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compare and contrast essay on capital punishment
Compare and contrast the arguments for and against capital punishment.
death penalty compare and contrast essay
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Some families do prefer life in prison rather than capital punishment. These families would rather have the money spent putting a person to death on them and getting them help for the loss of their loved one. Losing a loved one is a traumatic event. The death penalty does focus more on those convicted rather than the families who are suffering. Instead of spending millions of dollars on capital punishment, this money could be spent on helping the families and working on unsolved cases where some families never got closure for the death of a loved one.
Most families want the person who killed their loved one to suffer the same consequence: death. Sentencing a person to death is the only fair justice our court system could enforce because that
In some cases, life in prison would be less pain for a person than capital punishment; while in other cases, more pain would come from life in prison. The reason prison would be less pain is because the murderer would get to live a full life, just not in the real world. This is the easy way out. But, some prisoners do not like certain types of criminals because, depending on the type of crime, if a person who murdered another was sentenced to life in prison, the prisoners will take “good” care of that person. This means the person will wish he or she were dead rather than be in prison because the other prisoners will cause so much pain to the murderer. Pedophiles have the hardest time in prison. Usually, if their crime is known, they will not last long. For this reason, they are sometimes placed under protective
Richard Matt and David Sweat broke out of this prison, a feat no one has done in the 170 years the facility has existed. Cutting through concrete and steel walls, these two inmates, who lived in adjacent cells from each other, used power tools to do so. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the prison undergoes regular maintenance, so for Matt and Sweat to obtain these tools is impossible (Yan, Holly 1). Since two convicted killers were able to escape from a maximum security prison in New York, other convicts in prisons around the country will think they can do the same
Families do not receive the privilege to see their family members again so to equal out the justices, the one that has committed the crime should get the punish they deserve. Just in record, the death penalty will do no good because they will never have the time to think about what they did. They should serve jail time a minimal of ten years with no parole. Let’s us start by education are children in a young age of what is right and wrong and we can make a
In the movie Dead Man Walking, Earl Delacroix, the father of a murder victim, is seen at the funeral of the murderer, Matthew Poncelet, after his execution. While there, he says that he hasn’t found the peace he thought he would have after Matthew was executed and that his heart was still filled with hatred (Dead Man Walking.) This is the case for many families, capital punishment may give the impression that the murder victim’s family gains closure from the execution of the murderer, but that is rarely the case; even years after the execution has taken place, some family members of the victim suffer from unresolved grief and the murderer’s family is also affected in a negative manner. Capital Punishment is often viewed as the “right” option to put the families out of their pain and suffering, but in many cases, it’s just not effective in providing closure for the families and might make things worse; therefore, it should not be a valid reason for execution.
Bob McCulloch, Missouri state prosecutor, argues that this type of punishment is very appropriate. He also points out that the death penalty punishment is not applicable to the type of murder that we daily see on the television, or read about in the newspapers, but to those that are “particularly horrendous,” such as multiple murders, murders for hire, and so on (qtd in “The Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty”). He even goes on to describe one murder case that he worked on, as an example of a crime worthy of the death penalty. It’s the case of a man who gutted his girlfriend and her infant, and then cut off the baby’s head. A lot of death penalty supporters, sixty five percent to be more precise, believe in the Biblical saying “an eye for an eye,” arguing that the punishment really should fit the crime. They also believe that the family of a victim has the right to some type of a closure, and that the death penalty is the best way to provide them with one. John McAdams, Marquette University’s professor of political science, argues that by executing a murderer one cannot go wrong: “If you execute a murderer and it stops other murders, ...
The death penalty provides the victim’s families closure.[5] While the victim themselves are not alive to gain any closure from the situation, the execution of the perpetrator does bring a feeling of relief at no longer having to think about the ordeal.
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.
The purpose of the death penalty is to spare future victims of murder by carrying out the threat of execution upon convicted murderers. The death penalty punishes them not for what they may or may not do in the future but what they have already done. It's unclear that the murderer has the same right to live as their victim. Thomas Geraghty states “opinion polls report that more than 70% of Americans do not favor the death penalty for murder.
The world revolves around money, so our government should not waste it putting an inmate to death when we can keep him/her alive for a quarter of the cost. The reason it costs so much to give an inmate capital punishment is because they must submit to a extensive and strenuous judicial process. By doing so, the courts are making sure that they are not executing an innocent man for a crime that he did not commit, but even with these protections, the risk of murdering an innocent man cannot be completely eliminated. Life without parole not only saves millions of dollars, it safeguards the community from an irreversible mistake in taking the wrong life. The money that is saved can then be put towards programs that can improve the community (High Cost).
