Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty

For centuries, the death penalty has been used by nations throughout the world. Practices such as stoning, the guillotine, firing squads, electrocution, and lethal injections have all been common practices to condemn criminals who had enacted heinous crimes. In concurrent society, however, capital punishment has begun to be viewed as a barbaric and inhumane. From these judgments, arguments and controversies have erupted over whether or not the United States should continue to practice the death penalty. With advocates and critics arguing over the morality of the death penalty, the reason to why the death penalty exists has been blurred. Because of the death penalty’s ability to thwart future criminals through fear and its practical purposes, the practice of capital punishment should continue in the United States. Throughout history, capital punishment has been used to both punish criminals and exemplify …show more content…

Since the fear of death is an intrinsic fear mutually shared by the majority of the human race, it is only logical that humans would attempt to avoid encounters with death. Because of “the fear of death and the horror of the execution”, citizens may think twice before “committing serious crimes” (Source A). Citizens, therefore, would be less likely to partake in a crime that would assign them to death row. With less citizens participating in crimes, the world becomes a safer place. Still, critics continue to argue that “There is no proof that the death penalty has a deterrent effect” (Source A). Even though these critics are correct in that there is no proof, research would nearly be impossible to conduct due to the numerous variables that affect criminal activity. Because of the rationale behind the natural fear of death, it is logical to infer that the death penalty does in fact dissuade criminals from committing truly horrendous