Effects Of Capital Punishment

2071 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Capital punishment effects

Every year, thousands of murders occur in the United States and all across the world. According to Wesley Lowe, during the temporary suspension of capital punishment between 1965 and 1980 alone, the annual murders in the United States jumped from 9,960 to 23,040. (Lowe, 2011). If you or one of your loved one became one of these statistics, wouldn’t you want justice? Now, capital punishment is in full effect and has slowly started to decrease that statistic. John McCrae, John Miller, Michael Lawrence, Donald Dillbeck, and Edward Kennedy all have one thing in common, death. Each of these men have committed numerous murders, only to be put on parole to kill again. (Lowe, 2011). For people that are against capital punishment, how are these people being punished? They have killed innocent people and are now able to walk the streets with the people you love. Who is to say they won’t kill again? This controversy brings up several questions to many Americas. We will examine how the sentencing of capital punishment can benefit our country. We will see how intended, unintended, recognized and unrecognized functions have increased the efficiency of capital punishment under the structural-functional approach. Next we will use the social conflict approach to see classes clash as we view the treatment of prisoners facing death row. Lastly, we will see how each individual views their place and society and how they deal with the hardships of capital punishment. Structural-Functional Approach is based on seeing the world as a whole, while figuring out how it works together to operate. Within the Structural-Function Approach are subcategories created by Robert Merton. In Society: The Basics, the tenth edition, Macionis says that Merton determines... ... middle of paper ... ...portion of American citizens. Lastly, we saw using the symbolic interaction approach that people deal with capital punishment in different ways. Inmates feel no remorse for their wrongdoing, and are likely to have an easy and carefree life while in prison. On the other hand, prison officials must learn have to allow themselves to dehumanize these inmate within their own minds. This is because of the fear of creating a companion within the prison, only to be disappointed when they are put to death. In conclusion, we can see that capital punishment will be an issue that faces us and many generations to come. However, over a course of time society is making a slight move to stability and unification. Overall, we still have improvements to make about the process of capital punishment. However, we were taught as children to treat people as you would want to be treated.

Show More
Related

  • The Abolition of Capital Punishment in Australia

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Capital punishment is not an effective punishment or deterrent for murder or any crime for various reasons. To many prisoners, being detained in a prison is much more of a punishment than death as is it a constant, conscious deprivation of liberty and rights. This idea is represented though US Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh who claimed after dropping his appeals against his death sentence that he would rather die than...

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...l punishment as a just and morally sound method of justice. After all, "An eye for an eye" seemed to be a rationale that many embraced as fair. Now there is an era of closer examination of what is truly just and morally ethical, as well as economically sound. A consequence needs to be fair, humane, and effective. Does capital punishment meet these criteria? There are compelling reasons to change the system we have blindly acclaimed. Hopefully we are in the process of implementing a new way of dealing with an age-old dilemma.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment Should Not Be Instituted

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout America’s history, capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been used to punish criminals for murder and other capital crimes. In the early 20th century, numerous people would gather for public executions. The media described these events gruesome and barbaric (“Infobase Learning”). People began to wonder if the capital punishment was really constitutional.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment in Canada

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    As seen, capital punishment is a barbaric tool used for centuries to punish wrong doers. As society evolves, so does its beliefs. But many stare so long at the past they do not see the future. People must realize that society has come a long way and capital punishment is a step in the wrong direction. Capital punishment must remain in the past and not in the future.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment Essay - True Justice Through Application of the Death Penalty

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    The death penalty, as administered by states based on their individual laws, is considered capital punishment, the purpose of which is to penalize criminals convicted of murder or other heinous crimes (Fabian).  The death penalty issue has been the focus of much controversy in recent years, even though capital punishment has been a part of our country's history since the beginning.  Crimes in colonial times, such as murder and theft of livestock were dealt with swiftly and decisively ("The Death Penalty...").  Criminals were hanged shortly after their trial, in public executions. This practice was then considered just punishment for those crimes.  Recently though, the focus of the death penalty debate has been on moral and legal issues.  The murderers of today's society can be assured of a much longer life even after conviction, with the constraints of the appeals process slowing the implementation of their death sentence.  In most cases, the appeal process lasts several years, during which time criminals enjoy comfortable lives.  They have television, gym facilities, and the leisure time to attend free college-level classes that most American citizens must struggle to afford.  Foremost, these murderers have the luxury of time, something their victims ran out of the moment their paths crossed.  It is time this country realized the only true justice for these criminals is in the form of the death penalty.  The death penalty should be administered for particularly heinous crimes.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Saints And The Roughnecks Summary

    1928 Words  | 4 Pages

    Structural Functionalism is the sociology theory that emphasizes how everything and everyone has a purpose in society. That each and every one of us is a puzzle piece that comes together in order to form a society, any missing puzzle piece would result in the downfall or shortcomings of the whole society. Whether this may be religion, education, economy, etc, all of these structures much work together in order to have a flourishing society where everyone works uniformly. Stability is achieved when everyone fulfills their duty is society.

