The Criminal Justice System plays a critical role in the organizational structure of the United States. Without the Criminal Justice System to administer deserved punishment, this country would be disorganized, unstructured, cruel, unjustified and a chaotic habitat for its citizens. “The criminal justice system is a group of organizations involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing and jailing those involved in crimes”(Dictionary.com). The foundation of the criminal justice system is certainly a profound and interesting topic to discuss and debate. In the American criminal justice system, cases of the most severe and heinous nature can be sentenced to the death penalty when appropriate. “The death penalty is a punishment by execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime” (Farlex). “In most American states, capital crime offenses consist of first degree murder, rape with additional bodily harm and the federal crime of treason” (Farlex). These offenses jeopardize the safety of all people in America. Therefore, the death penalty should be enforced towards major crimes. The history and origin of Capital Punishment in the United States has a very paramount effect on the perfection of America’s criminal justice system in the future. The earliest recorded law instituting the death penalty was established as far back as when the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon set a milestone for the future of the American Criminal Justice System. The codes were one of earliest set of laws in history. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, said to show that people that believe if someone does something wrong, then that person should be punished by having the same thing done to them. “The phrase is a par... ... middle of paper ... ...-gets-probation-for-raping-3-year-old-daughter > Matscha Design Inc. “Justice for All- A Criminal Justice Reform Organization.” Justice for All- A Criminal Justice Reform Organization. Web.02 Apr. 2014. Mitchell, Mitch. “Teen Sentenced to 10 Years’ Probation, Rehab in 4 Deaths.” Star- Telegram-Star, 13. Dec. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. < http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/12/nation/la-na-nn-texas-teen-drunk- driving-probation-affluenza-20131212 > Muskal, Michael. “Texas Teen’s Probation for Killing 4 While Driving Drunk Stirs Anger.” Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. “Part 1. History of the Death Penalty.” DPIC. The Death Penalty Information Center, 02 Apr. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. < http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/>
Kevin Blackwell, Max Schanzenbach, Michale Yaeger, Cassidy Kesler, Judge John Gleeson. “Disparity in Sentencing”. HeimOnline. 28 Feb. 2002-2003. 21 Nov. 2013.
Thompson, Lisa. Judge: Teen gets’ Break of his Life’ in Robbery Sentence. 08 Nov. 2013. Web. 08
CBS news. (2012, March 6). Ohio teen tj lane in court over shooting deaths . Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57391782/ohio-teen-tj-lane-in-court-over-
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.
The death penalty has been promoted for thousands of years, for countless crimes committed by humans. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. The death penalty was also part of the Fourteenth Century B.C.'s Hittite Code; in the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes; and in the Fifth Century B.C.'s Roman law of the Twelve Tablets. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. Now in today’s society the most common methods of execution are; firing squad, hanging, and in recent years: lethal injection which is undeniably more humane than any other form of execution throughout history. The death penalty has been used to protect society from the iniquities that mankind has presented itself. The criminals, rapists, murderers, and sadists, who harm innocent people, should undeniably forfeit their own right to live as Margaret Thatcher has stated. The use of capital punishment is essential to the security of our nation and the justice in which those who are innocent and those who are the victims deserve.
A brief history of the death penalty is in order so that one can be aware of this laws nature since that is how one would start to understand how it can be applied most virtuously and to understand its morality. The death penalty can be traced as far back as the Eighteenth Century, B.C.E. where the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon applied the death penalty to be instated as a punishment for 25 different crimes. Also it has been seen in the Fourteenth Century B.C.E in the Hittite Code; in the Seventeenth Century B.C.E’s Draconian Code of Athens (a code which made the only punishment for all crimes death); and in the Fifth Century B.C.E.’s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets(this law was the start of a formal law which carried out death sentences by means such as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burring alive, and impalement)
This essay will discuss the various views regarding the death penalty and its current status in the United States. It can be said that almost all of us are familiar with the saying “An eye for an eye” and for most people that is how the death penalty is viewed. In most people’s eyes, if a person is convicted without a doubt of murdering someone, it is believed that he/she should pay for that crime with their own life. However, there are some people who believe that enforcing the death penalty makes society look just as guilty as the convicted. Still, the death penalty diminishes the possibility of a convicted murderer to achieve the freedom needed to commit a crime again; it can also be seen as a violation of the convicted person’s rights going against the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Yuill, Melanie. "Reaction a Day after Elkhart Teens Convicted of Felony Murder." Fox28. Fox28, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
Glaze, Lauren E. and Erinn J. Herberman. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 19 December 2013. web. 9 January 2014.
