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The effect of the death penalty
Capital punishment crimes in united states
Capital punishment in the us overview
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Should any individual be killed for their crimes or mistakes? Adam Liptak, a writer for the New York Times, found that, “According to roughly a dozen recent studies, executions save lives. For each inmate put to death, the studies say, 3 to 18 murders are prevented.” Therefore, the death penalty must be upheld in the United States of America in order to protect its citizens and to properly enforce justice.
The death penalty ensures fair retribution for the loved ones of the criminal’s victim. In 1977, Clarence Ray Allen was convicted for murder after arranging the death of a witness against him in a burglary case and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 1980, Allen organized the killings of the witnesses who had worked against him in his previous conviction. Finally, Allen was sentenced to death, but it wasn’t until 2006 that he was executed (Ardaiz). During those twenty-six painful years, the families and loved ones of the victims had to spend their days knowing that the one who had torn apart their family was still alive. As James A. Ardaiz, a former judge, and the prosecutor on the case of Allen, so succinctly put it, “Retribution is not only a need of society; it is a right of those victimized.” One person who the death penalty brought peace to was John Rizzotti. Rizzotti’s 78 year old great grandmother was sexually abused and murdered in1980 by Manuel Babbitt, and Rizzotti says that his family found relief in Babbitt’s execution in 1999. Rizzotti recounts that the legal process from conviction to execution was frustrating, but he believes that the families of murder victims have the right to see the murderers put to death. “What he did and how he did it was so unbelievably gruesome that there w...
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...ies Union, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.
"First, Abolish the Death Penalty." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
Holmes, Sue M. "N.M. Prison's 1980 Riot Still Haunts 25 Years Later." ABQjournal: N.M. Prison's 1980 Riot Still Haunts 25 Years Later. The Albuquerque Journal, 02 Feb. 2005. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
"If Death Penalty Is Abolished, What Next?" Msnbc.com. NBC, 2013. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
Jones, Ashby, and Steve Eder. "Costs Test Backing For Death Penalty." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
Liptak, Adam. "Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Nov. 2007. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.
Severson, Kim. "Georgia Pardons Board Denies Clemency for Death Row Inmate." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
People expect a penitentiary to hold inmates, especially dangerous ones, for as long as the court determines they should serve. Kingston Penitentiary has been doing that for many years. But it has also dedicated to the reform of inmates. What that means has changed dramatically over time. (Curtis et al, 1985)
“How the Death Penalty Saves Lives” According to DPIC (Death penalty information center), there are one thousand –four hundred thirty- eight executions in the United States since 1976. Currently, there are Two thousand –nine hundred –five inmates on death row, and the average length of time on death row is about fifteen years in the United States. The Capital punishment, which appears on the surface to the fitting conclusion to the life of a murder, in fact, a complicated issue that produces no clear resolution.; However, the article states it’s justice. In the article “How the Death Penalty Saves Lives” an author David B. Muhlhausen illustrates a story of Earl Ringo , Jr, brutal murder’s execution on September ,10,
Chapman’s research shows evidence of 211 stabbings taking place in three years at one prison in Louisiana. Bloody riots, rape, robberies, and exhortation are just a few of the everyday occurrences that can be expected when entering a penitentiary.
Randa, Laura E. “Society’s Final Solution: A History and Discussion of the Death Penalty.” (1997). Rpt.in History of the Death Penalty. Ed. Michael H. Reggio. University Press of America, Inc., 1997. 1-6 Print.
We live in a society today filled with crime and fear. We are told not to go out after a certain hour, always move in groups, and even at times advised to carry a weapon on ourselves. There is only one thing that gives us piece of mind in this new and frightening world we live in: the American penal system. We are taught when growing up to believe that all of the bad people in the world are locked up, far out of sight and that we are out of reach of their dangerous grasp. Furthermore, the murderers and rapists we watch on television, we believe once are caught are to be forgotten and never worried about again. We wish on them the most horrible fates and to rot in the caged institution they are forced to call their new home. But, where do we draw the line of cruelty to those who are some of the cruelest people in our country? And what happens when one of this most strict and strongest institution our nation has breaks down? What do we do when this piece of mind, the one thing that lets us sleep at night, suddenly disappears? This is exactly what happened during and in the after effects of the Attica prison riot of 1971. The riot created an incredibly immense shift and change not only in the conditions of prisons, but also in the security we feel as American citizens both in our penal system and American government. The Attica prison riot brought about a much-needed prison reform in terms of safety and conditions for inmates, which was necessary regardless of the social backlash it created and is still felt today.
In the 1970s, prison was a dangerous place. Prison violence and the high numbers of disruptive inmates have led prison authorities to seek new ways to control prisoners. At first, prison staff sought to minimize contact with prisoners by keeping them in their cells for a majority of the day. As time went on, the prison authorities began to brainstorm the idea of having entire prisons dedicated to using these kinds of procedures to control the most violent and disruptive inmates. By 1984, many states began construction on super-maximum prisons.
Ralph, P.H.(1997). From Self Preservation to Organized Crime: The Evolution of Inmate Gangs. In J.W. Marquart, & J.R. Sorensen (Eds.). Correctional Contexts: Contemporary and Classical Readings (pp. 182-186). Los Angeles: Roxbury
or hundreds of years people have considered capital punishment a deterrence of crime. Seven hundred and five individuals have died since 1976, by means of capital punishment; twenty-two of these executions have already occurred this year (Death Penalty Information Center). Many U.S. citizens who strongly support the death penalty believe that capital punishment remains the best way to protect society from convicted killers. I, however, disagree; I do not feel that execution best punishes criminals for their acts. Instead, in my opinion, the administration of the death penalty should end because it does not deter crime; it risks the death of an innocent person, it costs millions of dollars, it inflicts unreasonable pain; and most importantly it violates moral principles.
The United States has a long history with the death penalty. The “first recorded execution was in Jamestown in 1608” (“Death Penalty in America” 259). Since then, thirty five states have continued to use the death penalty. Now it can be considered a normal punishment and many people feel strongly about it, but maybe we should forget what we have done in the past and take a second look. The death penalty should not be used in the United States because it is too expensive, affects the poor and minorities more than others, and (even though many people think it is true) the death penalty does not deter crime.
“The case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
"The Case Against Death Penalty." Aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. .
Pasquerella, Lynn. “The Death Penalty in the United States.” The Study Circle Resource Center of Topsfield Foundation. July 1991. Topsfield Foundation. 03 Feb 2011. Web.
Lester, D. (1998). The death penalty issues and answers (2nd edition.). Springfield, IL: Library of Congress Cataloging.
Proponents of the death penalty are right to argue that capital punishment does provide a sense of “closure” to those who are faced with the tragedy of losing a loved one due to homicide, but they exaggerate when they claim that this is the only means by which murderers receive just punishment for their crimes. Advocates of the death penalty fail to recognize that there are alternative methods – such as psychotherapy – that are able to replace the barbaric method of the death penalty.
Web. The Web. The Web. 14 May 2014. Stanley, Jay.