The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives

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Recommended: Death penalty does it deter crime

“I don’t think you should support the death penalty to seek revenge. I don’t think that’s right. I think the reason to support the death penalty is because it saves other people’s lives.” -- President George Bush

Many who disagree with the death penalty believe it is immoral, discriminates, is very expensive, increases crime, and is only a way to carry out revenge. This, however, is not true. Capital punishment should be legal because it is moral, by not allowing criminals to roam the streets once again. It does not discriminate against those of color or the poor, and is actually less expensive than life imprisonment. The most important reason why the death penalty should be legal is because it deters crime.

In past centuries, the problem was how to find the most painful way to execute a criminal, not whether criminals should be executed or not. Killing alone wasn’t an acceptable way of punishment (McCuen 8). Nowadays, 97.5% of crimes go unpunished in the United States, and the 2.5% who are punished are not being treated harsh enough (90). The death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat him as an animal with no moral sense (Kurtz). Criminals who murder, rape, kidnap, torture others, or commit treason should not have the same punishment as crimes of lesser value (Kurtz). This point is backed up by the bible, where it is stated in the first chapter. In Genesis 9:6 it says, “Yes, you must execute anyone who murders another person, for to kill another person is to kill a living being made in God’s image”. It is also brought up again in Exodus 21:23-24 where it states, “But if any harm results, then the offender must be punis...

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...cans believe, capital punishment is moral, does not discriminate, is less expensive than life imprisonment, and helps keep crime rates low.

Works Cited

Gary, mcCuen. Reviving the death penalty. Hudson, Wis.: G.E.McCuen Publications, 1985. Print.

Kurtz, John. "Top 10 Pros and Cons - Death Penalty - ProCon.org." Death Penalty ProCon.org. procon.org, 12 July 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. .

Markoff, Steven C. "Death Penalty ProCon.org." Death Penalty ProCon.org. N.p., 12 July 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

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Marzilli, Alan. Capital punishment. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2008. Print.

Smith, Roger."Pro Capital Punishment Page." Wesley Lowe - The Necromancer Wars. Wesley Lowe, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.

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