Abolishing The Death Penalty

For centuries capital punishment has been used to “punish” criminals for a severe enough crime that they committed. It dates back to hundreds of years ago and has been enacted in many different countries, some that still have it today. Death penalty/capital punishment is the punishment of death an offender receives after having a court hearing and being convicted of a crime (ProCon.org, 2008). Once someone receives a death penalty sentence, they go on death row awaiting their execution. For a very long time, the controversy regarding whether or not the death penalty is ethical or just has been a topic of debate. I believe that the

“And despite scientific efforts to implement capital punishment in a "humane" fashion, time and again executions have resulted in degrading spectacles, including the botched lethal injection in April 2014 that took more than 40 minutes to kill Oklahoma inmate Clayton Derrell Lockett and prompted Glossip v. Gross” (Heyns and Mendez). Capital punishment is an inhumane and outdated way for punishing criminals. The use of capital punishment is hundreds of years old in America. It is used as a punishment for criminals who have committed a violent crime in which they physically harm others. The point of the death penalty is to show that these kinds of crimes are not tolerated, and to deter criminals from committing these kinds of crimes. Unfortunately

A study conducted by the Journal of Quantitative Criminology reveals that for every execution performed, fifteen murders take its place (Durlauf, et al). The study compiled execution statistics and murder rates across states in order to determine the efficacy of deterrence. Granted, executions do not directly lead to murders, but the data exposes the fact that the death penalty has not been successful in preventing them. In fact crime rates increase in states that resume the practice of the death penalty. For example, Florida had a twenty-eight percent increase in murder rates after executing a prisoner in 1979 for the first time after fifteen years (“White

1,392 this is the number of executions since 1976. Seems like nothing compared to the 3,035 men and women who are still waiting for their last day. Men and women wasting our tax dollars sitting on death row waiting to be murdered since the cost of capital punishment is several times of that keeping someone in prison for life. Each death penalty case in Texas 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 (CITE) and that’s JUST in Texas, imagine what that number would be world wide. As of July 2015, 101 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes but 31 states right here in American are still carrying

     Capital punishment should be viewed as the stripping away of humanity from a person. The death penalty itself should be "executed" because of racial inequities, the concept of murder, the possibility of error, lack of deterrence, the cost, and an overwhelmed legal system. "The goal of capital punishment is revenge" (Introduction 1). Capital punishment is simply an outlet for the bloodlust of the American people (Introduction 1).

Statistics back up the fact that the death penalty doesn’t deter crime. In 1999, the murder rate in states with the death penalty was 5.5, and in non-death penalty states was 3.6 (Jillette, Teller, & Price, 2006). In 2004, the murder rate in death penalty states was 5.1, and in non-death penalty states was 2.9 (Jillette, Teller, & Price, 2006). Topping these particular statistics is the state that uses the death penalty the most frequently, Texas, which had from 1996 through 2006 a murder rate of 6.7 at the time when the national murder rate was 6.23 (Jillette, Teller, & Price, 2006). With the murder rate being higher in states with the death penalty, it shows little evidence of deterrence.

The future of the death penalty lies unclear in the cross-country battle over whether or not it should be abolished. The death penalty should in fact be abolished because of the extreme costs and painful time involved to house and execute inmates, the indecision of which method of execution is the most humane, and the increasing number of innocent inmates being wrongfully executed.

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is an extremely controversial subject that has been widely discussed among Americans for the past century. The death penalty is used upon criminals whom the world deems too unfit to continue living. Some individuals feel the death penalty is too harsh and very inhumane due to possible failures thus disregarding the main principle of it, to perform a painless death. Others trust the expression: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Although some states have eradicated the death penalty, many states like California, Alabama, and Oregon still have the punishment intact. Capital punishment should be reinstated to every province in America because of its inane ability to avert criminals from committing further crimes. The death penalty is required for a society to uphold justice, promote the deterrence of crimes, essential to maintain public safety,

Although the death penalty is legal in some parts of the United States, it has no place in our quest for justice and needs to be abolished. In particular, the death penalty is ineffective because of the time gone to waste from the salaried guardsmen being paid overtime, to the innocents being put on row. Due to the crucial time being lost, the United States is not spending money adequately, resulting in the downfall to debt. Not only is money being lost, but racial bias exhibited during trial is inadmissible and has a huge effect on how people in the society are portrayed, as well as treated. Abolishing the capital punishment will take the United States one step closer in recovering lost money and

The execution has been carrying over a millennium year. Back in the days, the only way to punish the inmate and another criminal is to execute them. We have seen on television or heard on the radio, Texas is one of the most highly rated executions on the list. Not only in Texas, in the entire states government should completely be banned the capital punishment. Those who are innocent are facing in the death row. As stated in the, eight and fifth amendment it is " cruel and unusual punishment inflicted " on the innocent people and must have a due process before depriving anyone life. The death penalty does not guarantee to prevent the crime. Most of the time criminals will free to go and the innocent will be convicted. Many states cannot afford

People get the death penalty when they do one of these crimes; murder, treason, espionage, terrorism, and drug trafficking. You could also be in prison for the rest of your life if this happens. The death penalty is three lethal drugs that are given to the person that is guilty. The drugs are anesthetic, muscle relaxant, and a drug to stop the heart. The appeal system makes sure the people are guilty before they put them to death. This means the cases are reviewed. It takes place after the death sentence is given. This expensive process could take up to ten years. When the appeals are over the results will be a death penalty or life in prison or the person will be innocent and nothing happens. The death penalty must be banned because it does not decrease crimes and lots of innocent people have been killed.

Proponents of the death penalty also view it as a deterrent to crime. (“Same old”, 1990). Just by having the possible punishment of death as an end result to a heinous crime has lowered the murder rate in some states. The feeling is that the more executions you have, the lower the homicide rate you will have. Not to mention the innocent lives you will save. Supporters of capital punishment will cite studies showing that murderers who are allowed to live will inevitably kill again. Studies have shown that murderers awaiting their death penalty sentence to be carried out have killed correction officers, knowing there could be no additional fate assigned to them.

Capital Punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, first dates back to the English Colonies in the 1600s. The people of this time adopted this tradition to punish people who had committed crimes of murder, treason, theft, robbery, rape, or other horrible offenses. In 1776, people already began to see the inefficiency of the death penalty. Benjamin Rush, a physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, stated that “the punishment of murder by death is contrary to reason and to the order and happiness of society.” Rush believed that the death penalty should only be a product of England, and that America should not condone premeditated killing by the government, but rather leave that practice in England.

Furthermore, on top of not reducing criminal activities, Capital punishment is a waste of money. Dieter state that Over two-thirds of the states and the federal government have installed an exorbitantly expensive system of capital punishment which has been a failure by any measure of effectiveness. Literally, hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent on a response to crime which is calculated to be carried out on a few people each year and which has done nothing to stem the rise in violent crime (Dieter n.d.)When in fact there is another way to go about it. The death penalty is much more expensive than its closest alternative -- life imprisonment with no parole. Capital trials are longer and more expensive at every step than other murder trials. (Dieter n.d.)Over the past three decades, there has been a downward trend in the number of murders that lead to arrest and conviction to the point that only

The death penalty is the decision made by the judicial system that allows people who commit criminal offenses to be sentenced to death. In the Constitution, it states that, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Many people believe that capital punishment violates our right to decline cruel and unusual punishments and goes against the 8th amendment. Many states have abolished the death penalty for these reasons, but there are still some states that allow people to be sentenced to death for capital crimes. I think that the death penalty should be abolished because it is unfair to minorities, it is a form of cruel and unusual punishment, and it doesn’t prevent the