. Web. 13 Apr 2010. .
When someone is legally convicted of a capital crime, it is possible for their punishment to be execution. The Death Penalty has been a controversial topic for many years. Some believe the act of punishing a criminal by execution is completely inhumane, while others believe it is a necessary practice needed to keep our society safe. In this annotated bibliography, there are six articles that each argue on whether or not the death penalty should be illegalized. Some authors argue that the death penalty should be illegal because it does not act as a deterrent, and it negatively effects the victim’s families. Other scholar’s state that the death penalty should stay legalized because there is an overcrowding in prisons and it saves innocent’s lives. Whether or not the death penalty should be
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is how the saying goes. Coined by the infamous Hammurabi’s Code around 1700 BC, this ancient expression has become the basis of a great political debate over the past several decades – the death penalty. While the conflict can be whittled down to a matter of morals, a more pragmatic approach shows defendable points that are far more evidence backed. Supporters of the death penalty advocate that it deters crime, provides closure, and is a just punishment for those who choose to take a human life. Those against the death penalty argue that execution is a betrayal of basic human rights, an ineffective crime deterrent, an economically wasteful option, and an outdated method. The debate has experienced varying levels of attention over the years, but has always kept in the eye of the public. While many still advocate for the continued use of capital punishment, the process is not the most cost effective, efficient, consistent, or up-to-date means of punishment that America could be using today.
---- World Book Online Americas Edition. Ed. Franklin E. Zimring. Capital Punishment. 17 Apr 2002 14 Apr 2002.