The death penalty also known as capital punishment has existed for centuries in countries throughout the world. It is an execution primarily by means of lethal injection. Whether through death penalty or murder taking a life is wrong. Many consider it to be unethical and immoral. The death penalty system is not perfect and taking the life of an innocent citizen can be an irrevocable mistake. The death penalty wrongly gives the government the power to take human life and may cause social injustice.
The US constitution places limits on the criminal justice practice of the states through the Eighth Amendment (Introduction to the Death Penalty:Current Controversies).The Eighth Amendment states that cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted.
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When the US supreme courts consider if a punishment is cruel and unusual, they examine it in the terms of current standards of decency. In 1972 in a case known as Furman v. Georgia,the US supreme court determined that when the death penalty is given in an arbitrary or capricious way it violates the Eighth Amendment. The death penalty also violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. It is imposed disproportionately upon those who are poor uneducated and those in certain regions of the country.The Supreme court has given states the discretion in allowing and determining its own policy in regards to the punishment but not all states permit it. The death penalty is only being used in a small number of states. Eighteen states have already outlawed capital punishment. Many consider the death penalty to be immoral and and unjust response to criminal acts.
According to Bryan Stevenson the question surrounding the moral values of capital punishment has more to do with if the state and federal government deserves the power to kill those whom they have imprisoned. The death penalty carries risks of killing an innocent citizen. Taking the life of an innocent citizen can be an irrevocable mistake. In March of 2014 after 30 years of being incarcerated for a murder he did not commit, Glen Ford was released from death row. This case exemplifies the faulty errors that are in the death penalty system. Innocent people routinely get sent wrongly to death row. “Giving the power to kill US citizens to the states is unwise considering the history of error and malfeasance.” ( Hayden- The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished). Worldwide the number of executions continues to decline. More than two-thirds of countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice ( Preface to “ Is the Death Penalty just and …show more content…
Ethical”). Retribution is understandable but not always the best response.
If you kill someone who has committed murder it only continues the cycle of murder and violence. By giving the death penalty to the worst offenders the criminal justice system violates human rights. It can be counted as premeditated murder if a human being by the state. There is also no evidence that the death penalty deters murder. “Multiple scientific studies have actually shown the death penalty doesn't deter murder. “ (Hyden- The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished). States that do have the death penalty don't show lower crime rates than states that do not allow the death penalty. The death penalty does not have a deterrent effect. Studies in several states conclude that capital punishment is more expensive than life without parole. The cost of the death penalty has to be covered by the state and taxpayers. Taxpayers have to fund it and it has no public safety benefits. After a criminal is locked behind bars they no longer posed a threat to citizens. Execution does not heal or end the pain that the families of the victims have to face. The families would benefit more if the funds being put toward the costly death penalty was being used for counseling and other assistance for
them. Race and economic status also has a role in determining who lives and who dies. Almost 50% of those on death row are African American. The poorer people often get the death penalty because of the defence that they get. Often times they don't have the funds to pay for a good lawyer and have to work with the ones they are given. Poor quality defense leaves many for the death sentence.
Many people are led to believe that the death penalty doesn’t occur very often and that very few people are actually killed, but in reality, it’s quite the opposite. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1,359 people have been executed as a result of being on death row since 1977 to 2013. Even though this form of punishment is extremely controversial, due to the fact that someone’s life is at stake, it somehow still stands to this very day as our ultimate form of punishment. Although capital punishment puts murderers to death, it should be abolished because killing someone who murdered another, does not and will not make the situation any better in addition to costing tax payers millions of dollars.
There is no point in wasting thousands each year on such a practice that has no effect on criminal decision-making. In fact, according to the FBI’s “Crime Rates in the US”, the states without the death penalty actually have a lower murder rate than states with the death penalty. We should not use the death penalty to teach criminals that killing people is wrong; it’s hypocrisy. You don't teach someone that murder is wrong by murdering the one who's done it just as you wouldn't teach someone that stealing is wrong by stealing something of
A significant aspect of the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution is that the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments is prohibited. However, interpretations of the definition of what a cruel and unusual punishment consists of have become extremely ambiguous. For example, many argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is cruel to take another person’s life willingly; however, others argue that it is acceptable if it is done in a controlled and humane manner. Over the course of the United States history, punishments have ranged from public whippings
The prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments is one of the most important constitutional limitations upon the penal process...
