The Pro And Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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Recommended: Is capital punishment ethically acceptable

¬¬¬¬Ivana Bogdanović
Professor Gudelj
Critical Reading and Writing
May 7th 2014
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment is the type of punishment that allows the execution of prisoners who are charged and convicted because they committed a “capital crime.” Capital crime is a crime that is considered so horrible and terrifying that anyone who commits it should be punished with death (McMahon, Wallace). After so many years this type of punishment, also known as the “death penalty”, remains a very controversial topic all around the world, raising countless debates on whether it should be legalized or not.
Bob McCulloch, Missouri state prosecutor, argues that this type of punishment is very appropriate. He also points out that the death penalty punishment is not applicable to the type of murder that we daily see on the television, or read about in the newspapers, but to those that are “particularly horrendous,” such as multiple murders, murders for hire, and so on (qtd in “The Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty”). He even goes on to describe one murder case that he worked on, as an example of a crime worthy of the death penalty. It’s the case of a man who gutted his girlfriend and her infant, and then cut off the baby’s head. A lot of death penalty supporters, sixty five percent to be more precise, believe in the Biblical saying “an eye for an eye,” arguing that the punishment really should fit the crime. They also believe that the family of a victim has the right to some type of a closure, and that the death penalty is the best way to provide them with one. John McAdams, Marquette University’s professor of political science, argues that by executing a murderer one cannot go wrong: “If you execute a murderer and it stops other murders, ...

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...e is a pretty good argument when it comes to legalizing the Capital Punishment. He claims that nothing actually confirms his belief that life imprisonment is actually worse than the death sentence, and poses a pretty good question: “Murder isn't rational, so why expect a rational response to incentives?” ("It's Time to Abolish the Death Penalty")
To conclude, even though both parties represent and argue for different opinions, they do agree in two major aspects. Both McCulloch and McElwee agree that earlier stated types of crimes are horrible and that the offender deserves to be punished by the strictest punishment. However, they disagree on what that punishment is, since McElwee believes that life in prison is worse than the death sentence. Also, they both believe in deterrence and are aware of the consequences that the execution of an innocent man may carry along.

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