Americans have argued over the death penalty since the early days of our country. In the United States only 38 states have capital punishment statutes. As of year ended in 1999, in Texas, the state had executed 496 prisoners since 1930. The laws in the United States have change drastically in regards to capital punishment. An example of this would be the years from 1968 to 1977 due to the nearly 10 year moratorium. During those years, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, this ended in 1976, when the Supreme Court reversed the ruling. They stated that the punishment of sentencing one to death does not perpetually infringe the Constitution. Richard Nixon said, “Contrary to the views of some social theorists, I am convinced that the death penalty can be an effective deterrent against specific crimes.”1 Whether the case be morally, monetarily, or just pure disagreement, citizens have argued the benefits of capital punishment. While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that is capital punishment being used for vengeance or as a deterrent.
O'Donnell, Jayne J. “If a teens at the Wheel Crashed fit a Pattern.” USA Today. 28 Feb.
Capital punishment has been a controversial topic in association to any person condemned to a serious committed crime. Capital punishment has been a historical punishment for any cruel crime. Issues associated to things such as the different methods used for execution in most states, waste of taxpayers’ money by performing execution, and how it does not serve as any form of justice have been a big argument that raise many eyebrows. Capital punishment is still an active form of deterrence in the United States. The history of the death penalty explains the different statistics about capital punishment and provides credible information as to why the form of punishment should be abolished by every state. It is believed
The death penalty has always been and continues to be a very controversial issue. People on both sides of the issue argue endlessly to gain further support for their movements. While opponents of capital punishment are quick to point out that the United States remains one of the few Western countries that continue to support the death penalty, Americans are also more likely to encounter violent crime than citizens of other countries (Brownlee 31). Justice mandates that criminals receive what they deserve. The punishment must fit the crime. If a burglar deserves imprisonment, then a murderer deserves death (Winters 168). The death penalty is necessary and the only punishment suitable for those convicted of capital offenses. Seventy-five percent of Americans support the death penalty, according to Turner, because it provides a deterrent to some would-be murderers and it also provides for moral and legal justice (83). "Deterrence is a theory: It asks what the effects are of a punishment (does it reduce the crime rate?) and makes testable predictions (punishment reduces the crime rate compared to what it would be without the credible threat of punishment)", (Van Den Haag 29). The deterrent effect of any punishment depends on how quickly the punishment is applied (Workshop 16). Executions are so rare and delayed for so long in comparison th the number of capitol offenses committed that statistical correlations cannot be expected (Winters 104). The number of potential murders that are deterred by the threat of a death penalty may never be known, just as it may never be known how many lives are saved with it. However, it is known that the death penalty does definitely deter those who are executed. Life in prison without the possibility of parole is the alternative to execution presented by those that consider words to be equal to reality. Nothing prevents the people sentenced in this way from being paroled under later laws or later court rulings. Furthermore, nothing prevents them from escaping or killing again while in prison. After all, if they have already received the maximum sentence available, they have nothing to lose. For example, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court banished the death penalty. Like other states, Texas commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. After being r...
By the 18th century B.C King Hammurabi of Babylon established a formal code which set the death penalty as a result for twenty five crimes which ironically did not include murder (Newbold,1999). This was recognised as one of the earliest recorded codes of law which has evolved and moulded our principles of authority which govern the world today (Charpin and Todd, 2010). Cultural factors have also led to historical changes towards the death
Bond, Anthony. "Teenage Driver Crashed Killing Himself and Friend as He Raced Home to Beat Insurance Company-imposed Curfew Monitored by On-board Computer'" Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 10 July 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.