We Do NOT Need the Death Penalty
analytical Essay
810 words
Gandalf, the powerful wizard of The Lord of the Rings, sagely reminds us “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life.” (Tolkien 92). There are arguments both for and against administration of capital punishment in our society. This paper will list a few arguments that oppose the death penalty. In this time when advanced technology assists in collecting and interpreting evidence, it is incredible that we still make mistakes in our legal administration and our decision-making. Also, there is an argument that the death penalty discriminates on the basis of race and economic status. Lastly, the administration of the death penalty violates the Biblical right to life. Perhaps the death penalty could be viewed as cruel and unusual punishment, which would make it a violation of our Constitution. For these reasons, the death penalty should be abolished. Proponents of the death penalty present a number of reasons for deserved capital punishment. Agencies whose purpose is to deter crime believe that punishing wrongdoers may reduce crimes and save lives. Society has the right to keep murderers from ever killing again and criminals should be held fully responsible for the crimes they commit. Supporters of the death penalty believe that science can be used effectively to free the innocent as well as to identify the guilty. They believe that the justice system receives scrutiny to protect a person charged from injustice. Those that oppose the death penalty also have compelling arguments. The death penalty should be abolished because mistakes can and have been made and sometimes a person is put to death who is innocent. The courts and legal branches of our government try to carry out their jobs with accuracy, fai... ... middle of paper ... ... "Death Penalty Information and Resources." 1987. Death Penalty Information. American Society of Criminology. 21 Nov. 2004 . Millett, Frederick C. "End the Death Penalty." 08 2002. Part I: Moral Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty. 16 Nov. 2004 . O’Conner, Tom. "Death Penalty Arguments & Internet Resources." 2004. Death Penalty Arguments & Resources. Class syllabus 2004. 21 Nov. 2004 . Staples, Brent. "Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space." MS Magazine September 1986: 155-157. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: Part One The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that if resources are provided and efforts are made to reduce crime, the death penalty should be abolished.
- Cites bedau, hugo a., "the case against the death penalty."
- Opines that millett, frederick c., "end the death penalty." part i: moral reasons to oppose the death penalty.
- Analyzes staples, brent, "just walk on by: a black man ponders his power to alter public space." ms magazine.
- Describes tolkien's the lord of the rings: part one the fellowship of the ring.
- Argues that the death penalty should be abolished because it is a mistake if it sentences one incorrect person.
Related
- opinion
- analytical
- The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishmentopinion essayAlthough criminal justice is supposed to protect the citizens in the surrounding areas, sometimes it can be a dangerous way for miscommunication to occur and things to be done or said wrongfully. The death penalty is an example of this incidence. To those that support the death penalty, capital punishment is in lines with the U.S. Constitution while simultaneously providing equity and justice to all; the death penalty is also more cost efficient than alternative sentencing. Whereas those that oppose the death penalty regard it as a form of unjust, ineffective, and immoral punishment.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that criminal justice protects citizens, but it can be dangerous for miscommunication and wrongdoing. capital punishment is in line with the u.s. constitution while providing equity and justice to all.
- Argues that the constitution does not enforce the death penalty, yet merely grants the power to elected officials to authorize capital punishment.
- Argues that the constitution protects and secures the rights and freedoms of innocent lives and capital punishment must be implemented to continue protecting the citizens of the united states.
- Opines that seventy percent of our nation supports executions to convicts, but eliminating them for the sake of justice only adds more problems and contradicts our morals.
- Explains that capital punishment has been shown to cut the cost of inmate care. it becomes more costly to house and care for convicts, especially if they received life in prison without parole.
- Opines that the death penalty is put in place to scare criminals from doing criminal activity, but it's more for retribution because violent crime rates are higher in death-prison jurisdictions.
- Opines that criminals should pay the price by living in a prison cell for the rest of their life.
- Opines that the death penalty is unjust, equally sinful, and improper as the crime that was committed. the u.s. constitution protects the rights and freedom of our people yet it finds capital punishment acceptable.
758 wordsRead More - The Death Penalty Should Be Killedopinion essayThe 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.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty should be discontinued to the families, human rights, and statistics.
- Opines that the death penalty violates human rights by premeditating and cold-blooded killing by the state in the name of justice.
- Explains that death penalty issues. california innocence project. 2011. california western school of law.
- Explains the progress report on the reasons to give up the death penalty.
