Cameron Secrest
Mrs. Kirkpatrick
English 10 Honors
November 30, 2017
Argument to the Death Are you against capital punishment? In Merriam-Webster Dictionary, capital punishment is “the practice of killing people for a serious crime” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It is more commonly known as the death penalty. This is the ultimate punishment and has multiple positive and negative aspects to the community. Historically, the death penalty has been used when viewed as the only option or as the only punishment the criminal deserves. The death penalty should be legal in all states due to inhumane actions of criminals, the cost of a life sentence being so much more, and the fact that arguing for a death sentence and a life sentence are two different topics to argue for.
Laura A. Bischoff at Columbus Bureau on the case of Ronald Phillips states that Phillips left 125 bruises all across his ex-girlfriends 3-year-old daughter and with this information the coroner confirmed her cause of death to be one of abuse (Bischoff). Groups against the death penalty use the argument of the use of the death penalty is inhumane. Inhumane is defined by Merriam-Webster as without compassion for misery or suffering (Merriam-Webster). The courts rule the criminals’ action as inhumane which causes the controversy of if the death penalty should be allowed.
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It will be argued the punishment is inhumane, it will also be argued that the crimes are inhumane. The death penalty has been used when viewed as the only option or as the only punishment the criminal deserves and appears that it will continue to be. The death penalty should be legal in all states due to inhumane actions of criminals, the cost of a life sentence being so much more, and the fact that arguing for a death sentence and a life sentence are two different topics to argue
Capital punishment has been a controversial issue that still exists in America today. Capital punishment is a law passed by the government to punish any individual that has been convicted of committed a heinous crime. The death penalty has been a method used throughout history as punishment for criminals. The punishment also known as the death penalty is a scheduled execution, which would be done with lethal injection. The reason why this punishment is chosen is because when crimes are committed that shock the conscience, the immediate emotional reaction is to retaliate with severe punishment (Schnurbush 2016). The death penalty is debated when it is brought up, opinions vary from one group of people to another, one side says the execution is murder, and the other saying that it is justice being done. Each side presents valid arguments to why people should be for it or against it; people’s opinions are formed by personal beliefs.
The Death Penalty is inhumane because killing someone even in the name of law is morally seen as a wrong act life and death are considered by the society as natural rights and interfering with that is wrong no matter how you think they should be punished, taking and eye for eye is wrong we were always taught to be the bigger and better person in life no matter how much it hurts us too, killing someone isn't gonna solve a lot of things just hurt more people in the process, you can't take the Death penalty back once it is done it
Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, is a controversial subject which has been argued for decades due to the ethical decisions involved. People believe the death penalty is the right thing to do and that it is the perfect example of ‘justice’ while others believe that it is immoral and overly expensive. The death penalty is not a logical sentence for criminals, it doesn’t give them the right type of justice and it is immoral.
“Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty (Henry Ford).” Death is a natural event that will occur eventually in life. No one is meant to live forever and that is normal. However, no one living on Earth should determine who should die based on the mistakes an individual makes. Who has the right to tell when and where a person should die? People make mistakes each and every day due to the fact that we were not created to be perfect. An argument that has been discussed throughout the years is the issue with capital punishment. According to US Legal.com, “A death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and some other capital crimes (serious crimes, especially murder, which are punishable by death).”There are currently 32 states that use the death penalty, while 18 states have abolished the death penalty. The death penalty is not only inhuman, but a costly project that affects the economy. Supporters of capital punishment believe capital punishment gives the society more power, discourages new crimes that are related to crimes committed by the accused and provides justice or closure for victims. Those against capital punishment are against it based on the cost of the punishment, the inhumanity of the punishment and the innocent are not safe from the death penalty. I am against the death penalty based on the reasons of those against it. However, I agree with the reasons for those who are in support of it,
The death penalty will always be a topic some people refuse to talk about. When in fact, it is a very serious topic and people should know how and why the death penalty is not justified. I believe the death penalty is not justified in the least bit because there are people sitting up in prison just living life because the state does not want to pay for an execution, or they find it to be morally corrupt. Personally if you committed a crime that resulted in someone dying then you deserves to die as well. The idea of killing another human does not sit well with people and that is mainly the
The monetary expense to taxpayers is much more than if one was kept in prison for life. Generally the public does not understand that executing one death sentence runs 2-5 times more than housing a criminal in prison for the rest of their life. There never-ending appeals, jurors have to be paid extra and there has to be a special prosecutor among many other things. Some prisoners sit on death row from 15 to 20 years while their appeals drag on in court. It takes a considerable amount of finances for all of the court services needed in a capital punishment case. Is that money that we can afford to waste?
