Capital Punishment Essay: The Death Penalty
opinion Essay
586 words
The Death Penalty Offenders given mandatory life in prison on charges of murder, on average only serve 16 years before being released back into society. One in three of these killers carries out a second murder even under the supervision of the probation officer.1 If we allow murderers to spend life in prison we run the chance of them getting out and killing again. Capital punishment can also deter future perpetrators from committing such a heinous crime, and it will end the prisoner’s suffering by giving them a humane death and give closure to the victim’s family. Without a concrete meaning of “life in prison” we need the death penalty to put an end to the most evil of people. “Life should mean life.” This is what the family of the victim …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Opines that capital punishment can deter future perpetrators from committing such a heinous crime.
- Opines that if the death penalty were used in this case, there are two innocent lives that could’ve been saved by putting to rest one guilty life.
- Explains that death is a fear that many individuals share. deterring future killers from committing one act would literally end their own life.
- Opines that capital punishment would end the killer's suffering and let him leave the world peacefully.
- Opines that capital punishment will create the best overall net balance of welfare in our society.
If an action would run a high risk of getting yourself killed, you might think twice before committing such an act. If taking one guilty life can save even one innocent life, it’s doing its job. In 1973, Isaac Ehrlich employed a new kind of analysis that produced results showing that for every inmate who was executed, seven lives were spared due to deterrence.3 Deterring a future killer from taking a life does not only save that victim's life, but it might also save the would be killer’s life. They might see how committing this one act would literally end their own life, and because the fear of death looms over everyone, they may refrain from doing …show more content…
Using capital punishment would put an end to the killer’s suffering, and let him leave the world peacefully. With the death penalty in place, the victim’s family can finally get closure. Families that have been through the intense experience of losing a loved one might call for lex talionis, or eye for an eye. They could believe that the killer took their loved one from them and the only acceptable recourse would be to take the murderer’s life. This retaliation for the family might be the most important reason to instill the death penalty in today’s
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- Lethal Justiceanalytical essayFurthermore, premeditated murders are nearly impossible to stop. It is just a truth that when people have the determination to kill, they will find a way to do just that. The death penalty will not stop a man from doing so, nor will it bring the victim back to life. However, it does give justice to the victim’s family and friends as well as punish the murderer for his blatant crime. For every 1,000 murderers, on average, there are 2,000 v...
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty should be enforced to the full extent of the law to lower the amount of premeditated murders and punish capital crimes.
- Explains that execution rates help to deter homicides by discouraging future premeditated murders. the supreme court repealed and sentenced jordan to life in prison.
- Opines that murderers should not be viewed as normal people, since most people with homicidal tendencies tend to be mentally handicapped in some way, shape, or form.
- Argues that the death penalty is not intended to be a form of rehabilitation, but it is meant as capital punishment. they argue that serial killers should be sent directly to death row to minimize wasted taxpayer dollars.
- Argues that racism and bias towards blacks and minorities affect the way people are tried in court and ultimately affects the decision made for conviction of death row inmates.
- Argues that the death penalty is the perfect tool for the punishment of criminals convicted of committing homicide.
- Explains that premeditated murders are nearly impossible to stop. the death penalty gives justice to the victim's family and friends and punishes the murderer for his blatant crime.
1453 wordsRead More - Death Penaltyanalytical essayThe primary questions raised by the death penalty are whether it is an effective deterrent to violent crime, and whether it is more effective than the long-term incapacitation. Defenders of the death penalty believe that by taking an offender’s life is a more severe punishment than any prison term, it must be the better deterrent. “A life term is commonly a short vacation at State expense with nothing to do but eat the fruit of others industry.” (Opposing, p43.) The term deterrence is used to suggest that with the execution of murderers, there will be a direct decrease in homicide rate, due to the idea that potential murderers will fear for their own lives.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty is a fitting punishment for those who commit crimes so grave that they relinquish their right to life.
- Narrates hagg, van den, conrad, john, bender, l. david, leone, bruno, barbour, scott, and schonebaum, stephen.
- Argues that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to violent crime, and whether it is more effective than the long-term incapacitation.
- Explains that christians who morally support the death penalty believe in an ‘eye for an eye’, meaning that those whose crimes are to grave deserve to die. they also believe that imprisonment prevents murders from happening again.
