The Effectiveness of Capital Punishment
Is Capital Punishment an effective penalty? Yes. It protects society
and keeps order in it as well. Capital Punishment does not stop people
from killing one another. However, the only thing it mainly does is
stopping a known killer from killing more innocent people. I believe
that it is a just and efficacious punishment for those who commit
crimes bad enough to deserve death.
Now does the death penalty truly deter crimes and murder? This
question is in the center of a big political controversy over this
topic. Some people oppose the death penalty because of the many people
on death row today. Statistics also state that states with capital
punishment have a higher crime rate then those that do not. Therefore,
it is not an effective penalty, it is ineffective and a waist of our
hard earned tax dollars. This process costs between 500,000 to
1,000,000 dollars annually. I have to say that the states that have
capital punishment are usually urbanized areas that have high crime
rates because of the enormous population. Rather, in rural states
there is no need for the death penalty because everyone is scattered
around and the population is not as big.
Abolitionists explain that capital punishment is a racist penalty.
They say it is only given to the minorities. It is not fair to say
that because the sad fact is that the majority of the people on death
row are blacks and whites. There are approximately 3,000 for both
ethnic groups and the closest group after that is the Hispanic's with
about 200. I think it is wrong to be racist, but if they get caught,
no matter their race they should be sente...
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...ugh some
say that as long as a state keeps killing, we are sending a message
that killing is a way to solve problems. I personally say that capital
punishment is correct in the sense that it is a last resort. We must
fight " fire with fire". We will never have a perfect society because;
there will always be some kind of evil. The best we can do is "put our
foot down to evil".
I still have to say that the death penalty is the most effective means
of crime deterrent as you can see. It not only punishes those who
commit these crimes, but also prevents future crimes by striking
terror in the would-be murderer's mind with the consequences he would
have to face for his actions. It has been proven to be effective
throughout history, as long as people keep committing crimes; I don't
think it will ever cease being around.
Capital punishment in the United States is a highly debated topic. Arguments that want to get rid of this method of punishment usually mention the many problems that capital punishment is plagued with. The death penalty has many issues that cannot be resolved, and since these issues can’t be solved, the death penalty should be abolished. “The irrevocable nature of the death penalty renders it an unsustainable and indefensible remedy in an imperfect justice system.” (Evans 3) Even though the death penalty has been around since the 18th century, capital punishment has many issues such as wrongful convictions and high costs, proving it should be eliminated.
The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is when someone convicted of a crime is put to death by the state. This practice has been around for centuries. The death penalty has evolved from acts like public hanging, to the more “humane” lethal injection used today. Many people view this as the only acceptable punishment for murderers, mass rapist, and other dangerous crimes.
Capital punishment has long been a topic for heated debate throughout the United States of America and the civilized world. For many politicians, the death penalty has been a key pillar to winning a state or election; and, to some extent, politics have been a key influence in America’s justice system. Many nations have outlawed capital punishment, with the United States included between 1972 and 1976. In the United States, there has been a renewed movement for this “eye for an eye” method, citing such arguments as “deterrence” and “victims’ rights.” This movement begs a single question – is there any economical, legal, or statistical support for the ultimate punishment? This article will strive to answer that question by evaluating several key issues (be they supporting or otherwise) concerning capital punishment – the legitimacy of ‘deterrence,’ the legality of capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment’s “cruel and unusual punishment” clause, and the cost associated with putting a man to death in relation to the cost associated with life imprisonment.
There are over sixty offenses in the United States of America that can be punishable by receiving the death penalty (What is..., 1). However, many individuals believe that the death penalty is an inadequate source of punishment for any crime no matter how severe it is. The fact remains, however, that the death penalty is one of the most ideal forms of punishment. There are other individuals who agree with the idea that capital punishment is the best form of punishment. In fact, some of these individuals believe that this should be the only form of punishment.
This country is determined to prove that killing someone under certain circumstances is acceptable, when in all reality there can be no rationalization for the taking of another human life. Killing is murder. It is as simple as that. There have been so many different controversies surrounding this debate that often, the issues become clouded in false statistics and slewed arguments. The basic fact remains that killing is morally and ethically wrong. This fact does not disappear by simply changing the term "murder" to "capital punishment". The act is still the taking of a life. On these grounds, the death penalty should be abolished.
Capital Punishment is referred to as the death penalty, is judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or as a capital crime. Some jurisdictions that practice capital punishment restrict its use to small number of criminal offenses principally treason and murder. Prisoners who have been sentenced to death are usually kept segregated from other prisoners in special parts of the prison pending their execution. I believe capital punishment has ethical problems and is wrong because it decreases the value and dignity of human life. The eighth amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is a form of cruel and unusual punishment no matter what the crime an individual commits. Murder is wrong whether it is a person killing another person or a state’s decision, murder is murder, and it is all the same. Two wrongs don’t make a right. It also sends a wrong and unmoral message to the people in the community who’s trying to obey the law. The Government says death is wrong when a person kills another but murder is right when done by the government by using the death penalty. They too are committing murder.
