The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

1008 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Pros and cons of the death penalty

There are over sixty offenses in the United States of America that can be punishable by receiving the death penalty (What is..., 1). However, many individuals believe that the death penalty is an inadequate source of punishment for any crime no matter how severe it is. The fact remains, however, that the death penalty is one of the most ideal forms of punishment. There are other individuals who agree with the idea that capital punishment is the best form of punishment. In fact, some of these individuals believe that this should be the only form of punishment. One of the reasons that the individuals who oppose the idea are against it is because they do not fully understand what capital punishment is. Capital punishment is the “execution of …show more content…

However, Jeff Jacoby from The Boston Globe argues in his article that “there is also protection for the living (When Murderers…, 1). For instance, when the judicial system condemns someone to life in prison there is always the possibility that the criminal may escape. If that criminal escapes he could potentially use his anger to murder the remaining people that had him sent to prison to begin with. Also he could injure or even murder other people that are not even connected with the crime. For the individual that committed the crime there is no sense of self consciousness. However, if the individual responsible for putting the criminal in jail was to find out that he escaped and continued his spree of crimes it could cause that individual to feel guilty about not doing something more to the person who does not care about what they have done or how it has affected anyone …show more content…

Since 1973 there have been a total number of one-hundred and fifty-one death row executions. (10 Reasons…, 1). Out of all of these executions only eighteen of them have ever had any further evidence to show that the guilty party was innocent. Many people argue that this is enough to make it to where the death penalty should not be used. However, that leaves one-hundred and thirty-three death row executions that have not been proven to have been the wrong person. If each individual that is sentenced to be executed has killed only one person than that is one-hundred and thirty-three people that have been killed. The fact remains that if there were no death penalty executions then there would be one-hundred and fifty-one people that have not been justified by their death. Although having eighteen innocent people put to death because they were wrongfully accused is a terrible thing, it does not even begin to oppose the one-hundred and fifty-one people that were killed because of the hate and fear that causes a person to bring this harm upon other people. Also many of these people have affected more than just one person. They may have killed or harmed multiple people. The people who oppose this are simply stating that the murderers’ lives are worth more than the people that they killed.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Bryan Stevenson's Close To Death: Reflections On Race And Capital Punishment

    1861 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Capital Punishment: A Perspective from Death Row

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    “A Death in Texas” by Steve Earle is the true-life story of a friendship that occurred over ten

    Read More

  • Death Penalty Debate: Gary Graham's Execution

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    An inmate by the name of Gary Graham drew several protestors to a Huntsville unit in the year 2000; they were there in opposition to Graham’s execution. This day finally came after nineteen years on death row and four appeals. With him being a repeat offender he was not new to this side of the justice system, but after being put in prison he became a political activist who worked to abolish the death penalty. People who stood against his execution argued that his case still had reasonable doubt, he was rehabilitating himself, and his punishment would cause major harm to his family. Aside from that you have the advocates arguing that you have to set example for others, so you must carry out the punishment that was given, and while the execution may harm the offender’s family it will give the victims’ families closure for his crimes.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introduction: Job David Guerrero lived in downtown San Diego when he was suspected of attacking five homeless men with serious upper-body injuries. Two of which were found dead with their bodies set on fire. Guerrero was linked to the murders form eyewitness testimony and video camera footage. Guerrero should deserve the death penalty under the act of which he commits a murder. This policy of action is morally justified through Lex Talionis, Kantian ethics, Gelernter and the social contract. Although arguments such as Jeffrey Reiman’s might oppose the death penalty and support lesser punishment, my position is a stronger alternative.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    No, I do not believe the death penalty should be in use in today’s society because a loss of freedom cannot compare to a loss of life, as a human life will forever be more valuable than any material good. The death penalty is wrong for many reasons, however, strong cases why it should be abolished are; the death penalty is racist and punishes the poor, condemns the innocent to die, and capital punishment does not deter crime. The death penalty tends to be harsher on poor individuals. Innocent individuals who cannot afford a quality defense often have a greater chance to be put to death. Inadequate defense is a main reason why some death penalty cases are reversed. Racism is another reason the death penalty is wrong, but I consider the two sides to be similar. Looking

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    The death penalty was around for many years, though we do not really hear much about it today. The death penalty was used as a way of punishment for committing the most serious crimes. This punishment was executed in various ways, all of them leading to the death of the person being executed. However, there are reasons why this punishment is no longer being used today.

