The Death Penalty

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Recommended: Should capital punishment be allowed

“If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call." (McAdams) The death penalty should be legalized in all fifty states, to avert from crime, keep repeat offenders off of the streets, and to reduce taxpayers the cost of keeping those found guilty of heinous crimes in prison low.

The death penalty can in fact deter heinous crimes from being committed when it is lawful in a state. Social scientists have stated that the act of general deterrence, which is when the punishment deters potential criminals from committing crimes, keeps criminals from going through with crimes. However, it is more shown that premeditated crimes are usually the ones stopped by general deterrence, not crimes under passion. Heinous crimes have been reduced highly in the states that have a capital punishment law.

The death penalty keeps repeat offenders off of the streets. In Michigan a case that represents this happened; "A man who was hired by Honeywell Inc., after serving four years in prison for strangling a co-worker has been charged with killing another co-worker and a woman he allegedly stalked and threatened for weeks" (Sullum personal file). Had the death penalty been allowed in Michigan the woman’s life could have been sparred, for the male who murdered her would have been executed long before and never had the chance to murder her. The death penalty may be a long process, but it does not give those on death row a hope of parole. By having the heinous criminals in prisons on death row keeps them from repeating crimes. In five out of seven cases it is said that criminals will onc...

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...al Punishment Justice Death Penalty Essays -- The Use of Capital Punishment in America." Helping Students Become Better Writers | Free Literary Guides, Essays, Term Papers, Research Paper, and Book Report. 2000-2010. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. .

"The Death Penalty Essay." Example Essays.com - Over 100,000 essays, term papers and book reports! Web. 14 Jan. 2010. .

"Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime? Essays and Articles at eNotes." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. .

"Pro Capital Punishment Page." Wesley Lowe - The Necromancer Wars. 1996-2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. .

Pro-death penalty.com. 2010. Web. 13 Jan. 2010.

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