- Describes the 13 reasons to oppose the death penalty and oregonians for alternatives to it.
- Opines that the death penalty should be banned in california as well as any other country or state.
800 wordsRead More - Persuasive Essay Against Death Penaltyopinion essayThe death penalty is a cruel and unnecessary punishment. It promotes violence and terrorism. The death penalty does not deter a crime, and it costs millions of dollars. The death penalty does not reduce crimes. The death penalty is immoral and it shows discrimination. The death penalty is unfair. The death penalty needs to be abolished because no one deserves to die. Two wrongs do not make a right. Twenty percent have showed that people who were executed was found not guilty.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty promotes violence and terrorism, is immoral and unfair, and needs to be abolished.
- Opines that the death penalty is unfair and immoral. it is better than a lot of guilty people go free than that one innocent.
- Opines that the death penalty is immoral in principle and unfair and discriminatory in practice.
- Argues that life in prison is a better solution than the death penalty. life without parole provides swift, severe, and certain punishment.
- Opines that the death penalty will not be able to bring back loved ones. the convict claims two victims, the person killed by the murderer, and the survivor of that person.
- States that the national association for the advancement of colored people (naacp) remains steadfast in ending the death penalty and fighting injustice in america's justice system.
- Argues that the naacp's biggest argument against the death penalty is that it is biased, racially disparate.
- Explains that the death penalty is a severe punishment, and it is unconstitutional.
- Argues that the death penalty is unconstitutional and violates the 8th and 14th amendments.
- Argues that the death penalty is outdated, expensive, and an ineffective tool in deterring violent crimes.
- Opines that physicians should not be able to participate in executions because it violates the hippocratic oath and the american medical associations code of medical ethics.
- Opines that people with mental illness should be exempt from the death penalty.
- Argues that the death penalty should be outlawed because it violates the constitution and the hippocratic oath.
2837 wordsRead More - America Needs the Death Penaltyanalytical essayIn 1973 Author Shawcross was convicted of raping and murdering two children in upstate New York; however, after serving 15 years Shawcross was paroled in 1988. In a horrific 21-month killing spree, Shawcross took 11 more lives. That is 11 innocent people who would be alive today had justice been served (Pataki, Deterrent 2). With the topic of the death penalty comes a lot of controversy which is rooted from questions like: is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment, is it helpful in crime control, is proper representation applied to these cases, and should reform be applied in the areas of crimes punishable and methods? Although some people argue that the death penalty is inhumane and against human rights, crime rates could be lowered through the use and reform of the death penalty.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that after serving 15 years, shawcross was paroled in 1988. in a horrific 21-month killing spree, he took 11 more lives.
- Opines that the death penalty is the ultimate punishment imposed for murder or other capital offenses.
- Opines that a closer look into policies and procedures might be where our focus should be with the ongoing use of the death penalty in our country.
- Argues that the death penalty is a good way to assure the citizens of this country that someone who is going to kill again, like shawcross, will never be able to hurt another individual.
- Argues that the death penalty violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment and guarantees of due process of law and equal protection under the law.
- Analyzes how the death penalty is a deterrent, and how it may lead to fairer criminal justice systems.
1217 wordsRead More - Death Penalty – A Debate over Law and Moralityopinion essayOpponents of death penalty believe that the death penalty is no longer appropriate in modern society, and the reasons why they want a ban on death penalty are that it violates human rights, brings the risks of unfairness, and takes a lot of money from taxpayers. Firstly, the retention of capital punishment in the United States draws harsh criticism from throughout the world. People all know about The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948 and protected in national and international law. In this Declaration, Article 5 says “No one shall be subjected to torture or to...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the death penalty or capital punishment was established for the first time under king hammaurabi law of babylon people.
- Explains that opponents of the death penalty believe that it is no longer appropriate in modern society, and the reasons why they want a ban on it are because it violates human rights and brings the risks of unfairness.
- Opines that it shall be the policy and practice of the united states to promote respect for international human rights.
- Explains that the eight amendment says "cruel and unusual punishment" should not be inflicted. the court does not practice what the constitution rules, and the government doesn't do what they commit.
- Explains that the majority of americans favored the death penalty for convicted murderers in 1994, but it dropped to 60% public support in 2013. over 100 people sentenced to death in the last 30 years have been exonerated.
- Analyzes the cost of capital punishment, citing kenneth jost's article "death penalty debates" on cq researcher.