Rafter, N. H., & Stanley, D. (1999). Prisons in America : A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif. ABC-CLIO: ABC-CLIO (ebook).
Many against the death penalty say that the death of a killer is not justice or closure for a grieving family, it is revenge. I disagree, I trust that capital punishment is closure for the families of lost ones. A grieving son of a father who was brutally murdered said ‘my father was in a café when a stranger slit his throat… simply because he wanted to kill someone… this man deserves to die… everyday this man continues to live is a slap in the face to my father and to my family.’ How is it fair that an innocent man does not get to live the rest of his life like he wanted but a brutal murderer is? Imagine the torture for a family to live knowing that the person who killed their loved ones may be released to roam free and rebuild their life under a new identity. Ask yourself, wouldn’t you want justice
America is often described as the land of the free, yet to the thousands of inmates that sit in prison this is a luxury they may never experience again. While common sense says that prisons are a necessary part of the world, America’s prison system has been neglected for far too long. Many prisons are on the brink collapsing and the living conditions of the inmate’s borderline on inhumane. In addition America has one of the largest prison systems in the world, and it shows as many prisons are bursting at the seams. As the government struggles to pay the deficient, often the prison system is the last thing on anyone’s mind as money is so tight. Still there must be something that can be done to improve the safety of not only the inmates, but
The Death Penalty should be discontinued to the families, human rights, and statistics. The families of the victim and the family of the one, who committed the crime, have no closure at all. The death penalty is killing a human for being convicted of a terrible crime one family may think its right but both suffer by their lost ones. “Although true closure is never really possible for the families, studies have shown that the continual process, along with the returning to court for many years, force families to confront the gruesome details of the crime many times over, making it impossible to get on with their lives. As difficult as that is the question is weather the victims needs are met effectively by killing someone else and causing another family grief and pain as well as adding to the cycle of violence.” (Progress) As both families do not want to see each other because they all have pain and hate for one another. They both relive the last memories of their loved one and they can’t help but cry and stare at the pictures they were once happy in. The families both have sadness when its their loved ones birthday. If the victim is married or have kids, their kids suffer and the husband/wife suffer as well. Although the families will never get there loved one back they still suffer on what had happen. Both families blame one another for having to take flowers, to their dead family member or visit their family member in a cemetery because of what happen. None of them is truly happy that they lost a family member. The families miss the person who seemed so happy, and also know that they are in a better place watching over them. Although the families aren’t happy about losing them, but are relieved to know that nothing else can hurt them. As one family feels sorry for the other family, there could be the family that doesn’t care what happens but wants everyone to suffer the way they are suffering about the tragic death of one family member.
Family and friends of the victims may have to deal with the loss of a loved one and would want a sense of justice to be enforced. The end decision can give the family members some relief as well as a yearning for the criminal to suffer. Each sentence can bring the families peace of mind, however they each serve different roles in doing so. One family may want the criminal to experience a similar death that their loved one had received. The death penalty would fit this situation best since the family can watch as the criminal is executed if they choose to do so. There is then the situation where the family wants the criminal to suffer for the rest of their life. The perfect sentence for this is life in jail since the criminal will be stuck surrounded by maximum security for the rest of their life. Knowing that the criminal will be unale to cause harm to anyone else as well making sure they will suffer in prison will provide these families with the justice they feel is
On the other hand, family victims often call for the death penalty because their sibling/child had no right to die in the hands of a murderer. Since this person took their life, the family should have the right to lawfully take the murder’s life. Life in prison is not always enough for them because they have an opportunity to leave on parole, and the thought of these murderous monsters being released into society again horrifies these families, thus they call for execution.
The death penalty was first presented in 1700 BC, illustrated in the Code of Hammurabi, which is famous for the statement, "an eye for an eye." Another mode of punishment is a life sentence in prison. Out of all the individuals serving time in prison, one in every nine is serving a life sentence. The death penalty is permanent, whereas the life sentence is reversible, allowing individuals a chance to reform and change. Both life sentence and death penalty are harsh means of punishment in the United States; however, they differ because, the death penalty costs the government more money than charging a person with a life sentence in prison. So, what does the high expense for the death penalty mean for other governmental expenses? What does the
There are always two sides to every issue and capital punishment or life imprisonment is no different. This has been a very controversial issue for decades and still is today. Capital Punishment also known as the death penalty is defined as being the penalty of death for a crime. Some feel that capital punishment should be abolished because it is cruel; others believe life in prison is just as cruel. There are many reasons for the support of Capital Punishment and for Life in Prison.