Abolishing the Death Penalty Thesis

The pros for the death penalty are convicting are those with serious crimes such as torture rape and murder. Capital punishment over time has become more humane because it was done by injections instead of methods used in the past. Capital punishment is the only way to stop crimes. It is believed that the threat of capital punishment reduces violent crimes. Executing convicted murders, save society money instead of keeping them in jail. The death penalty is a just and proper way of handling convicted murderers. Family’s that have lost a loved one

     One argument from death penalty supporters is that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to prevent other people from committing murders. It is the belief that people will think out the consequences of their actions before murdering, and consider the

The death penalty was established as a form of punishment as far back as the 1600's. There are many controversial issue's in our world today whether it goes against our civil rights or not. As of today there are thirty-two states who still allow the death penalty and seven states who have completely abolished it ( Norton,W.W.& Company, Inc 115.) Even though the use of the execution has gradually decreased, there have still been many cases in the past years that states have still used it. At one point there was a time the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional, but after a couple years the court allowed states to bring back the death penalty. The courts have struck down many laws where states have tried making it mandatory in

Capital punishment or death penalty is usually imposed on persons who committed heinous crimes and are those that endanger the safety of the society. Some countries and societies implement capital punishment while others do not. There are various reasons for this policy of countries, including the social view on the

Many people who are supporters of the death penalty say that it’s a successful deterrent. But this isn’t true because the death penalty is administered very inconsistently and arbitrarily. “Only a small proportion of first-degree murders is sentenced to death, and even fewer are executed” (Bedau). There are also several states that have a lower criminal rate without using capital punishment. For example Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan all get along just fine without the use of the death penalty. Also “…all other Western industrial countries get along quite well without killing their citizens” (Ryan). There are many judges that are against the use of capital punishment as well.

Premise 2: If we abolish the death penalty we run the risk of some innocent peoplebecoming future victims of the murderers (for example, the prison guards)Utilitarian’s recognize that punishment consists of the infliction of evil on another person, but they holdthat such evil is far outweighed by the future benefits that will accrue to society. Such as the death ofprison guards. Even though utilitarianists may believe that this will help prevent innocent people becomefuture vicitims, having the death penalty STILL runs the risk of convicting and killing innocent people.Premise 3: Whether we choose to keep the death penalty or abolish it, there is a riskthat some human lives will be needlessly lost.A utilitarianist would say we (humans) should always do what brings about the greatest benefit (pleasure) to thegreatest

The death penalty has been a firmly established institution in the United States since its inception. Executions were halted briefly between 1967 and 1977 as the U.S. Supreme Court considered and then ruled on the constitutionality of the death penalty. But states quickly revised their statutes, and some of these new laws met the Court's

The death penalty has been around since the time of Jesus Christ. Executions have been recorded from the 1600s to present times. From about 1620, the executions by year increased in the US. It has been a steady increase up until the 1930s; later the death penalty dropped to zero in the 1970s and then again rose steadily. US citizens said that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was believed that it was "cruel and unusual" punishment (Kurtis 67). In the 1970s, the executions by year dropped between zero and one then started to rise again in the 1980s. In the year 2000, there were nearly one hundred executions in the US (Biskupic 34). On June 29, 1972, the death penalty was suspended because the existing laws were no longer convincing. However, four years after this occurred, several cases came about in Georgia, Florida, and Texas where lawyers wanted the death penalty. This set new laws in these states and later the Supreme Court decided that the death penalty was constitutional under the Eighth Amendment (Biskupic 34).

Those whom support the death penalty believe that is will deter certain crimes as murder. They believe that people fear death and see life in prison as less punishment and not as feared as

A phrase commonly presented in American society, “An eye for an eye,” is used to represent the ideology of the death penalty in the US. The death penalty also known as capital punishment is defined as punishment by death for a crime. In its simplest form, it is “state sanctioned killing (Jones).” Recent facts show that as of, “April 1, 2010, there are approximately 3,260 individuals,” waiting for their execution date while on death row in the US (“Death Penalty”) .It has been reported that, “since 1973 over 130 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence (“Death Penalty”).” The execution of an innocent citizen, along with the violation of the, “cruel and unusual clause” and the extensive cost of killing an

When the country is in debt, and states are facing budget shortages, $620,932 is a lot of tax money to spend on one criminal to pursue the death penalty (“Death Penalty Information Center”). The death penalty should not be legal in the United States because putting the criminal in prison would keep people safe and cost much less money than following through with the death penalty, capital punishment has also been proven not to be a deterrent, and defendants are not treated equally. The cost alone should be enough to abolish capital punishment because of the funds it dries up when more money could go towards crime prevention. If the expenses aren’t enough for a person to realize the death penalty is a waste of resources, the

The Death Penalty has been used in the United States since the very foundation of our nation; the first recorded case was the execution of Captain George Kendall in 1608 in the Jamestown colony as it was believed Kendall was a spy (DPIC). Americans have seen executions throughout history and are somewhat exposed to the idea but the 21st century is a very different place than the 17th century. This century is a time of equality and rights for people of all

Although most would prefer to avoid it, religion as well as the bible has played a huge role in the debate over Capital Punishment. Those who are pro capital punishment use the following scripture from the Bible to justify their stance in the debate: Genesis 9:6: "Whosoever shall shed man's blood; his blood shall be shed; for man was made to the image of God.” In their argument, they are implying that this scripture means if one takes a man’s life their life should be taken because they are not living in accordance to the image of God. In contrast, those who are anti Capital Punishment use the following scripture from the bible to justify

Capital Punishment has been around for centuries, however, they have been far worse than they are now. Before people who commit the littlest of crime were put to death in very inhumane ways. Many countries over the years abolished capital punishment, however, the United States is very well known for still not abolishing the death penalty. During American history, there have been rates of high and low executions, and states have dealt with it, their own ways. Most states have abolished it right after the First World War, others after the civil war.

The only crime punishable by death in New Zealand is treason, the death penalty for murder and piracy having been abolished in 1961, but none the less there were no death sentences known given because of treason 1. Then on 26th December 1989 when a private members bill was pushed into effect, marking New Zealand as a country where no crimes warrants a death punishment 2. Over the years crimes that once would be given death penalty has increased so reintroducing the death penalty should be considered, benefits with this law back in practice include better results of deterrence, government funds re-invested in crime preventions instead of crime punishments and most of all through the death penalty law all criminals offending such level of crime will leave the community and government no worries of potential recidivism. While its downsides would crimes being more violent and much more police assaults and innocent casualties occurring when chasing homicide criminals.