Capital Punishment is Ineffective

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The debate over capital punishment in the criminal justice system is intense Capital punishment is the killing of someone authorized by law for committing a heinous crime. It is currently practiced in thirty-two states. While both sides have a valid viewpoint concerning this issue, the bottom line is that capital punishment is not a deterrent to heinous crimes committed throughout the United States. Factors such as race and socioeconomic status also affect the outcome of the person who committed the crime. Using capital punishment as a means of deterrence to prevent these crimes is not an effective solution.

The practice of capital punishment originated in Europe. Early settlers brought the practice of capital punishment to what is now known as the United States. The first execution by settlers in the United States occurred in 1608 when a man in Virginia was executed for being a Spanish spy. The thirteen original colonies participated in capital punishment. “Executions were made public with the intention of deterring future offenders from committing crimes.” (Beverlin, 2010).

The principle of deterrence by use of capital punishment does not discriminate against a specific ethnicity, age, or gender. Capital punishment has existed as far back as Old Testament times and is currently experiencing reforms. The reforms will take place in the judicial and legislative branches of the judicial system.

Over time capital punishment has been reformed from its original practice. Capital punishment has changed from public hangings to the current state of performing executions in a controlled environment with officials and physicians present. The states stopped preforming public executions due to riots that followed the e...

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...nt.pdf. (n.d.).

Giardina, B. (2010). Capital Punishment and Specific Offense Deterrence. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. University of New Hampshire, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/852994781?accountid=7117

Gregg v. Georgia. 428 U.S 153 (1976). Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/428/153

LaChappelle, N. L. (2012). Placing the American Death Penalty in the Global Context: A Test of the Marshall Hypothesis. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. University of California, Santa Barbara, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/1095728569?accountid=7117

Mitchell, A. D. (2005). The effects of the Marshall hypothesis on attitudes toward the death penalty. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Union Institute and University, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/305376378?accountid=7117

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