- Analyzes how the anti-death penalty supporters use deterrence to defend the death penalty.
- Argues that the death penalty is morally acceptable because it's a repayment for the wrong one did. retribution is another theory to support it.
- Analyzes judge cassell's argument about kenneth allen mcduff, who had a capital sentence in 1966 for his murder of three teenagers; later he was put in death row until 1972.
- Opines that the united states has sufficient political voice and economic strength to resist pressure to conform to international norms. the second argument is one of the most persuasive arguments against the death penalty.
- Opines that capital punishment is a waste of money if we spend on capital cases but receive nothing in return such as lower crime rate or public safety.
- Agrees with the idea of justice and retribution, and we need to take responsibility for our behaviors.
- Opines that the government should retain capital punishment as a last resort for unforgiven evil acts that need to be eliminated from society.
1975 wordsRead More - Death Penalty: Needed Sacrifice or Legal Homicide?analytical essayOpponents of this position argue that the death penalty is a necessary evil. One of the top arguments is that you must punish offenders to discourage others from committing similar offenses (Radelet 44). Many people also feel that the victim’s families deserve closure. The prisoners have to pay for their crime and deserve the punishment that they get. Using the death penalty helps deal with the overpopulation in prisons. There are not enough resources or space to house prisoners for life. This statement can be true to a certain point. However, when talking about sacrificing one person’s life for the greater good of society, no man should have the authority to end someone’s life. One of the biggest issues that opponents argue is how much the victims suffer if the killer is not put to death. A murderer not only affects the person they kill, but also the victim’s friends and family’s life. They have to live with the grief of losing a loved one. If the killer is not put to death they could get the feeling that someone is out to get them. They will not be able to rest until the killer is tried and executed. Although this side of the argumen...
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty should be abolished due to ethics, religion, and unconstitutionality.
- Argues that the death penalty is a necessary evil and that it helps deal with the overpopulation in prisons.
- Argues that the government should abolish the death penalty because it is unconstitutional. capital punishment is a violation of the eight amendment, which states that everyone has the right to live.
- Opines that the death penalty has some good, but the bad outweighs it. it affects society as a whole.
- Concludes that the death penalty should be abolished due to religious reasons. the fifth commandment, "thou shalt not kill", states that killing anyone is wrong and unjust.
- Explains that liebman, james s., mulligan, kenneth, and radelet, michael l. and marian j. borg, "the changing nature of death penalty debates."
922 wordsRead More - Why the Federal Government Must Abolish the Death Penaltyanalytical essayThe federal government has an obligation to make just laws. Currently, US laws allow for the death penalty for certain heinous crimes. The supporters argue that the 5th Amendment, which guarantees that no one shall be deprived of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” implies that depriving someone of his or her life is permissible under the constitution as long as there is due process. However, there are several reasons why the federal government must abolish the death penalty - it weakens US moral authority over other nations; there have been too many wrongful convictions for death penalty in the US; the death penalty is in conflict with the 8th amendment of the US constitution; and finally, the cost of death penalty prosecution compared to sentencing someone to life in prison is very high.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that the 5th amendment guarantees that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, as long as there is due process.
- Explains that the united states is the only western democratic country that has not abolished the death penalty.
- Opines that the us must abolish the death penalty to protect its citizens from being wrongfully convicted.
- Explains that the death penalty is violent and unconstitutional. the constitution forbids any "cruel and unusual punishment."
- Opines that the federal government must outlaw the death penalty due to its high cost.
- Argues that the federal government must abolish the death penalty in the united states. it weakens our moral authority over other nations, may put us at a disadvantage in trade relations and in negotiating agreements.
- Cites canadian coalition against the death penalty's website for botched executions in the usa.
- Explains that balanced politics is a free, non-partisan discussion of political & social issues for debate.
- Explains that amnesty international usa - protect human rights has a "universal declaration of human rights."
1270 wordsRead More - Hegemonic Moral Values and the Marquis de Sadeanalytical essayStaples, Brent. "Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Ability to Alter Public Space." The Urban Frontier. Ed. Thomas Finn. Boston: Emerson College, 2003
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how david sibley's "border crossing" suggests that moral boundaries are at the root of the troubles. brent staples, an american black man, exemplifies this discrimination in his short story.
- Explains that certain communities possess certain moral values that cause the hegemonic community to feel threatened. sibley asserts that those who hold those values think of black youth as an inherently criminal minority.
