Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
some immoral aspects of the death penalty
capital punishment history united states
capital punishment history united states
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: some immoral aspects of the death penalty
The capital punishment, known as the death penalty has been a widely debated topic in America over its constitutionality after being reinstated in 1976. There are two distinct sides in the debate over whether the death penalty is an unjust punishment. The debate spreads over to whether mentally ill and juveniles should be tried as adults and receive the death penalty or if their mental capacity restrains the government from issuing the punishment. Not only that, but the methods used to administer the punishment are also being picked and pried.
The death penalty has been occurring in America since the colonial times when settlers came from Europe. At that time, they used hanging as the most common execution method. This persisted until the 1900s when the government switched to methods such as the gas chamber or electric chair. This continued until the 1972 case of Furman v. Georgia where the Court declared a halt in the death penalty until a proper system could be created. This halt continued until the 1976 Supreme court case Gregg v. Georgia which allowed states to start administering the punishment (Upfront Magazine). By this time, the lethal injection had been invented by Dr. Jay Chapman (CNN). It would become the most popular administered death penalty, numbering 1204 executions to 158 completed by electrocution (deathpenaltyinfo.org).
Several Supreme Court cases have narrowed down the constitutionality of administering the death penalty to adults who are mentally sane. A few others have determined, using the Eighth Amendment how severe the crime had to be for such an extreme punishment to be called upon. The Eighth Amendment states that the court has the power to determine if a punishment fits the crime or if the punishment ...
... middle of paper ...
...being torn off by the force. Three cases have occurred since 1976. The firing squad is still used by two states, Utah and Idaho. The prisoner is strapped to a chair and hooded. Then, five men take aim and fire at the target on the prisoner’s chest. Three cases have happened since 1976. Electrocution had been the most common form of execution until the lethal injection. The prisoner is strapped to a chair and electrodes are attached to the head and legs. Smoke oftentimes rises from the head and the smell of burning flesh is always present. No one knows how long the prisoner is alive for, thus sparking the debate whether it was torturing, rather than quickly ending a prisoner’s life. This is still legal in 11 states. The gas chamber has been used since 1933 and was stopped in 1996 when the California Court of Appeals determined that this method was unconstitutional.
Different forms of the death penalty are more humane than others. In the 1920's people decided that lethal gas, or the gas chamber, was more humane than death by electrocution. Nevada was the first state to adopt the gas chamber as their form of execution. The "Humane Death Bill" was passed abolishing all other forms of execution (Hanging or firing squad were the only other two forms of execution at that time) in the state of Nevada, this bill was signed by the governor on March 28, 1921.
By the mid 1960s, the death penalty seemed fated for extinction. Only seven executions were conducted in 1965 and only one in 1966. For about ten years supporters and opposers of capital punishment looked to the Supreme Court for a final ruling on the constitutionality of the death penalty. The word came out in 1976 in the case of Gregg v. Georgia. The court ruled that, " the punishment of death does not violate the Constitution."
Capital punishment is an age-old practice. It has been used in civilizations for millennia, and will continue to be used for millennia to come. Whether used for the right or wrong reasons, capital punishment is unmistakable in its various forms. From hangings, to firing squads, to lethal injections, capital punishment and the associated proceeding have evolved over time. There have been many arguments against capital punishment, many of which still hold true. As capital punishment has evolved over time, however, many of the most valid arguments have been proven all but null. Capital punishment still has its ethical and moral concerns, but as it has evolved over time these concerns have not necessarily become less valid, but fewer in number when specifically addressing capital punishment. The proceedings that come hand-in-hand with capital punishment, however, have become increasingly more rigorous and controversial and are the main focus of most capital punishment concerns.
The death penalty debate in the United States is dominated by the fraudulent voice of the anti-death penalty movement. The culture of lies and deceit so dominates that movement that many of the falsehoods are now wrongly accepted as fact, by both advocates and opponents of capital punishment. (Sharp) Opponents of capital punishment are extremely outspoken and vehement in their arguments. The American Civil Liberties Union believes the death penalty violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment. However, the death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment, the authors of the United States Constitution’s Eighth Amendment related “cruel and unusual” punishment to methods used in ages past. The Eighth Amendment was created to outlaw such practices as bur...
“I personally have always voted for the death penalty because I believe that people who go out prepared to take the lives of other people forfeit their own right to live. I believe that the death penalty should be used only very rarely, but I believe that no-one should go out certain that no matter how cruel, how vicious, how hideous their murder, they themselves will not suffer the death penalty.”
Throughout the history of man there has always existed a sort of rule pertaining to retribution for just and unjust acts. For the just came rewards, and for the unjust came punishments. This has been a law as old as time. One philosophy about the treatment of the unjust is most controversial in modern time and throughout our history; which is is the ethical decision of a death penalty. This controversial issue of punishment by death has been going on for centuries. It dates back to as early as 399 B.C.E., to when Socrates was forced to drink hemlock for his “corruption of the youth” and “impiety”.