“ An eye for an eye leaves us all blind doesn’t it “. Capital punishment cost the United states a lot of money. The death penalty can be unfair and can cause innocent lives to be took. The death penalty should be abolished because it is an ineffective way of punishment. There are trials that are unjust and many innocent people that have been killed. Putting people to death cost more than sending people to jail for the rest of their lives. Capital punishment doesn’t affect change.
Does taking another’s life actually avenge that of another? The disciplinary act of capital punishment, punishment through death, has been a major debate in the United States for years. Those in support of capital punishment believe that it is an end to the reoccurrence of a repeat murderer. The public has, for many years, been in favor of this few and pro-death penalty. Yet as time goes on, records show a decrease in the public and the state’s support of the continuation of capital punishment. Those against capital punishment believe it is an immoral, spends taxpayers’ money improperly, and does not enforce a way to rehabilitate criminals and/or warn off future crimes.
Society has always used punishment to discourage “potential” criminals from unlawful action. Since society has the highest interest in preventing murder, it should use the strongest punishment available to deter murder. The death penalty is arguably the strongest deterrent for murder and the strongest punishment for other unspeakable crimes. If murderers are sentenced to death and executed, potential murderers will think twice before killing for fear of losing their own life.
The problem of evil will always continue to elude us. For centuries, humans have been trying to reach a conclusion as to why evil exists. Evil has been studied scientifically and philosophized but conclusions are never reached. There’s nothing we can do but learn to accept that it is a natural part of the world we live in.
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.
From the pre-historic clans to the modern-day countries, the majority of social units have carried the notion of justice, and therefore systems of punishment are almost innate to human nature. As legal mechanisms evolved to be more sophisticated and elaborate, the suitability of a punishment developed to be matter worthy of intricate analysis. In order to achieve an impartial system of punishment, modern nations have come up with a commonly agreed set of criteria consisting of six theories. “These theories are deterrence, retribution, just deserts, rehabilitation, incapacitation, and more recently, restorative justice.” (Banks, 103) While each of the aforementioned criteria could be analyzed single-handedly or in a cumulative manner, the present essay focuses on consequential outcomes of Death Penalty execution or lack thereof through retribution theory in the notorious case of the Clutter family killings and robbery of November 15, 1959. In spite of writer Truman Capote’s sympathetic stance towards the murderers Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Edward Smith in his non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, revolving around the Clutter massacre and its aftermath, the incident itself is concrete proof that Death Penalty should be actively practiced.
The Ethics of Capital Punishment Ethics is "the study of standards of right and wrong. " philosophy dealing with moral conduct, duty and judgement. ' [1] Capital Punishment is the death penalty for a crime. The word "capital" in "capital punishment" refers to a person's head as in the past. people were often executed by severing their heads from their bodies.
In Dezhbakhsh and Shepherd’s (2006) article reviewing the study on the deterrent effects of capital punishment, the results suggested that capital punishment does have a deterrent effect. Dezhbakhsh and Shepherd used panel data for 50 states during the 1960-2000 time period to examine the deterrent effect using the moratorium as a “judicial experiment.” They compared murder rates for each state immediately before and after it suspended or reinstated the death penalty. There are many factors that affect crime-for example; law enforcement, judicial, demographic, and economic variables change only slightly over a short period of time (Dezhbakhsh & Shepherd, 2006). Therefore, changes in a state's murder rate quickly following a change in its death penalty law can be attributed to the legal change (Dezhbakhsh & Shepherd, 2006). Also, there are considerable cross-state variations in the timing and duration of the moratorium that began and ended in different years in different states, ranging from four to thirty years (Dezhbakhsh & Shepherd, 2006). These variations can strengthen our comparison-based inference, because observing similar changes in murder rates immediately after the same legal change in different years and in various states provides
The death penalty has been an ongoing debate for many years. Each side of the issue presents valid arguments to explain why someone should be either for or against the subject. One side of the argument says deterrence, the other side says there’s a likelihood of putting to death an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder itself. Crime is an unmistakable part of our society, and it is safe to say that everyone would concur that something must be done about it. The majority of people know the risk of crime to their lives, but the subject lies in the techniques and actions in which it should be dealt with. As the past tells us, capital punishment, whose meaning is “the use of death as a legally sanctioned punishment,” is a suitable and proficient means of deterring crime. Today, the death penalty resides as an effective method of punishment for murder and other atrocious crimes.