925 wordsRead More - The Benefits of Capital Punishmentopinion essayCapital punishment has been used in the United States since the execution of Daniel Frank of Virginia in 1622. Since then more than 18,000 convicted criminals have been put to death (Crime and Punishment in American History, 1993, p 317). Many Americans today still feel that capital punishment is a fair and necessary method of punishing their most violent criminals. One argument for the death penalty is the deterrent effect. In a 1985 study, published by economist Stephen K. Layson at the University of North Carolina, he found that every execution of a murderer deters, on average, 18 murders. The study also demonstrated that raising the number of death sentences by one percent would prevent 105 murders. However, only 38 percent of all murder cases result in a death sentence and of those only 0.1 percent are actually put to death ( Pro Death Penalty Online). The JFA or Justice for All reported that in Texas, the highest murder rate occurred in 1981 in Houston, specifically Harris country with an astonishing 701 murders. Since then, Texas has reinstated the death penalty in and has e...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the benefits of capital punishment justice are about enforcing consequences for one’s own actions to endorse personal responsibility. capital punishment is an effective and efficient method of deterring criminals and preventing crimes.
- Explains that capital punishment has been used in the united states since the execution of daniel frank of virginia in 1622.
- Argues that putting a murderer away for life isn't good enough, since laws change, parole boards change and people forget the past. the case of dawud mu’min shows that people who value public safety believe there is no substitute for the death penalty.
- Explains that the argument of the constitutionality of capital punishment is an extremely controversial argument. many abolitionists claim the death penalty is unconstitutional and forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
- Opines that the morality of the death penalty is the most important argument in favor of capital punishment.
- Opines that capital punishment can deter crime and prevents parole boards and criminal rights activists from giving hardcore criminals the chance to repeat their crime.
- Describes the works of hugo adam, fredman, m. lawrence, and nancy jacobs.
1038 wordsRead More - Advocating The Death Penaltyopinion essayIf the death penalty has been declared legal, then the federal and state governments must employ it to its fullest as a means of stopping previous murderers from recommitting their crimes. Since most of the prisoners on death row are there for murder, executing them would ensure that they would never kill again. Obsessive murderers, who know no alternative to killing, need to be executed to protect both prison guards and society. This view is perhaps best illustrated through the words of Judge Alfred J. Talley of New York who explained “If I as an individual have the right to kill in self defense, why has not the state, which is nothing more than an aggregation of individuals, the same right to defend itself against unjust aggression and unjust attack?” (Kaplan 28) About two and a half years ago, my dear cousin, Jaime, became the first victim of a serial killer named Brian Duffy.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty is a beneficial component of our justice system, but it isn't nearly as effective as it could be.
- Opines that if the death penalty has been declared legal, the federal and state governments must employ it to its fullest as a means of stopping previous murderers from recommitting their crimes.
- Opines that brian duffy, or any other convicted murderer, should not have the right to lengthy appeals and court proceedings to delay execution.
- Opines that the united states should use the death penalty more frequently and quickly to promote justice and moral order.
1007 wordsRead More - Death Penaltyanalytical essayFor members of society who are retentionists and want to keep the death penalty, its deterrent effects are one of their primary arguments. But there is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty deters would-be criminals from their act of violence. Countless studies have shown that the murder rate in the United States has not gone down since the states were allowed to kill in 1976. In reality, the murder rate has increased, due to the brutalization factor that the punishment creates. There should be no doubt that the death penalty is an expensive, brutal, and ineffective deterrent to crime.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that the death penalty is an expensive, brutal, and ineffective deterrent to crime.
- Explains that in 2000, the national murder rate decreased 3.1 % from 1999, with the smallest decline in the south.
- Analyzes the statistics from the fbi uniform crime report that states that the least-used regions of the country are the safest for police officers. they state that 292 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed between 1989 and 1998.
- Compares the rate of death by handguns in eight industrialized countries and states that the united states is the only country of the eight to retain the death penalty.
- Quotes robert mauro, a professor at the university of oregon, who says we are encouraging more murder by executing criminals.
628 wordsRead More - Politics and The Death Penaltyanalytical essayDeath penalty supporters believe that capital punishment is the only sure way to deter murderers from committing murders again. “The argument that murderers are the least likely of all criminals to repeat their crimes is not only irrelevant, but also increasingly false. Six percent of young adults paroled in 1978 after having been convicted of murder were arrested for murder again with six years of release” (Death Penalty Paper).