Life is sacred. This is an ideal that the majority of people can agree upon to a certain extent. For this reason taking the life of another has always been considered the most deplorable of crimes, one worthy of the harshest available punishment. Thus arises one of the great moral dilemmas of our time. Should taking the life of one who has taken the life of others be considered an available punishment? Is a murderer's life any less sacred than the victim's is? Can capital punishment, the death penalty, execution, legal murder, or whatever a society wishes to call it, be morally justifiable? The underlying question in this issue is if any kind of killing, regardless of reason, can be accepted. In this
An argument in opposition of the death penalty is the cost. The word “cost” is affiliated with more than one meaning. There is the numerical value or the estimate the price of a specific piece, this piece being the death penalty. The other is the moral value which pertains to the victims and criminals emotional thought process. Dealing with the cost aspect first, many states confirm that the cost to put a criminal to death via the death penalty, is substantially more than if the criminal were to have life in prison without parole. Anti-death penalty advocates brought economic arguments to the public’s attention which influenced lawmakers in many states to create legislative bills that eliminate capital punishment. By focusing on the costs and inefficiencies of capital punishment, the anti-death penalty movement has given state policymakers a self-interested reason to abolish capital punishment and save their constituents millions of dollars. (Mclaughlin) As early as the 1980s, people on both sides of the death penalty debate started to become aware of the costs involved in capital punishment compared to life imprisonment. (Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review) Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) show 11 states are now considering abolishing executions, with many legislators citing high costs associated with incarcerating and handling often decades-long appeals by death row inmates. (State Crime)
In regards to the argument in support of capital punishment, the means do not come from thinking about the death penalty in theoretical ways, but is justified as a form of retribution for individual cases. Certainty, instances of individual stories are important, however, dangers do exist as a result of such stories dictating the overall thinking about an issue that has profound social consequences. Abolitionists argue that capital punishment has never been proved to be effective in deterring others from committing murder, thus, the evil that follows capital punishment far overshadows any possible beneficial factors the opposing argument may state. Quite the reverse, murder demonstrates a lack of respect for the human life. Any life is valuable
In the wise words of the philosopher Immanuel Kant, “a society that is not willing to demand a life of somebody who has taken somebody else’s life is simply immoral.” When considering the issue of capital punishment, many arguments are made in favor of proponents and abolitionists. There are utilitarian arguments, retributive arguments, and egalitarian arguments.
The primary reason why people argue against the reinstation of the death penalty is because of the execution of innocent people which in turn, leads to serious miscarriages of justice. This is the primary argument as to why Capital Punishment should not be reinstated because, there have been unlawful executions of innocent civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. This argument aims mainly towards the Derek Bentley case as Derek Bentley was wrongly executed for the murder of a police officer when it was his accomplice, Christopher Craig who pulled the trigger and killed the police officer. It was the phrase “let him have it” that was interpreted to state that it was Bentley who told Craig to kill the officer instead of surrendering the weapon. This case was one of the main pieces of evidence required for protestors to protest about having Capital Punishment abolished in the United Kingdom as Bentley was only 19 when he was executed. The conviction for Derek Bentley was eventually abolished in 1998. Mahmood Hussain Matan was another example of a wrongful execution as he was executed in 1952 after being wrongfully convicted for the murder of Lily Volpert. His case was eventually quashed in 1998 by the Court of Appeal making it the first case referred to the Court of Appeal under the new Criminal Cases Review Commission. This proves why people want the Death Penalty to stay abolished because, over time, there have been serious miscarriages of justice towards the
The arguments surrounding capital punishment have focused primarily on its ability to provide general deterrence. Instead of focusing on a purely utilitarian aspect of capital punishment, it may be useful to analyze the death penalty through a morality perspective. The idea of retribution often carries a negative connotation because of its equivocation with the concept of revenge. While they may externally seem similar, they are far from analogous when analyzing the underlying motivations driving the two ideological perspectives.
The Supreme Court of the United States yesterday ordered the suspension of executions of prisoners waiting on death row since before 2012, when the practice was abolished, reiterating once again that this punishment is completely unconstitutional. This happened after the adoption of a law at the state level was established three years ago in the state of Connecticut banning since then again condemn capital punishment convicted of serious crimes , except for 11 prisoners who were already awaiting their conviction.
The death penalty, or capital punishment, is the execution of an offender that is sentenced to death by a court of law for a criminal offense. This type of punishment for inmates is involved in controversy over whether or not it is an acceptable form of punishment for criminals and also whether or not it is immoral. There are many arguments for both sides of the debate, each making valid points and pointing out the flaws of the opposing position. Many religions are either for or against capital punishment, due to them either being against killing or for it. The controversy surrounding the death penalty laws in the United States is made up of various arguments. Other arguments surrounding the use of the death penalty include whether
The death Penalty is a very controversial topic to many. Some believe that the death penalty should not only be in place but there should be more executions every year. While others believe that the death penalty is going out of style and it is not serving its purpose of deterring crime as it did before. Although there are many claims supporting both sides still over half of Americans are for capital punishment in some way, but what causes someone to be sentenced to death? According to the article “Against the American System of Capital Punishment” by Jack Greenberg the worst crime is, “a putative killer of one’s parent or child” (Greenberg). What makes this the worst crime? And out of the few executions are these the only people getting