Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty

1002 Words3 Pages

The death penalty is by far the most controversial topic in today 's society. However, there are many people who supports the death penalty, yet there is also a great amount of people who believe the death penalty is wrong. The death penalty, or capital punishment, is the punishment of execution that is administered to someone who is legally convicted of a capital crime. Although opponents of the death penalty believe that it is against human rights, capital punishment is appropriate with the support of the fifth amendment, it is morally acceptable, and gives Justice to the victims and their families.

First, the death penalty is morally acceptable. Americans have long supported the death penalty, with majorities saying that they favor it as
Majorities such as the government, the people, and the bible, support the death penalty because it is not wrong to punish someone for their crimes. The death penalty has been morally acceptable since biblical times. In Genesis 9:6, God supports the death penalty; "[w]hoever shall shed man 's blood, his blood shall be shed: for man was made to the image of God." This excerpt, taken from the bible, teaches that capital punishment is appropriate and that if a man kills another, the loss of his own life is one of the highest penalties they can pay. Even though one in four of those death penalty abolitionists who believe that no form of punishment should be acceptable, argues that a sentence of life in prison without parole fulfills the need (Kenny 28). However, Edward Koch, mayor of New York from 1978 to 1989, believes that the argument brought up by death penalty opponents is "sophistic nonsense," and that a life sentence is actually a harsher punishment than the penalty of death
According to the online website FindLaw, the Fifth Amendment indicates that "[n]o person shall be held to answer for a capital...crime, unless on a presentment of indictment of a Grand Jury...not be deprived of life...without process of law." This amendment clearly permits that death penalty to be imposed, and establishes that it is not one of the "cruel and unusual punishments," prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. For instance, in the case Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the death penalty was proven to be "constitutionally permissible form of punishment under a properly written statute..." (Bergman 503). The Gregg v. Georgia (1976) case was about a defendant named Gregg, whom was sentenced to death after finding him guilty of armed robbery and murder. This case proved that capital punishment does not violate the Eighth Amendment when it contains information that allows the defendant to be sentenced to death. Since the court 's decision in Gregg (1976), the Fifth Amendment placed its limits on the use of the death penalty. In particular, the Court determined that the death penalty cannot be given for a crime of rape when the victim does not die, and if it is given, it would constitute a disproportionate punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment (Bergman 505). The Court also ruled that it is unconstitutional to give minors under the age of eighteen and the mentally handicapped a sentence