In this essay, the author
- Argues that the presidential candidate should take a cautious anti-death penalty stance based on empirical and moral claims.
- Argues that the u.s. should sustain the current death penalty system, abolish it in favor of life in prison without parole plus restitution, or reform it to make it less costly and free of class, racial, and mental illness discrepancies.
- Argues that capital punishment is the only absolute punishment for severe crimes, preventing convicted criminals from committing crimes again.
- Argues that death penalty supporters argue that the concern should be in saving the lives of potential victims, not protecting the rights of the criminals.
- Explains that capital punishment is likely to deter more than other punishments, because people fear death deliberately inflicted by law and schedule by the courts.
- Explains that death penalty supporters claim that even the possibility that capital punishment will deter murderers from murdering again is enough reason to maintain the system.
- Explains that the death penalty does not deter crime, citing a study on the years spanning from 1973 to 1984.
- Explains that there is a stigma around the death penalty that capital punishment cases are performed with an inherent bias towards people of color.
- Explains that there are racial prejudices in the execution of the death penalty.
- Compares the cost of the death penalty versus life imprisonment, stating that it is more expensive than keeping a criminal imprisoned for life without parole.
- Illustrates the varying costs at the trial level. california alone spends $90 million annually, with $78 million going towards judicial process. in texas and north carolina, it costs over $2 million per execution.
- Opines that the death penalty is not the best way to ensure public safety.
- Explains that understanding why criminals commit crime is important in understanding the death penalty’s causes and ramifications.
- Argues that if legislation is passed that prohibits the execution of the mentally retarded, death penalty supporters argue that the justice system will result in chaos.
- Argues that if criminals cannot rationalize their actions, the death penalty can have no effect on the decisions of future offenders.
- Argues that the erratic nature of juries is not important in the death penalty issue. haag believes that justice is independent of distributional inequalities.
- Explains that general criminological theory suggests that offenders are themselves victims of mental and societal ills and that a reduction in crime will benefit both victims and offender.
- Explains that there are conflicting views in terms of religion and the death penalty. they argue that the wisest position for a presidential candidate is to avoid religious arguments.
- Opines that discussing the morality of the death penalty is not complete without considering the families of victims.
- Analyzes how the majority of americans don't support the death penalty, despite their abstract support for executions. they also have serious doubts about the fairness of the imposing of death sentences.
- Explains that people are misinformed about the death penalty. only 4% believe that a person convicted of first-degree murder will spend his life in prison.
- Recommends that the candidate take a cautious anti-death penalty stance, as there are serious racial, class, and mental discrepancies in the implementation of the death penalty.
- Recommends that the candidate sign international treaties promising to not actively implement the death penalty, but not abolishing the entire system, and propose a moratorium until more studies have been conducted.
- Explains ronald l. akers' theories of crime and deviance. sociology: social foundations of public issues, mcgraw hill, 2003.
- Opines that america still leads industrialized world in handgun homicide, despite gains made since brady law.
- Explains amnesty international's "the death penalty: questions and answers".
- Describes audi's views on the seperation of church and state and the obligations of citizenship in philosophy and public affairs.
- Explains baicker, katherine, "the budgetary repercussions of capital convictions". national bureau of economic research.
- Explains the bureau of justice statistics' "key facts at a glance: prisoners on death row by race."
- Opines that even with death penalty, most killers walk. national center for policy analysis, 14 ebruary 2004.
- Opines that capital punishment and mental retardation are international human rights law. human rights watch.
- States that the death penalty information center fact sheet is a fact sheet about the death penalty.
- Analyzes amnesty international's "facts and figures on the death penalty."
- Explains haag, ernest van den, "the ultimate punishment: a defense". copyright 1986 harvard law review association.
- Cites hamilton, tom, president of nami texas. the andrea yates case: family to family.
- Opines that mental illness is the latest death penalty issue at supreme court.
- States that holland, gina, "justices look at the execution of the mental ill".
- Describes the crimes reported by the police: homicide. homicide rate per 100,000 population.
- Opines that execution saves innocents. the boston globe, september 28, 2003. pg. h.11.
- Analyzes king, michael's article, "execution vs. treating the ill". christian science monitor.
- Cites mansnerus, laura, and death penalty information center article.
