The Death Penalty In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

An easy way to answer these questions is to totally nullify capital punishment completely. One reason why the death penalty is so controversial is because many feel its cruel ways of punishment are unnecessary, even if the crime is murder, whether it be premeditated or unintentional. They believe there are other ways of condemnation besides execution. In the case of an unintentional death feelings are that the perpetrators should have the right to live, but have to face each day with the fact that they killed someone weighing on their conscience. On the other hand, such as with a voluntary murder, the ideas are somewhat similar.

The murderers are mistreated on the death row and that is why the death row should be abolished all together. The death penalty is racist, it punishes the poor, it causes the innocent to die, it is not a deterrent against violent crime, and it is cruel and unusual punishment. More than half of the countries in the world have already abolished the death penalty and the U.S should abolish it too. It is wrong and cruel. Some states in the U.S still hold the death penalty because they think it will keep U.S citizens safe, but we can just keep the murders in a separate patrolled jail.

"Maldistribution inheres no more in capital punishment than in any other punishment." (Haag 274) Fear of the death penalty can be a good deterrent. Many people also try to abolish the death penalty by talking about the suffering a convicted murderer has to go through, but what about what the victim had to go through. Further, if we get rid of the death penalty it will show that we are not willing to impose our punishments on people who brake our laws. Some maldistribution of the death penalty is unavoidable, but that does not mean we should throw out the death penalty.

Many people are split on the idea of capital punishment because it involves death. I feel that capital punishment is morally and ethically acceptable because it rids society of our worst criminals. Many people argue that killing criminals who kill is just as bad as being the criminals. For one the criminals killed innocent people who had no idea what was coming, and had no way to prevent it. The criminal who commited the crime in almost all cases had to commit first degree murder, which includes some planning of the act.

Law officials, as well as many people feel safer knowing that a murder may not be committed simply because of the fear the death penalty installs. Only the truly mentally sick refuse to fear the idea of being put to death by the government. The death penalty has come a long way through the years to become more humane, despite the idea of killing another human being. It was originally a painful hanging. Years later it was changed to death by electric chair, and now recently it has been changed to death by lethal injection.

The supporters claim that the death penalty will eliminate criminals and that these offenders will not be around to repeat any future crimes. Legally, criminals should be "innocent until proven guilty;” but in reality, they are often accused to be "guilty until proven innocent.” However, the abolitionists argue that innocent people have been mistakenly placed on death row and executed because of the flaws in the current criminal justice system. Amnesty International discovered that “innocent people may be sentenced to death through judicial error” ("Evidence Against Death Penalty”). As a result, tragedies are irreversible. An innocent victim by the name of “Steven Truscott was wrongly convicted of murder… It was horrible for Truscott and the victim 's family because the real culprit got away with murder” (Wheeler).

Second, Gibson defends his conclusion by arguing that the death penalty acts as an ultimate retribution. The article, “The Case Against the Death Penalty” on the other hand argues that many people who have lost a loved feel as if they have to do everything that is in their hands to execute the murderer; yet this sentiment is not universal. Further more, someone who is sentenced to death row, may not even want anything to do with the murderer of their loved one. In the United States, many who have survived the murder of a loved one have joined Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation or Murder Victims Families for Human Rights (The Case Against the Death Penalty). Instead of holding anger, as well as resentment toward their loved one’s murderer, they decide to join these groups that help them reach the peace that was taking away from them when their loved one was murdered.

Some citizens were proven to be innocent long after their execution. It is here clear that in making the death penalty a mandatory ‘law’, a meaningful number of innocent people will be executed which is obviously not right. Death penal... ... middle of paper ... ...end to blame the death of the murderer on them, causing them to feel a huge guilt. Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation and The Journey of Hope is a group founded by all victims’ families who oppose the death penalty. They denote their differences from the ones who have taken their precious ones from them by refusing to descend to a murderer’s level.

The death penalty has also been imposed for such crimes as armed robbery, kidnapping, rape and treason. Some people believe that capital punishment is necessary for punishing people that have committed any type of crime, much of the time because these people want justice; others think that capital punishment is only necessary in extreme cases, such as murder, while others believe that it is wrong and shouldn't be aloud to take place. Amnesty International's thoughts on the death penalty is that it is 'cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment and a violation of the right to life'[3]. In extreme cases, I believe that people should be punished. People who commit crimes such as murder (mass or only an individual killing), rape and kidnapping should all be punished for what they have done.

Stoning, drowning, burning at the stake, impaling, and beheading are other forms of punishment that people used hundreds of years ago. These previous methods are found cruel and unusual and evolve to what we refer to today as modern capital punishment. Capital Punishment today is the legal infliction of death as a penalty for violating criminal law and is justly so. Since 1976, capital punishment is accomplished through various means; lethal injection (primarily), electrocution, and gas chamber are the most prominent (Death Penalty Information Center). These new methods are more efficient and less inhumane for the party receiving the sentence of death.