Kirstin Lobato Wrongful Convictions
1061 Words | 3 Pages
Hundreds of people each year are punished for crimes they didn’t even commit. Some have spent at least 14 years in prison, while others have spent time on death row. In 2015, up to 149 people were cleared for crimes they didn’t commit. (Ferner) This was because of DNA exonerations, eye witness identification reforms, criminal justice reform commissions, petitions, protests, news stories, preservation of evidence, and access to post-conviction DNA testing. Some causes that triggered wrongful convictions are: a younger defendant, a criminal history, a weak prosecution case, prosecution withheld evidence, and a weak defense (Predicting and Preventing Wrongful Convictions). Kirstin Lobato fits the shoe! She has been in jail for the past 15 years
Read More
Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty
1657 Words | 4 Pages
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.
Read More
Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty
1013 Words | 3 Pages
The death penalty, capital punishment, in the words of the Oxford English Dictionary is the legally authorized execution of an individual as discipline for a crime (“Death Penalty”). Exactly one hundred and sixty-nine years before the establishment of the United States of America, in year 1607, George Kendall was the first to meet his fate to a firing squad in Jamestown, Virginia as retribution for discord, mutiny, and espionage (Green 1). Some four hundred and seven years later, the fate of the death penalty itself has become one rather controversial—in the landmark Supreme Court case Furman v. Georgia (1972), the implementation of absolute justice was ruled unconstitutional; yet a mere four years later, this decision was overruled. One thousand
Read More
Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty
1644 Words | 4 Pages
Since the 13 colonies were first established in America, the death penalty has been the main form of capital punishment as a firmly deep-rooted institution in the United States. Today, one of the most debated issues in the criminal justice system is the issue of capital punishment. While receiving disapproving viewpoints as those who oppose the death penalty find moral fault in capital punishment, the death penalty has taken a very different course in America while continuing to further advancements in the justice system since the start of the new millennium. While eliminating overcrowding in state jails, the death penalty has managed to save tax payers dollars as well as deteriorate crime and apprehend criminals.
Read More
Reevaluating the Death Penalty: A Dilemma in America
1419 Words | 3 Pages
The United States guarantees the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; however, if the death penalty is legal, the same country which promises life, has the ability to take it away. If a person were to commit first degree murder, take part in terrorism, or commit an act of espionage, they would be faced with capital punishment. Many Americans disagree with the death penalty because of the high expense of death, the possibility of innocent people murdered, and the amount of crime deterred by the elimination of the death penalty. However, many citizens realize the advantages to the death penalty such as, prison escapees who might commit more crimes, a potential solution to overcrowded prisons, and a way for victims’ families
Read More
Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty
1387 Words | 3 Pages
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted." This is what is stated in the 14th amendment of the Bill of Rights. So why is there still a death penalty in the United States? The first laws created towards the death penalty go as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which allowed the death penalty to be carried out for 25 different crimes. In these early times death sentences were done in ways such as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. Newer ways to go about the death penalty, more nineteenth century, include hanging, electric chair, gas chamber, and lethal injection. What do all these methods
Read More
Death Penalty: Injustice Not Deterrence
704 Words | 2 Pages
We’re only human, we all make mistakes. It is certainly that if a person who commits a crime deserves punishment, but there is a difference between making someone serve a punishment and killing them. The death penalty does not provide injustice, there are still criminals who continue to break the laws. There are still murder cases going on while a criminal is being punished for committing a crime. It does not deter the crime. It still continues. Who is stopping it? The government is committing a crime itself. They claim that killing someone means you shall be killed too. Well, that all is part of a murderer as well. Burning, hanging, drowning, crucifixion, breaking on the will, boiling to death, and, electrocution are such barbaric acts. Capital
Read More
The Unjust Reality of Capital Punishment
1241 Words | 3 Pages
While one person lays with their wrists circumscribed to the worn leather of the gurney, another person holds two skin-piercing needles. The individual holding the needles is an inexperienced technician who obtains permission from the United States federal government to murder people. One needle is held as a precaution in case the pain is too visible to the viewers. Another dagger filled with a lethal dosage of chemicals is inserted into the vein that causes the person to stop breathing. When the cry of the heart rate monitor becomes monotone, the corrupt procedure is complete. Lying in the chair is a corpse when moments ago it was an individual who made one fatal mistake that will never get the chance to redeem (Ecenbarger). Although some people believe that the death
Read More
Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty
946 Words | 2 Pages
The death penalty will never be an easy task to take on, whether watching it, or being apart if the process. How did it come about and who made the first decision that a person had to die because of their actions. I all why are some states: including Florida still "putting people to death". Some questions are easier to answer then others, and even though the death penalty seems like the best form of punishment, I 'm not sure if will ever agree whether it 's the right or not?
Read More
Persuasive Essay On Death Penalty
2435 Words | 5 Pages
One of the most repetitive and controversial topics discussed in the criminal justice system, is the death penalty. Capital punishment has been a part of our nation’s history since the creation of our constitution. In fact, as of January 1st, 2016, 2,943 inmates were awaiting their fate on death row (Death Penalty Information Center). Throughout my life, I have always been a strong advocate for the death penalty. During the majority of my undergraduate degree, I was a fierce supporter of capital punishment when discussing the topic in classes. However, throughout many criminal justice courses, I found myself in the minority, regarding the abolishment of the death penalty. While debating this topic, I would always find myself sympathetic to the victims and their families, as one should be, wanting those who were responsible for heinous crimes to
Read More
Essay On 8th Amendment
832 Words | 2 Pages
The Eighth Amendment interpretation has changed over time because of a criminal’s mental health, non-homicidal crimes, and the execution of minors. To emphasize, Justice John Paul Stevens proclaimed that “in a 6 - 3 opinion, the Court held that executions of mentally retarded criminals are ‘cruel and unusual punishments’ prohibited by the Eighth Amendment” (Atkins v. Virginia.). As a result, the United States of America doesn’t execute mentally ill criminals, anymore, because people found out that there is something wrong with their brain and that they do not have a self conscious. Furthermore, majority of the Supreme Court agreed with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy [in a 6 - 3 decision] and concluded that “the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual
Read More
Capital Punishment
1067 Words | 3 Pages
In 1997, 80% of Americans favored the death penalty. A recent national poll found that, that number has significantly dropped to an all time low of 63%percent. In addition, those favoring the death penalty dropped to fifty percent when those polled were asked to assume that the alternative to the death penalty was life in prison with no chance of parole. And, the amount of death sentences imposed in the United States during the recent years has dropped to the lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated. Hence, it would seem that our society’s attitude toward capital punishment is changing as well. What was once ordinary is now abnormal, and what was once essentially unquestioned is now questioned.The debate over the legitimacy or morality of the death penalty may be almost as old as the death penalty itself and, in the view of the increasing trend towards its complete abolition, perhaps as outdated. Capital punishment is horribly flawed, ineffective at deterring crime, completely unethical, outrageously expensive, and has no place in a civilized society.
Read More
Both Sides of Capital Punishment
1997 Words | 4 Pages
Some people take the neutral position that there is no right or wrong answer, that each opinion on capital punishment is valid in its own way. Opponents of the death penalty claim that sentencing a person to death does not change the reality of the situation; the harm already done simply cannot be fixed from a vengeance standpoint. You cannot bring the murdered person back by taking the prisoner's life. Proponents of capital punishment tend to defend their opinion mainly on two grounds: death is a fitting punishment for murder, and executions maximize public safety through incapacitation and deterrence.
Read More
Persuasive Essay On Death Penalty
1019 Words | 3 Pages
How does one weigh human life? Who deserves to die and who doesn’t? These are the difficult questions that will go through a person’s head that has another man’s life in their hands. Does the idea of death scare an individual who has rapped murdered, tortured, and slaughtered people? The death penalty is the action of killing a person via a judicial proceeding for justice of a wicked crime committed, such as provoked murder, felony killing or contract killing. According to the report by Death Penalty Information Center, the murder rate at the states with death penalty is higher (5.2) than the murder rate at the states without the death penalty that is (4.5) per one hundred thousand people. The death penalty should be demolished in the U.S. because it does not deter crime rate, and it is very expensive.
Read More
Death Penalty Essay
1200 Words | 3 Pages
What is the death penalty? Also known as capital punishment, the death penalty is where the government or state executes a person because they have committed a serious crime. Many people disagree with this method, but I support it for multiple reasons.
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty

Kirstin Lobato Wrongful Convictions