- Opines that death penalty is a hard sell to o.c. jurors.
- Opines that prosecutors drop death penalty as victims’ mother seeks closure.
- Explains the race of death row inmates executed since 1976. death penalty information center, 4 february 2004.
- Explains robinson, bruce a., "capital punishment; the death penalty". religious tolerance.
- Opines that minorities are treated fairly in the justice system. the daily home.
- Analyzes sharp, dudley, "mental retardation and the death penalty". justice for all, 18 october 2001.
- Describes sharp, dudley, and the death penalty in black and white.
- Cites the u.s. census bureau's the black population in the united states: march 2002.
- Cites the u.s. department of justice.
- Explains the bureau of justice statistics' sourcebook of criminal justice statistics 2002.
- Cites the u.s. department of justice's sourcebook of criminal justice statistics 2002. state correctional facilities provide mental health screening and treatment.
- Cites the u.s. department of justice's sourcebook of criminal justice statistics. inmates receiving mental health treatment in state correctional facilities.
- Explains the u.s. department of justice's sourcebook of criminal justice statistics. prisoners under death sentence.
- Describes the us embassy in france's "death penalty in the united states".
4240 wordsRead More - Capital Punishment Essay - Opposition To the Death Penaltyanalytical essayOpposition To the Death Penalty During the spring semester I read Evangelium Vitae: The Gospel of Life. Paragraphs 27 and 56 of this encyclical prompted a discussion of the death penalty with other students. Their first reaction was that the Pope was against it and that he was saying that the penalty has no justification. There was general resistance to the suggestion that while the Pope's attitude toward the death penalty is, to put it mildly, unfavorable, he did not flat out say that it was immoral, wrong, without justification.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how evangelium vitae: the gospel of life prompted a discussion of the death penalty with other students. the pope's attitude toward the penalty was unfavorable, but he didn't say it was immoral, wrong, without justification.
- Analyzes how a majority of student-friends were against the death penalty. they were in favor of life imprisonment.
- Opines that life imprisonment looks attractive when compared to the death penalty, but considered in itself it is a terrible thing.
- Analyzes how the catechism says of hell, and eminent theologians have wondered aloud about it.
- Explains that the teaching of the church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.
- Opines that hell is a powerful reminder that we should use our freedom with an eye to our eternal destiny.
- Analyzes johnson's remark that imminent hanging concentrates the mind. only someone with a belief in an afterlife could have made it.
- Analyzes how dante, who turned the eye of his imagination unflinchingly on the inferno, explained to scala what the meaning of the commedia is.
- Explains that human action is responsible for what we freely do. their ultimate answerability is in the next life where they will be permanently marked by the way they have acted here.
- Analyzes how sartre blew the whistle on those who thought they could deny god and still have natural law, rules that bind us whether we like it or not.
- Explains that moral philosophers have scrambled to provide some rationale for ethics, but they have failed. in the resultant flatland, there are only claimants and rights, pragmatic adjustments in which we mutually exploit one another.
- Opines that justice kennedy's ruling makes a person victim of tyranny. their judgment of their actions can only be imposed on them by their way of looking at things.
- Explains that most of us muddle on as if none of this was being taught or showing up in supreme court decisions. the cognoscenti recognize this - even as they are grateful for it.
- Opines that there is mounting opposition to the death penalty, and the reason for it should be sought in the effective denial that human agents are responsible.
- Argues that the nihilism and relativism that reign in the classroom and courts trivialize human action.
- Analyzes how the spanish dominican niceto blazquez ignores the passage of the catechism which ranks the points of punishment.
- Explains the primary effect of punishment is to redress the disorder caused by the offense.
- Explains that punishment is primarily to redress the disorder caused by the offense; secondarily, it protects society against future offenses. paragraph 2267 states that public authority should limit itself to bloodless means to defend human lives and protect public order and safety.
- Argues that imprisonment for crimes now reckoned as capital could meet the primary point of punishment, which is to redress the disorder caused by the criminal act.
- Explains that capital punishment removes the offender from society by killing him, while life imprisonment locks him up and throws away the key in irreparable disorder caused by the offense.
- Argues that to ally ourselves with the culture of death's opposition to the death penalty might lend credence to its diminished notion of action, responsibility and judgment.
- Analyzes how a dante-like defense of human dignity could be made by supporting the death penalty. when gary gilmore was converted in prison, protesters still gathered in candlelit vigil outside the prison.
