The Merits and Pitfalls of Capital Punishment Today

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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. That said, there is a lot of flexibility in capital punishment proceedings. Perhaps too much flexibility. One of the main concerns with capital punishment, as discussed by Angela Sun, are the pre-execution delays commonly associated with modern capital punishment trials and proceedings (Sun 1586). These delays are widely considered to be cruel and unusual punishment while capital punishment itself is not necessarily because the actual act of lethal injection is ultimately painless and quick. According to Sun “many, if not most, die instead from natural causes of suicide,” (Sun 1586). Many of the proceedings are dragged out over a very long period of time, some recently even pushing twenty years, causing capital punishment to be considered, by association, cru... ... middle of paper ... ...//deathpenalty.procon.org/>. Sun, Angela April. "Killing Time" In The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death: Why Systematic Preexecution Delays On Death Row Are Cruel And Unusual." Columbia Law Review 113.6 (2013): 1585-1636. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Feb. 2014. Thaxton, Sherod. "Leveraging Death." Journal Of Criminal Law & Criminology 103.2 (2013): 475-552. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Unnever, James D., John P. Bartkowski, and Francis T. Cullen. "God Imagery And Opposition To Abortion And Capital Punishment: A Partial Test Of Religious Support For The Consistent Life Ethic*." Sociology Of Religion 71.3 (2010): 307-322. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. "White Paper On Ethical Issues Concerning Capital Punishment." World Medical Journal 58.3 (2012): 82-87. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

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