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Opinions on the death penalty
Opinions on the death penalty
History of the death penalty
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Can you imagine what it would be like waking up one day in a 60-square-foot cement enclosure telling a guard what you would like for your very last meal? Having to walk down to a room where people get to watch you die? Where you’re bound to a gurney or a chair and then two needles are inserted into your arms. Heart monitors are placed all over your chest by one of the execution team members. The curtain is lifted, and there is a room full of people staring at you. Waiting for you to take your last breaths. First you’re put to sleep with sodium thiopental, so you’re nice and calm in your last few moments. Then, your entire muscle system is paralyzed with pancuronium bromide and your breathing stops. Finally, they stop your heart when they inject …show more content…
While living on death row, they spend 23 hours in a 60-square-foot cell. The inmate gets to spend one hour in the recreation center, a larger cage, but must be shuttled there. Unlike the other inmates, they don’t get the privilege of walking outside with the others, conversing, and “enjoying” the company of the surrounding people. They are deprived of even something as simple as running barefoot through the grass. The only time they may get a chance to talk to another person, besides a guard, is when they exercise; which is done alone, but there may be another inmate in the next recreation cage over. Inmates spend 94 percent of their lives wasting away in their cells. During this time of isolation, they are trying not to go …show more content…
Everyone will always have their own opinion, but over two-thirds of the countries have abolished the death penalty. More than half of the United States public now prefers alternatives over the death penalty as the best punishment. It is not a deterrent; in 2008, 14 states had lower homicide rates at or below national rates without capital punishment. One of the arguments is money, but did you know it is cheaper to keep them alive than it is to kill them. The death penalty would still be more expensive than other alternative sentences, even if appeals were abolished. All the while, this money could be going to resources for crime prevention, mental health treatment, education and rehabilitation, meaningful victims’ services, and drug treatment programs. Execution is not the only punishment we have to give to those who have committed such crimes that we had to sentence them to the death penalty. We don’t have to put them in a 6’ by 8’ cell like the rest of the criminals in a low security prison. We can lock them up in the same 60-square-foot cell just as if they were going to die. 23 hours in solitude, no contact with anyone, none of those “luxuries” the other inmates get, the same routine. That alone is
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.
In the minds of the American public and jurors in capital cases the perception of lethal injection is of a clean, clinical, and painless end. As stated in the article, Lethal Injection, seventy-one percent of those responding to a 2001 survey considered injection to be the least cruel form of execution (Lethal Injection). This perception is an advantage to the state because the public is much more willing to accept execution in this form and jurors are more willing to convict and pass the death sentence. At times it is understood why the death penalty would be considered in cases. Maybe the people are a threat to not only society but also to themselves, and need to be put to death so they can do no harm to anyone. Vickers gunned down a grocery store owner who was probably trying to make a living for himself and his family. Now this man is gone; his family is left in agony, and maybe Vickers deserves to die. Some people may say an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but do two wrongs make a right?
Imagine yourself in a poorly lit, four-by-four concrete block. No window to look out and gaze upon life outside of the place where you have been sentenced to die. The only objects in your possession are a small television set, a needle thin mattress, and a pillow that is next to useless. But you feel grateful; because not everyone gets a mattress or pillow in their cell. You’re considered one of the lucky ones. However, three days a week you can step outside into your own cage connected to the back of your cell. With all of that in mind, finding a purpose for your life is exceptionally hard to find in prison alone, but in solitary confinement? Whether your sentence gets overturned or not, you will have to live with the death row phenomenon
It is the opinion of the author that the main purpose and goal of death row is "human storage." (Article, p.48) By this the author is suggesting that "condemned prisoners [are] treated essentially as bodies kept alive to be killed." (Article, p.48) The author goes on to use examples given by inmates on death row to illustrate the above-mentioned point. On such example included the alleged treatment of a suicidal prisoner on a death row in Texas. Apparently this prisoner was "placed in a straightjacket …handcuffs…placed on his wrists…a crash helmet…. was placed on his head and there he lay for weeks, helpless, alone and drugged." (Article, p. 49) Unfortunately there is no information given as to what else could have been done for the prisoner or what facilities the prison had to deal with this type of issue. This is also an anecdotal example given by someone on death row themselves. It is quite possible that this example may have been exaggerated or distorted in the re-telling or even told in an attempt to get staff in some form of trouble or get back at the staff for a 'wrong' done against the prisoner.