2434 wordsRead More - Capital Punishment Essay: It's Fair and Effectiveopinion essayCapital Punishment - It's Fair and Effective Confronting head-on two of the most prominent objections to the death penalty is the object of this paper: Is the death penalty a miscarriage of justice? And Does it Deter Crime? It's a miscarraige of justice.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that the death penalty is a miscarriage of justice and does it deter crime.
- Opines that human activities, such as trucking, lighting, or construction, cost the lives of innocent bystanders. miscarriages of justice are offset by moral benefits and the usefulness of doing justice.
- Opines that the death penalty is a better deterrent than alternative punishments, but it is less than decisive for either side. abolitionists value the life of convicted murderers more than innocent victims.
- Opines that the death penalty is more feared than imprisonment, and deters some prospective murderers not already deterred by the threat of imprisonment.
- Opines that the severity of the death penalty is appropriate to the seriousness and the finality of murder.
- Compares the work of thorsten sellin and isaac ehrlich on the deterrent effect of capital punishment.
- Opines that most abolitionists would favor abolishment even if there could be no racial discrimination. if executions were shown to increase the murder rate in the long run, they would.
- Explains that weems v. united states, 217 u.s. 349 (1910) suggest that penalties be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.
962 wordsRead More - Capital Punishment Justifiedopinion essay"Common sense, lately bolstered by statistics, tells us that the death penalty will deter murder... People fear nothing more than death. Therefore, nothing will deter a criminal more than the fear of death... life in prison is less feared. Murderers clearly prefer it to execution -- otherwise, they would not try to be sentenced to life in prison instead of death... Therefore, a life sent...
In this essay, the author
- Argues that capital punishment should be allowed under certain circumstances because if someone commits mass murder they should pay with the ultimate human right which is of their life.
- Opines that capital punishment would deter other criminals from committing extreme crimes, which would result in more innocent lives saved.
- Opines that the death penalty will deter murder, since people fear nothing more than death. murderers prefer life in prison to execution, and we must execute murderers as long as they protect citizens from future murder.
- Explains haag's quote that killing the killer would reduce the chance of killing again and lower taxes. people in prisons are getting a place to stay warm and get fed, while people on the streets are starving.
- Opines that the death penalty deterring more extreme crimes would also be morally justified. bruce fein, a present day supporter of the death penalty, agrees with them.
- Argues that the death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor able to control his own destiny for good or for ill.
- Agrees with fein that if someone in human standing willingly commits a murder of great proportion they should pay. it is morally wrong to do wrong, but the state would be justified.
- Compares the arguments of justice william brennan and hugo adam bedau against the justification of capital punishment.
- Analyzes how justice william brennan thinks that capital punishment denies people the right of human dignity, which can correlate to the morality of the situation.
- Opines that people who commit the death of others should receive the harshest punishment that takes away their ultimate rights as human beings. if we eliminate those who have done wrong, we will live in a more enjoyable friendly environment.
1152 wordsRead More - The Benefits of the Death Penalty Crime is everywhere. Wherever we look, we find criminals and crime. Criminals have become a part of our daily lives. Does this mean we let them be the darkness of our society? No, definitely not.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that eliminating crime and criminals is our duty, and we cannot ignore it. death penalty should continue in order to eliminate the garbage of our society.
- Argues that deterrence means to punish someone as an example and to create fear in other people for the punishment.
- Opines that death penalty is irreversible, but there is nothing that can be done to undo the punishment if the accused turns out to be innocent.
- Opines that even if there are chances that an innocent person is executed, it is the problem with the trial, not the punishment.
- Opines that death penalty is not advocated for all criminals. insanity is a failure to respond to incentives in the usual ways.
- Opines that people who are mentally disabled should be subjected to death penalty because they are no good to society.
- Argues that death penalty is inhuman and barbarous, but it is a matter of putting an end to the tragically lost lives of murder victims and the criminal.
- Opines that the death penalty should not be abolished, as it ensures the safety of the society, brings justice to those who have suffered, and helps in reducing crime and criminals in our society.
- Analyzes slambrouck, paul van, and the christian science monitor online. us prisons under pressure - show increase in violence.
- Cites bedau, hugo adam, browning, tonya, haag, van den, and van den den on deterrence and the death penalty.
2127 wordsRead More