    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 Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

    2142 Words  | 5 Pages

    Thus, many groups of people are involved in a death penalty case. However, other also equally important factors are also involved, such as money and time. Each state varies in amount expended towards death penalty and life imprisonment. However, in Texas, the state with the highest capital punishment rates in the United States alone, it is stated that each individual in a death penalty case “costs taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.” This is one detail that those opposing death penalty implement in their argument to abolish said act. Another factor is time invested in these cases. Most death penalty cases range from 6 to 10 years, factoring death row and other complications. Thus, the more time invested in determining guilt or innocence, the more money of taxpayers are being consumed. However, as depleting as it is, there is a good reason for. They take so long because they are trying to avoid as many mistakes as possible, meaning they don’t wanted to convict or even worse execute an innocent person wrongly accused or framed for a

    Read More

  • Make The Death Penalty Quicker, Cheaper and More Effective

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thirty-two of the fifty states of the United States of America have capital punishment and in those thirty-two sates there are over three thousand people on death row as of January 1, 2013, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The murderers of today’s society can be assured of a much longer life even after conviction because of the appeals process slowing the implementation of their death sentence. (Oberg) The imposition of the death penalty is extremely expensive because it allows for endless appeals at the expense of the taxpayers. The effectiveness of the death penalty is greatly compromised when it is not carried through. There needs to be a certainty attached to it to make it effective, and that has not happened. There needs to be one trial, one appeal, and then either acquittal, or execution. (Baltimore Sun) The states need to stop pushing for the abolition of the death penalty and start looking for a way to make it more cost-effective.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    Critics of capital punishment hold that because most homicides are situational and are not planned, offenders do not consider the consequences of their actions before they commit the offense” (Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2015, p.133). Most people on death row committed their crimes in the heat of the moment, usually while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or, in some cases, due to suffering from mental illness. These individuals are highly unlikely to make rational decisions based on a fear of future consequences for their actions. Criminals are mainly concerned with whether or not they’ll be caught, not what might happen to them afterwards.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

    1548 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over many centuries, the act of killing has been very controversial as it is argued to be barbaric but at the same time, a part of life. Many will disagree on whether killing can be even be justified, let alone condemned and permitted. Killing a person as punishment for the same offence is difficult to justify and essentially says that killing is allowed. Although the practice of the death penalty exists still, many societies argue how it is barbaric and is part of the past. In Canada however, the topic comes up fairly often as the United States still practices capital punishment in many states. Extensive research shows that capital punishment is unethical, has many flaws, and has a much larger cost than imprisonment. Therefore, through an examination of the ethical relationship, all the possible errors, and the costs, it is evident that

    Read More

  • What Are The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Capital punishment or the death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The judicial decree that someone be punished in this manner is a death sentence, while the actual process of killing the person is an execution. Capital punishment does not demonstrate the wrongfulness of killing by killing; it demonstrates the wrongfulness of killing by executing convicted murderers after a fair trial. Laws are a set of rules implemented by human to guide, enforce and discipline among the society which made by human, not by the God. Breaking laws and awarding punishments against the conduct is also equally done by the human. The death penalty violates the right to life which happens to be the

    Read More

  • Opposing viewpoints

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    The death penalty remains a very controversial and highly criticized topic. Both sides argue vehemently from many different angles about the constitutionality, morality, and justice of the death penalty; but, both sides know that there must be some form of punishment for the violent criminals who commit murder. The conflict arises with the question, “what punishment is fair for a convicted murderer?”

    Read More

  • The Death Denalty, An Annotated Bibliography To The Death Penalty

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    When someone is legally convicted of a capital crime, it is possible for their punishment to be execution. The Death Penalty has been a controversial topic for many years. Some believe the act of punishing a criminal by execution is completely inhumane, while others believe it is a necessary practice needed to keep our society safe. In this annotated bibliography, there are six articles that each argue on whether or not the death penalty should be illegalized. Some authors argue that the death penalty should be illegal because it does not act as a deterrent, and it negatively effects the victim’s families. Other scholar’s state that the death penalty should stay legalized because there is an overcrowding in prisons and it saves innocent’s lives. Whether or not the death penalty should be

    Read More

  • Death Penalty Position Paper

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is how the saying goes. Coined by the infamous Hammurabi’s Code around 1700 BC, this ancient expression has become the basis of a great political debate over the past several decades – the death penalty. While the conflict can be whittled down to a matter of morals, a more pragmatic approach shows defendable points that are far more evidence backed. Supporters of the death penalty advocate that it deters crime, provides closure, and is a just punishment for those who choose to take a human life. Those against the death penalty argue that execution is a betrayal of basic human rights, an ineffective crime deterrent, an economically wasteful option, and an outdated method. The debate has experienced varying levels of attention over the years, but has always kept in the eye of the public. While many still advocate for the continued use of capital punishment, the process is not the most cost effective, efficient, consistent, or up-to-date means of punishment that America could be using today.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

Open Document