Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty

1147 Words3 Pages

Capital Punishment
Introduction Section
To this day, whether capital punishment is ethical and justifiable continues to be disputed. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the act of killing or executing a person who was found guilty of a heinous crime, by the government. In ancient times, it was used to punish a variety of offenses. Once it’s done, there 's no going back, that 's why it 's considered the ultimate punishment for crime. The alternative to this would be life in prison without parole. While many nations have done away with this, others continue to implement this punishment.
There are only twenty-three countries that still employ the death penalty and the United States is the sole west democracy that continues this practice
The ceaseless appeals, further needed procedures, and other legalities continuously drag the process out. The prisoner is on death row for about fifteen to twenty years. Judges, attorneys, and court facilities all require a considerable investment by the taxpayers ("The Case Against the Death Penalty"). If civilization is to advance, society as a whole has to move away from this "eye for an eye" mindset. This mentality inevitably leads to an endless cycle of violence ("Amnesty International"). It also sends the wrong message, let 's kill the people who kill people to show killing is wrong ("Pros & Cons"). Basically saying, two wrongs don 't make a right.
Although public support for the death penalty has been steadily dropping since the mid 1990 's, one poll done in 2013 shows that 63% still favor capital punishment (Miller 207). Their reasoning is the cost of prison, safety of the public, the deterrence of crime, the gratification of retribution, etc. Usually, it 's violent individuals who receive the death sentence. Thus, the criminal is executed for the safety of public. It 's commonly believed that the punishment should fit the crime ("Death Penalty"). Using that logic, the fitting penalty for muder is
Too many people get to live a full functioning life in prison even after committing heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the families of the victims are left with grievance and despair. If the criminal was callous and malicious enough to carry out the plan to murder someone then they should be ready to face their consequences. If the death penalty were used more frequently, it would deter most criminals from committing these crimes. If life in prison was no longer and option for premeditated murder, but only the death penalty was used, there would be a steady decrease in the amount of murders nationwide. Harsher punishments will set an example to other

Open Document