Capital punishment is a form of taking someone 's life in order to repay for the crime that they have committed. Almost all capital punishment sentences in the United States of America have been imposed for homicide since the 1970 's. Ever since the reinstatement after 38 years of being banned, there has been intense debate among Americans regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment. Critics say that executions are violations of the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the Eighth Amendment. Some capital punishment cases require a separate penalty trial to be made, at which time the jury reviews if there is the need for capital punishment. In 1982, the first lethal injection execution was performed in Texas. Some other common methods of execution used are electrocution, a firing squad, and lethal gas. In recent years, the US Supreme Court has made it more difficult for death row prisoners to file appeals. Nearly 75 percent of Americans support the death sentence as an acceptable form of punishment. The other fourth have condemned it. Some major disagreements between supporters and non-supporters include issues of deterrence,
There are currently 32 states, including California, in America that actively use the death penalty. Since 1976, there have been 1378 executions, carried out in a number of different ways. The government has used gas chambers, firing squads, hangings, electrocution chairs, and lethal injections with the goal of providing an instantaneous and painless death. Lethal injection is the most common of these methods, using a fatal cocktail of drugs to immediately stop the victim’s breathing and heartbeat. This technique, however, will now undergo immense scrutiny and may even be outlawed in the wake of the Oklahoma incident.
Common ways of execution in the past where stoning, crucifixion, burning, breaking of the wheel, draw and quartering, beheading, garroting, shooting, and hanging (Wilson p.89). Today these styles of execution are thought to be cruel and unusual. Today in the United States, the death penalty is used in five different ways. These five ways are the firing squad, hanging, gas chamber, electric chair, and lethal injection. The United States applies these styles of execution because they are thought to be not torturous for execution.
The Eighth Amendment interpretation has changed over time because of a criminal’s mental health, non-homicidal crimes, and the execution of minors. To emphasize, Justice John Paul Stevens proclaimed that “in a 6 - 3 opinion, the Court held that executions of mentally retarded criminals are ‘cruel and unusual punishments’ prohibited by the Eighth Amendment” (Atkins v. Virginia.). As a result, the United States of America doesn’t execute mentally ill criminals, anymore, because people found out that there is something wrong with their brain and that they do not have a self conscious. Furthermore, majority of the Supreme Court agreed with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy [in a 6 - 3 decision] and concluded that “the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual
Here in the United States there are different forms of execution used. Lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging and firing squad: While lethal injection is an acceptable form of execution in all states, there are states that use alternative methods.
Capital punishment is the most severe sentence imposed in the United States and is legal in thirty-eight states. The death penalty is a controversial subject, especially because the U.S. is the only western democracy to retain this consequence (Scheb, 518). I personally believe that the death penalty is a valid sentence for those who deserve it. Some believe it is not constitutional, but those who face this penalty are clearly suspect of a savage offense and therefore should be at a loss of certain rights. The arguments don’t end there once one considers that “the controversy over capital punishment becomes more heated when special circumstances arise” (Sternberg, 2). This issue brings up more arguments against the death penalty because of the constitutionally protected ban on cruel and unusual punishment which is protected by the Eighth Amendment. There have been nearly 15,000 executions that have taken place in America, the first in 1608 with the death of Captain George Kendall (Siegel, 410). Most of these were sentenced to death because of their own action of killing others. However, more and more crimes are now able to be punishable by death. This is the result of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which “dramatically increased the number of federal crimes eligible for this sentence” (Scheb, 520). Even so, the federal government has yet to put someone on death row for a non-homicidal case. The arguments for and against capital punishment are lengthy and strictly opinionated, but are also important to see the evolution of our society as the majority view changes and new influences come about.
The death penalty is a highly controversial and hotly debated topic. The death penalty is completely obsolete in western English speaking countries; the only exception the United States of America. Capital Punishment is only used in cases of treason and in murder 1. Supporters of the death penalty believe that putting a killer to death gives the family of the murdered knowledge that justice was served. The opposition to the death penalty believes that the punishment is too “final”: it offers no possibility of rehabilitation. Both sides, however, recognize the need for a change in the justice system regarding capital punishment. The common issue is finding a punishment which is harsh enough to deter crime but still offers the chance of rehabilitation. The standard form of execution is use of lethal injection, in which the convicted is bound to a chair and injected with sodium thiopental to cause unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide to induce paralysis, and potassium chloride to stop the heart. Texas is the state most liberal in their use of the death penalty, with 34% of the national total since 1976. The death penalty has been a part of civilization for all of man’s existence, starting in Ancient Greece and Egypt and continuing on through today.
When someone is legally convicted of a capital crime, it is possible for their punishment to be execution. The Death Penalty has been a controversial topic for many years. Some believe the act of punishing a criminal by execution is completely inhumane, while others believe it is a necessary practice needed to keep our society safe. In this annotated bibliography, there are six articles that each argue on whether or not the death penalty should be illegalized. Some authors argue that the death penalty should be illegal because it does not act as a deterrent, and it negatively effects the victim’s families. Other scholar’s state that the death penalty should stay legalized because there is an overcrowding in prisons and it saves innocent’s lives. Whether or not the death penalty should be
There are many methods of capital punishment in the United States including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging. However, lethal injection has been deemed the most ethical method of capital punishment in the United States. Lethal injection is practiced in 33 of 50 states in the United States. The other 17 do not practice capital punishment (Death Penalty Information Center, 2016). Life in prison has reflected a better psychological and medical state of mind and body, therefore, is a much less cruel and unusual punishment.