    Read More

  • What Effects the Death Penalty Causes to Society?

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    The effects Death Punishment causes to society is not one side answer as humans feelings are important, people have the right to have them, to express them; however, when the life of an individual is the topi...

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment: Justified?

    3412 Words  | 7 Pages

    There are wide and divergent opinions on the United States’ Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment. While proponents of capital punishment allege that it can be applied as with the existence of sufficient due process, others contend that human life is irreplaceable and that “every person has the right to have their life respected” (Oppenheim, “Capital Punishment in the United States”). While capital punishment has phased in and out of the United States’ criminal justice system in the past few decades, current trends seem to fall out of favor with the death penalty. As Snell indicates, by yearend of 2011, there were 3,082 inmates held across 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons under the death sentence, where 9 states executed 43 inmates in both 2011 and 2012 (“Capital Punishment, 2011 – Statistical Tables”). In order to gain a deeper understanding and enhanced projection of the death penalty development, it is prudent to first examining historical accounts of cases that have been decided in favor or against the capital punishment in the United States.

    Read More

  • Death Penalty Essay

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever wondered why people are so interested to learn about the suffrage of others? Over twenty-five years, the population of prisoners has nearly sextulped. Reaching about 1.7 million since 1996, which is almost equal to the population to Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the nation (Elliott Currie). All we focus on is how they did it? and why? In other words, many people interpret crime as entertainment, and don’t think about the negative effects taking place in the world or even more that individual. In some cases the innocent are being accused of unlikely punishment but how do they determine? Considerably, the death penalty has been the topic of discussion these past years. This so called “penalty” is becoming the prime consequence in most cases. I think that the use of the death penalty as punishment is wrong because of the psychological effects it has on prisoners, time spent on death row in cases of innocents, and the costly outcome.

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Capital Punishment

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that capital punishment is being used for vengeance or as a deterrent. Capital punishment has been used worldwide, not only by the governments to instill fear, but to show that there are repercussions to ones actions. From the time we are born, we are taught to learn the difference between right and wrong. It is ingrained in our brains, what happens to people that do bad things? Capital punishment is renowned for being the worst thing that could be brought amongst ones life.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment Is Morally Acceptable

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    The use of capital punishment has progressively become problematic since the very first day it was put into practice. There are many great arguments both for and against capital punishment, but in my opinion the benefits of capital punishment outweigh any possible negative aspects. Although capital punishment sounds extreme, sometimes it is necessary when people execute extreme crimes. I would like to argue that in certain situations the use of capital punishment is morally acceptable.

    Read More

  • Talcott Parson and Ronert Merton: Structural Functionalism

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    Talcott Parson and Robert Merton are the central tenets of structural-functionalist. According to Calhoun “Functionalism (sometime called “structural –functionalism’) refers to the body of theory first developed in the 1930s and 1940s that treats society as a set of interdependent system. Theory rest on an organic analogy that likens a social system to a physical body, in which each subsystem is necessary to maintain the proper functioning of the entire organism. From a functionalist point of view, the key to understanding a social subsystem is thus to trace its function in the working of the whole.”(calhoun489) Structural functional theory describes society to be a complex system with various interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability. Each part of society has each of which have their own functions and work hand in hand to maintain social stability in the world.

    Read More

  • Structural Functionalism Research Paper

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Structural Functionalism or what I call just functionalism, is just another theory that has society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. This approach looks at society through the macro-level of orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole, and believes that society has evolved like organisms. This approach looks at both social structure and the social functions. Functionalism has society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms and customs, traditions, and institutions. There is a common analogy, popularized by Herbert Spencer that presents these parts of society as "organs" that works towards the proper functioning of the "body" as a whole. In the most basic terms, it simply emphasizes "the effort to impute and the rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or even practice the effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable and cohesive system.

    Read More

  • Life In Prison Essay

    1743 Words  | 4 Pages

    I believe that life in prison have better retribution than capital punishment. Whomever should serve the term of life in prison, the punishment should be swift, severe, and certain. Someone that is on death row delivers less information on the circumstances of the crime and cost more. Life in prison provides more information and allows more resources to be invested into solving and preventing other crimes. People that are on death row gets a quick death without real benefits. “Sanctions for criminal behavior tended to be public events which were designed to shame the person and deter others” (History of the prison system, 2015). All inmates get treated the same way in prison. Today, there are over a million incarcerated prisoners that are serving time in prison. This paper will analyze and explore the situation of those sentenced to life in prison.

    Read More

More about Effects Of Capital Punishment

Open Document