- Analyzes how brent staples personifies the aforementioned condition of the black man in the inner city in "just walk on by."
- Describes their first victim as a white, well-dressed woman in her early twenties in hyde park, chicago.
- Opines that staples does not sort with hyde park's hegemonic tolerances and the white woman, indoctrinated with those particular values, chooses to run.
- Analyzes how the hegemonic community experiences a "moral panic" when another community threatens it's power. marquis de sade, an eighteenth century french prisoner, wrote about such an inversion in 120 days of sodom.
- Describes the basic premise of sade's 120 days of sodom: four murderous homosexuals kidnap, torture, and murder 32 people in an isolated chateau.
- Analyzes how sade's libertines invert traditional morals yet discriminate with a fervor equal to those who subscribe to traditionally hegemonic moral
- Analyzes how the four libertines take pride in blasphemous language and enthusiastically encourage their prisoners to employ such language.
- Explains that intolerance between groups increases when a particular group gains moral ascendancy over another group that possesses different values. hegemony and the human desire therefor make solutions to the problem of antagonism unlikely.
1120 wordsRead More - The Death Penalty: Anyone Who Muders Should Be Put To Deathanalytical essayThere are many pros to the death penalty. Some claim that there is a preventative effect on potential murderers, although there is a lot of debate about this and just about every other argument for or against capital punishment. Another is the idea of incapacitation. Truthfully, why should someone have the right to live if they have taken that right from another person? The purpose why this writer supports capital punishment is because in observing victims’ families and their grief over murdered loved ones. This writer believes anyone who murders should be put to death. One reason for this is because people should not have the right to live after they have killed a fellow human being. The death penalty is a topic dealing with ethics, a set of moral principles or values. This issue is constantly filled with mix feelings and attitudes which the writer will attempt to present in the following paragraphs.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that capital punishment is the ultimate warning against all crimes. society has always used punishment to discourage would-be criminals from unlawful action.
- Concludes that the writer believes in the death penalty on the basis of morality, it is the best solution and the final warning.
- Argues that the death penalty is a topic dealing with ethics, which is filled with mixed feelings and attitudes.
- Explains amnesty international's 5 reasons the world thinks they need the death penalty.
840 wordsRead More - Death Penalty: The Cruelty of Capital Punishmentanalytical essayCapital punishment is the legal infliction the death penalty. It is obviously the most severe form of criminal punishment. (Bedau1) Capital punishment is a controversial way of dealing with violent criminals. The main alternative to the death penalty is life in prison. Capital punishment has been around for thousands of years as a means of eradicating criminals. A giant debate started between supporters and opposers of execution, over the morality and effectiveness of the death penalty. The supporters claim that if you take a life you should pay with your life or "an eye for an eye". Opposers of the death penalty bring up the chance of sentencing the innocent and how the death penalty is inhumane. The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of capital punishment and the moral viewpoints on the death penalty. The first evidence of capital punishment is from Hammurabi's code, a book of Babylonian law, from 1700BC. The Bible mentions that execution should be used for many crimes. (Bedau1) One example of the death penalty in the bible is "Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death." (Exodus 21:12). The bible also suggests stoning a woman if she unmarried sex and had "wrought folly on Israel by playing the harlot in her father's house" (Deuteronomy 22:21) England recognized seven major crimes that called for execution by the end of the 15th century. These crimes were: murder, theft (by deceitfully taking someone goods), burglary, rape, and arson. As time went by more and more crimes were believed to deserve the death penalty and by 1800 more than 200 crimes were recognized as punishable by death. (Bedau2) It was not long before capital punishment met opposition. The Q...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that capital punishment is a controversial way of dealing with violent criminals, and the main alternative to the death penalty is life in prison.
- Argues that the monotonous appeal process is the reason for the excess of inmates on death row today.
- Explains that supporters of the death penalty rationalize executing because a man should pay for it with his own. they argue that life in prison without parole is better for dealing with violent criminals.
- Explains that the only accepted methods of execution are electrocution, the gas chamber, firing squad, and lethal injection.
- Opines that we must devise more sane methods of execution which are quick and efficient, and make the appeals process more orderly to cut down on the glut of inmates on death row.
- Explains hugo a. bedau's "capital punishment" grolier multimedia encyclopedia (cd-rom).
- Describes bender, david l., and bruno leone's the death penalty opposing viewpoints.
1355 wordsRead More