Steven Bright, a human rights attorney, states,"It can be argued that rapists deserve to be raped, that mutilators deserve to be mutilated. Most societies, however, refrain from responding in this way because the punishment is not only degrading to those on whom it is imposed, but it is also degrading to the society that engages in the same behavior as the criminals." According to the Eighth Amendment in the Bill of Rights, criminal punishments are not to be cruel or unusual (Bill of Rights). This exempts judges from requiring bails to be extremely high, death by firing squad, being strangled, burned, etc. (Bill of Rights). Now, does the Eighth Amendment include or omit capital punishment? Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, can be defined as the authorized murder of a criminal as punishment for their crime (Merriam-Webster). There is no proven correlation between criminal discouragement and capital punishment (Green). The main issue with capital punishment is this possibility of an innocent person being killed; in order to reduce the possibility of innocent people losing their lives, we must invest in the stages prior to the actual murder.
The thing about capital punishment is once the time is completed for the crime, there are no do overs. People sentenced to life without parole have the ability to give back to society by having the option to be educated. Most inmates achieve to learn their individual lesson on why their crime was inexcusable, however, prisoners of capital punishment lack the viability to do so. What does capital punishment teach those who have already committed a crime? Many citizens who vote in order for the capital punishment stand by the fact that knowing that the death penalty will be an op...
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"Bill of Rights | Constitution | US Law." LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
"Capital punishment - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Ted. "David R. Dow: Lessons from death row inmates | Talk Video | TED.com." TED: Ideas worth spreading. N.p., Feb. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Green, Melissa S. ( 24-Mar-2005 ). "The Death Penalty: Specific Issues." In Melissa S. Green, compiler (1998-2009), Focus on the Death Penalty (website). Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage. (14 April 2014).
"Executed 14-year-old George Stinney should be retried in girls' murders, lawyers argue - San Jose Mercury News." MercuryNews.com. San Jose Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
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.
Government. "The Bill of Rights: A Transcription." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, 15 Jan. 2007. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
... So instead of the Eighth Amendment being “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” (Legal Dictionary), it should be “Excessive bail or fines should not be imposed unless it fits the crime committed, cruel and unusual punishment should also not be imposed unless the need was to arise where the crime was extreme enough for all the jury members to agree on a cruel or unusual punishment.”. Works Cited Legal Dictionary. Farlax.
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 National Digital Library. “The Bill of Rights.” The Library of Congress. 16 Oct. 1996. 2 Nov. 2003. http://www.memory.loc.gov/const/bor.html.
...ed United States. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Capital Punishment. Washington: GPO, 1994 Cheatwood, Derral and Keith Harries. The Geography of Execution: The Capital Punishment Quagmire in America. Rowman, 1996 NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Death Row. New York: Hein, 1996 "Ex-Death Row Inmate Cleared of Charges." USA Today 11 Mar. 1999: 2A "Fatal Flaws: Innocence and the Death Penalty." Amnesty International. 10 Oct. 1999 23 Oct. 1999 Gest, Ted. "House Without a Blue Print." US News and World Report 8 Jul. 1996: 41 Stevens, Michelle. "Unfairness in Life and Death." Chicago Sun-Times 7 Feb. 1999: 23A American Bar Association. The Task Ahead: Reconciling Justice with Politics. 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Report. Washington: GPO, 1994 Wickham, DeWayne. "Call for a Death Penalty Moratorium." USA Today 8 Feb. 1999: 17A ILKMURPHY
Mappes, Thomas A., Jane S. Zembaty, and David DeGrazia. "The Death Penalty." Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 105-53. Print.
"Bill of Rights and Later Amendments." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
One of the most repetitive and controversial topics discussed in the criminal justice system, is the death penalty. Capital punishment has been a part of our nation’s history since the creation of our constitution. In fact, as of January 1st, 2016, 2,943 inmates were awaiting their fate on death row (Death Penalty Information Center). Throughout my life, I have always been a strong advocate for the death penalty. During the majority of my undergraduate degree, I was a fierce supporter of capital punishment when discussing the topic in classes. However, throughout many criminal justice courses, I found myself in the minority, regarding the abolishment of the death penalty. While debating this topic, I would always find myself sympathetic to the victims and their families, as one should be, wanting those who were responsible for heinous crimes to
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.
... a better life without crime. The government would be leading by example as they will not take on the same actions as I, the criminal. There are great savings to be had that could be spent on beneficial activities for society and not spent on a criminal like me. We as people have come so far but there are parts of the past that are left to erase.” Capital Punishment is considered inhuman and “it’s been somewhat embarrassing, quite frankly, that nations just as so-called civilized as ours think we're barbaric because we still have capital punishment." (deathpenalty.org 27 February 2011). Reginald Wilkinson was a prison director in Ohio and speaks the truth in saying that is an embarrassment to a nation to continue with capital punishment. Thus, in final consideration, capital punishment must be abolished and we must move on as it has become a problem beyond repair.
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.
“The case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
Fein, Bruce. "Individual Rights and Responsibility - The Death Penalty, But Sparingly." Speech. American Bar Association. Feb. 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
capital punishment? With receiving life without parole the person has no chance of release by a parole board, even with good behavior. However, life sentences gives an inmate family and lawyer time to prove their innocence if they did not commit a crime. The wrongful execution of an innocent person is an injustice that can never be rectified. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 154 cases where men and women have been released from Death Row nationally, some only minutes away from execution. Inmates sentenced to capital punishment in recent years have had the privilege to get freedom due to the improvement of technology and how DNA evidence can prove they did not commit the crime. For example, my uncle who was sentenced to capital murder had evidence that could be tested for his DNA. During his trial evidence proved that his DNA was on none of the evidence presented but he had potential eye witness to identify him. The eye witnessed were paid friends of the other suspect involved in the crime. The witnesses later came back after his conviction and revealed they were paid and they lied about the stories. He was later executed but was never given a free chance to prove his innocence. It can be conceded that, if the maximum sentence an inmate could be given it could help free more innocent people. Supporters of the capital punishment feel it is beneficial because if a person kills someone they should be