The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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The Death Penalty Albert Camus once said, “Capital murder is the most premeditated of murders.” Is an executor any less of a criminal than the people who are on death row? Our justice system seems to agree on the old notion of an eye for an eye, but this notion fails. How can one teach another that taking someone’s life is wrong by punishing the criminal with the very same crime in which he has committed? That would be like teaching someone that stealing is wrong by stealing from them. When using different scenarios, does the idea of capital punishment still make sense? The death penalty is a form of capital punishment that is given after a person has inexcusably committed a serious crime. Its policies and procedures have been altered over the course of history. The death penalty was established as a means of teaching a lesson to the world, is still in effect today, and has no future outlook of being removed. The Declaration of Independence states that one has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (property). These are the natural rights of every American. To what extent must one violate the law to have these rights revoked? Is it ever justifiable? The death penalty goes as far back as the Code of Hammurabi in the 1700’s, …show more content…

Depending on the state of your offense your sentence will be determined by the jury and the judge. When a person is sentenced to the capital punishment it does not take affect overnight. The process takes about 10 to 15 years before you are actually executed; so the inmates spends up to 10 to 20 years in prison before your actual execution day. To execute someone cost an immense amount of money that is now being looked at as a waste of taxpayer’s money. Just in California, they spent $4 billion between the years of 1980 and 2012. Every year for each case that amount increases $134 million (Daily Beast [DB],

Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty In Canada
1926 Words | 4 Pages
Unlike popular belief, the cost of sentencing someone to death is actually more expensive than a life sentence in prison. In Washington, since the death penalty was reinstated 5 people have been put to death costing taxpayers roughly $120 million, that's roughly $24 million per case (Seattle University, 2015). A reason that people advocate strongly for the death penalty is because they believe that they should not have to pay for the costs to keep criminals fed, sheltered and imprisoned. In fact, 56% of Canadians surveyed believed that the one time cost of a lethal injection is cheaper and will allow their money to go towards something more advantageous like healthcare or education (Angus Reid). This is actually quite different from the truth, in fact is estimated that it costs $740 000 on average to put someone in prison for life. It is also estimated that it costs roughly $1.26 million to sentence someone to death (Seattle University, 2015). (There seems to be a discrepancy between how much a single case costs and how much Washington spent since the death penalty has been reinstated, but I could not find evidence to why that is). Among the reasons why the death penalty is so expensive is the fact that the time in courts is quite lengthy. Jury trials averaged 40.13 days in cases where the death penalty was being sought, but only 16.79 days
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Rainey Bethea: The Last Public Execution in America
1314 Words | 3 Pages
Rainey Bethea was a hardly a man, but a monster. He was a rapist, thief, and murderer. Bethea broke into the home of an innocent old woman. He proceeded to brutally strangle her, rape her fragile body until she took her last breaths. After the gruesome act he advanced into the home and seized the possessions that were most dear to her. He left the home without batting an eye. Shortly, after being arrested with the crime Bethea admitted to the allegations. He was summoned to the gallows in Owensboro, Kentucky. The hanging of Bethea was a well-known case of 1936. He was the last person to be publicly executed in the United States. Although not conducted publicly, today thirty-one states have the death penalty. The methods range from firing
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The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty
1578 Words | 4 Pages
Since colonial times, approximately 13,000 people have been put to death using the death penalty? How do we know if any of those people were actually guilty? The Bills Of Rights outlines our rights as Americans in the United States. According to the 8th Amendment, there should be no excessive bail or fines nor there any kind of cruel and unusual punishment inflicted. Well that being said does that not go against what the death penalty is and what our 8th amendment stands for? How do you stand? In this paper I will list the reasons on why we should get rid of the death penalty which could really change how you feel on the how you stand.
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Capital Punishment: Costs Of The Death Penalty
631 Words | 2 Pages
Our criminal justice system's use of the death penalty appears increasingly void of rationale when we consider the other prices we pay. Executions take up to fifteen years or longer (Walker 1994, 106).
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The Pros And Cons Of John Locke's Social Contract
1054 Words | 3 Pages
Costs vary ranging from an additional twenty-five thousand dollars to as high as One million dollars. This is astronomical coming from a nation in debt. We either need to figure out a way that allows the people save money on putting people to death who break society 's rules then leech money away or we need to stop it all together. This would be the only logical reason to prevent the death penalty from being implemented, but as shown above there are lackluster aspects to the system. Even when a decision is made our government doesn’t take the best coarse of action when trying to follow through on the
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Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty
1113 Words | 3 Pages
Should the Death penalty be banned in the states? I say no because I’m all for it, the death penalty is here to put the evil in man to rest. Without the death penalty all the convicts that murder would have no punishment and basically be locked up in prison for life. I bet some convicts would pick life in prison over the death penalty because it is like for them living in a hotel. I’m all for the death penalty because it will provide closure for victims, It is not always cruel, and it Prevents crime.
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Capital Punishment
1112 Words | 3 Pages
Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weak and deficient. A common misconception of the death penalty is that the cost to execute a convicted criminal is cheaper than to place a convict in prison for life without parole. Due to the United States judicial system, the process of appeals, which is inevitable with cases involving death as the sentence, incurs an extreme cost and is very time consuming. The cost of a capital trial and execution can be two to six times greater than the amount of money needed to house and feed a prisoner for life. "Studies show incarceration costs roughly $20,000 per inmate per year ($800,000 if a person lives 40 years in prison). Research also shows a death-penalty ease costs roughly $2 million per execution," (Kaplan 2). Capital punishment is extremely expensive and depletes state governments of money that could be used for a wide range of programs that are beneficial. As Belolyn Wiliams-Harold, an author for the journal Black Enterprise, writes that county governments are typically responsible for the costs of prosecution and the costs of the criminal trial, including attorney's fees, and salaries for the members of the courtroom. All this money is spent at the expense of the corrections department and crime prevention programs, which are already is strapped for cash (Williams-Harlod 1). These "financial constraints," such as capital punishment, do not promote a healthy, commercial society, but actually cost and harm the public.
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Supporters and Oppostion to The Death Penalty
1128 Words | 3 Pages
One of the most widely debated and criticized methods of punishment in the United States is the Death Penalty. The Death Penalty is an issue that has the United States quite divided. While there are many supporters of it, there is also a large amount of opposition. Currently, there are thirty-three states in which the death penalty is legal and seventeen states that have abolished it according to the Death Penalty Information Center. There is no question that killing another person is the most atrocious criminal act that one can commit. I am not sure why, but it seems that the United States government is being hypocritical when it says that capital punishment is acceptable because a criminal did murder an innocent victim, and therefore should be killed (Philips, 2013). This is rule is known as the "eye-for-an-eye, and tooth-for-a- tooth theory." Of course, if we used this system all the time, there would be no need for laws. A second argument that some people use to support capital punishment is that the fear of being given the death penalty is going to stop criminals from murdering. How many criminals would murder in the first place, even in a state where there is no capital punishment, if they thought there was a chance of getting caught? Most murderers feel that they have a plan to get away with murder (Philips, 2013). Unfortunately, most are right. In response to this I believe that the United States Bill of Rights in the Constitution prohibits cruel an unusual punishment. There is nothing more cruel or unusual than taking someone’s life.
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The Death Penalty
853 Words | 2 Pages
The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).
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Capital Punishment: A Perspective from Death Row
1036 Words | 3 Pages
In the first place, Capital Punishment is the only real punishment that fits the crime of murder and
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The Ethics of Capital Punishment
1503 Words | 4 Pages
While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that capital punishment is being used for vengeance or as a deterrent. Capital punishment has been used worldwide, not only by the governments to instill fear, but to show that there are repercussions to ones actions. From the time we are born, we are taught to learn the difference between right and wrong. It is ingrained in our brains, what happens to people that do bad things? Capital punishment is renowned for being the worst thing that could be brought amongst ones life.
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Capital Punishment Or The Death Penalty In The 1930's
1002 Words | 3 Pages
Capital Punishment is actually highly expensive. Cases where capital punishment is sought cost $1.26 million on average. It costs $90,000 more per year to maintain a death row prisoner than a prisoner in general population. Therefore, the argument that capital punishment is less expensive than a life sentence is invalid.
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Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty
622 Words | 2 Pages
The death penalty has always been disputed, but in reality it is better for everyone. Many think that it is biased and there is a chance of wrongful execution, but statistics show how diverse executions are and there are many ways to prevent wrongful executions. It also acts as a deterrence to future murders, gives closure to families of the victims, and adds to the issue of the overpopulation issue in jail.
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The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty
1542 Words | 4 Pages
1,188. The number of executions since January 1, 1997 in the US alone; 1,116 by lethal injection, 156 by electrocution, eleven by gas chamber, three by hanging and two by firing squad. 3,054. The number of death row inmates awaiting execution in 2014. While these numbers are interesting, they do not answer the real question. Should the death penalty be legal and is it ethically right? This debate is not a case between yes and no but whether it is morally acceptable and does it breach human dignity to kill someone for his or her crimes against society. While killing a person is an awful, heinous act, it is for that very reason those individuals who commit this act are on death row in the first place. People have been arguing about this controversial
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Capital Punishment Should be Abolished
869 Words | 2 Pages
If a criminal is sentenced to life in jail, then the cost of their imprisonment would be many times this. In the USA, the average cost per prisoner annually in jail is $29,000. The cost of the drugs used for the lethal injection is believed to be $86.08. This is far less than the cost of keeping a prisoner in jail, and would save the government money that could be used to try and make the community a better and safer place. Secondly, many believe that capital punishment is right because of the justice given to the victim’s family.
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The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty In Canada

Rainey Bethea: The Last Public Execution in America