The death penalty is legal in thirty-one states and illegal in nineteen states. There are at least forty-one federal capital crimes in the United States that can be considered or guaranteed with the death penalty. The death penalty should be abolished because it is unlawful to society, humanity, and civilization as a whole. It costs far more to execute a person rather than to keep them in prison for the rest of his or her life. Logically speaking, the death penalty is an illicit and wrongful punishment no matter what the crime. The emotion and anger toward the criminals that commit horrible crimes can overcome what is actually right for society. There are many more opposing factors towards the death penalty than there are supporting ones. Capital punishment is nefarious to say the least and there are other consequences and actions that can be substituted rather than directly executing a person for their actions.
The death row inmates at Angola spend 23 hours a day in windowless concrete cells that measure 8 by 10 feet. They are allowed to leave the cell for one hour each day to shower, make phone calls or walk along the tiered walkway beside their cells. Three times a week, they can use that hour to go outside to sit in a small outdoor cage. (Stack)
While one person lays with their wrists circumscribed to the worn leather of the gurney, another person holds two skin-piercing needles. The individual holding the needles is an inexperienced technician who obtains permission from the United States federal government to murder people. One needle is held as a precaution in case the pain is too visible to the viewers. Another dagger filled with a lethal dosage of chemicals is inserted into the vein that causes the person to stop breathing. When the cry of the heart rate monitor becomes monotone, the corrupt procedure is complete. Lying in the chair is a corpse when moments ago it was an individual who made one fatal mistake that will never get the chance to redeem (Ecenbarger). Although some people believe that the death
For centuries, the death penalty has been used by nations throughout the world. Practices such as stoning, the guillotine, firing squads, electrocution, and lethal injections have all been common practices to condemn criminals who had enacted heinous crimes. In concurrent society, however, capital punishment has begun to be viewed as a barbaric and inhumane. From these judgments, arguments and controversies have erupted over whether or not the United States should continue to practice the death penalty. With advocates and critics arguing over the morality of the death penalty, the reason to why the death penalty exists has been blurred. Because of the death penalty’s ability to thwart future criminals through fear and its practical purposes, the practice of capital punishment should continue in the United States.
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
The death penalty has been around for millions of years throughout the world. There have been hangings, drownings, crucifixions, and so much more. For the United States, however, the death penalty has been a controversial topic over the last hundred years. Some citizens believe that the death penalty should not be practiced in the United States any longer. Others believe it is a vital aspect of the United States’ society. This topic is controversial all over the United States, and each state handles it differently. This essay will examine each side objectively and also discuss how certain states practice or do not practice the death penalty.
When a person is found guilty in this country, they may either serve a term in prison or be put on death row. On death row, the person awaits their death as a punishment for the crime they committed. The United States remains in the minority of nations in the world that still uses death as penalty for certain crimes. Many see the penalty as barbaric and against American values. Others see it as a very important tool in fighting violent pre-meditated murder. The death penalty should be abolished because of its financial costs to tax payers, it’s barbaric, and its ineffectiveness.
The death penalty is not a fast procedure nor cheap. “Despite extraordinary efforts by the courts and enormous expense to taxpayers, the modern death penalty remains slow, costly and uncertain” (Von Drehle). Not only is the money spent on lethal injections, but also on lawyers. Every trial that involves capital punishment, includes a lawyer, judge, more potential jurors, more witnesses, and more appeals. A lot of money is spent on these things. Some people think that it is more expensive to keep a criminal alive, and that’s actually not true. “In fact, in Furman, Justice Marshall recognized that ‘when all is said and done, there can be no doubt that it costs more to execute a man than to keep him in prison for life”’ (McLaughlin). Even though the death penalty has existed for a long time now, crimes keep
Furthermore, the U.S is popular for its justice and respect for human life. Death Penalty does not to with this image of our country. So death penalty abolishment is necessary, to stick to our values and morals.
It must be remembered that criminals are real people too, which have. life and with it, the feeling of pain, fear and the loss of their loved ones and all the other emotions that the rest of us feel. There is no such thing as a humane way of putting someone to death. Every type of execution causes the prisoner physical suffering, some. methods perhaps cause less than others, but be in no doubt that being.
Many criminals would rather be put to death than serve a sentence in prison for the rest of their lives. Crime victims struggle with this everyday because they feel as if criminals had "the easy way out". It is sad to watch victims suffer because a criminal is not getting the justice they deserve. Many people find that the death penalty is inhumane and does not serve justice. This is the reason that many states have made the death penalty illegal. Many states did this because the death penalty was considered to be a cruel, torturous punishment. The death penalty should be made illegal everywhere because it has a negative impact on society and