Many call capital punishment unconstitutional and point to the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution for support. The amendment states that, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines be imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment be inflicted." Those who oppose the death penalty target the 'cruel and unusual' phrase as an explanation of why it is unconstitutional. Since the Framers of the Constitution are no longer with us and we base our nation on the words in which that document contains, the legality of the death penalty is subject to interpretation. Since there is some ambiguity or lack of preciseness in the Constitution, heated debate surrounding this issue has risen in the last ten years.
The death penalty also known as the capital punishment is used to punish the criminal involving in serious criminal cases. This happens after he or she has been found guilty of a crime by the legal system. This form of punishment is to ensure that the person cannot commit future crimes, and/or as a deterrent to potential criminals. The inmates could choose from the following way of death they are lethal injection, electric chair, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging. Each of these punishments is inhuman and a violation of the 8th amendment of the Constitution.
The United States should use the death penalty because it is economical and continues to be a deterrent for potential offenders. Take into consideration that the Constitution states that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can not be taken away without due process. The offenders committing the brutal, heinous crimes have not applied this right to the victims of their crimes. Why should the government take their rights into consideration when the victims rights mean so little to them? People always put forth the idea that killing is wrong in any sense, yet they don’t want to punish the people that commit the crimes.
The use of capital punishment is a contentious social issue in the United States. Currently, it is a legal sentence in thirty-two states and illegal in eighteen (States With and Without the Death Penalty). Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty is “the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime” (Oxford Dictionaries). A sentencing for the death penalty can be mete out due to a capital offense of treason, murder, arson, or rape. The most commonly used methods for capital punishment include lethal injection, handing, and electrocution. The act of capital punishment is unethical and immoral. Capital punishment is an ineffective method for penalizing criminals, and needs to be abolished from the United States’ criminal justice system.
The purpose of the death penalty is to spare future victims of murder by carrying out the threat of execution upon convicted murderers. The death penalty punishes them not for what they may or may not do in the future but what they have already done. It's unclear that the murderer has the same right to live as their victim. Thomas Geraghty states “opinion polls report that more than 70% of Americans do not favor the death penalty for murder.
Some people refer to “Capital Punishment” and the “Death Penalty” as the same concept; whereas others say that the death penalty only refers to the penalty itself, while capital punishment refers to the actual execution. However, these two words are often used interchangeably to refer to the same concept. There is a story about a man named Manny Babbitt who broke into an apartment and killed a 78 year-old woman. Babbitt was in the Marines and was awarded the Purple Heart. Later on, he was diagnosed and suffered with PTSD and schizophrenia. Eventually, he married a lady named Theresa Guertin and had two children. After returning to the states from war, he committed many felonies, like burglaries, and one assault. He committed
Few issues have been as hotly argued and controversial as the death penalty, with its many conflicting moral, social and legal implications. Compelling arguments exist in favor of the final punishment, and equally strong arguments exist to end its practice. Furthermore, considering its conflicting history, on the grand scale of the whole world, and in just America, it is unlikely that this issue will be resolved any time soon. In the United States specifically, the issue has great significance to the bill of rights and the 8th amendment, which prevents cruel and unusual punishment. The death sentence, due to the intense debate on its morality and constitutionality, as well as the many conflicting decisions made about it until this day, still is and will likely remain a very controversial issue in the United States.
The death penalty is going against human rights. A right to live their life without having the state take their life away. “The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice.
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.
The death penalty is mainly known by capital punishment. It is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The judicial degree that someone be punished in this manner is a death sentence. The actual process of killing someone is an execution. Capital punishment has in the past been practiced by most societies. Currently fifty eight nations actively practice it and ninety seven countries have abolished it. Capital punishment is a matter of active controversy in various countries and states. Positions can vary within single political ideology or cultural region. I am for the death penalty. With the death penalty it allows there to be equal punishment among criminals, and it brings about peace of mind to everyone.
There are always two sides to every issue and capital punishment or life imprisonment is no different. This has been a very controversial issue for decades and still is today. Capital Punishment also known as the death penalty is defined as being the penalty of death for a crime. Some feel that capital punishment should be abolished because it is cruel; others believe life in prison is just as cruel. There are many reasons for the support of Capital Punishment and for Life in Prison.