This essay will be discussing whether the death penalty is wrong. I will be arguing in favor of capital punishment and will be presenting several arguments to back up my position. First, an understanding of what the death penalty is and why it is used currently needs to be established. The death penalty has been around almost as long as humans have. It is a form of punishment that is a deterrent for other criminals. Also, capital punishment is a way to prevent the criminal being put to death from committing any further crimes. In most cases, the death penalty is only used whenever a crime is so evil that the individual must be dealt with by an equally strong method. Crimes that usually have the possibility of the death penalty are various …show more content…
I believe this to be entirely false and will prove my reasoning later in this essay. Capital punishment as a deterrent can be argued that it has no effect on the amount of murders committed. This argument, however, is pointless due to the simple fact that it is not called “Capital deterrent” it is called “Capital punishment” and therefore should not simply be treated as an idle threat. The fact that it has the possible side effect of making individual think twice about committing murder is merely a bonus attribute. The death penalty was not enacted to scare people away from doing murder; it was enacted to prevent the people who have from doing more.
Take this example argument: a maniac decides to go on a killing spree and the police manage to subdue him and he is then convicted with multiple life sentences. He is still a maniac, just in prison. By putting the maniac in a prison, the system is giving him access to other individuals to harm. By doing this, it puts the other inmates in danger. If the maniac was put to death, the issue of putting the other criminals in danger is eliminated entirely and therefore is the better solution. One might argue my previous example and state that you could simply create a prison that would only contain maniacs that were equally as likely to cause harm in order to protect the other criminals who might not deserve to be put in danger with the maniacs.
deter crime? A study into the effect of Capital Punishment said, 'the presence of the death penalty in law and practice has no discernible effect as a deterrent to murder.' How does this serve as a deterrent to crime? It offers the convict an easy way out with no reflection on what they've done. They don't learn from their mistakes and although there is obviously no risk of re-offence, the criminal cannot give
Capital Punishment, also known as the Death Penalty, has been a part of the United State’s justice system for the majority of the country’s existence. Today, 31 out of the 50 states still recognize the death penalty as a viable option when dealing with high profile crimes, most notably murder and sexual assault. While many people argue that the death penalty should be made illegal, there is also widespread support in favor of keeping the death penalty, leaving the nation divided on the issue. Both sides of the argument possess valid evidence that supports their claims, but in the end, the arguments in favor of the death penalty are noticeably stronger. The death penalty is an appropriate sentence that should continue to be allowed in the
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
Why is the death penalty used as a means of punishment for crime? Is this just a way to solve the nations growing problem of overcrowded prisons, or is justice really being served? Why do some view the taking of a life morally correct? These questions are discussed and debated upon in every state and national legislature throughout the country. Advantages and disadvantages for the death penalty exist, and many members of the United States, and individual State governments, have differing opinions. Yet it seems that the stronger arguments, and evidence such as cost effectiveness, should lead the common citizen to the opposition of Capital Punishment.
However, this argument fails because even if it cannot be proven that deterrent effects works, it obviously does. If one knew that if they murdered someone, they would be killed as well, they would not do it. This would not work in every case but if even one person did not murder someone because of the consequence, then it is worth having the death penalty. I even can say that I believe it deters more than imprisonment. With imprisonment there is hope for a life after imprisonment. Just the hope itself is enough makes it less of a deterrent. Now in a utilitarian perspective, if we are saving more peoples
Those that are for the death penalty claim that it will serve as a deterrent and is the only way for retribution against murderers. Both issues are highly debatable and have even been a subject of criticism. Punishment as a deterrence has been used for ages. This concept does work, however it should not be applied to all criminals, in my opinion. Some pro capital punishment individuals claim that it is an efficient deterrence against criminals. In an article “Death penalty is a deterrence”, the authors claim that by practicing the death penalty, violent crimes will decrease.”violent crime has declined eleven percent, with murder showing the largest decline at even more than twenty two percent. We believe that this has occurred in part because of the strong signal that the death penalty sent to violent criminals and murders.” These statistics taken from this article may be inaccurate and should be closely examined.
The death penalty is one of the most controversial forms of punishment in the United States criminal justice system. For many, the death penalty seems like a way to gain retribution, and to help make this country a better place, however there are many reasons why the death penalty is also not a good thing. My main points that I’m going to talk about for my paper is why I don’t believe in the death penalty. Throughout the paper the reader will be able to understand exactly what the death penalty is, the pros and cons of the death penalty, and eventually be able to depict for themselves whether the death penalty is “good” or not.
In the debate over capital punishment, the opponents argue that capital punishment should not be practiced because it has a civilizing effect and practicing capital punishment has do deterrent effect. On the other side of the debate, the supporters argue that capital punishment should not be abolished because it is just retribution and has a deterrent effect. In this paper, I will argue that capital punishment should not be practiced.
Deterrence is another big reason the death penalty is still used in the United States (“Death Penalty,” 2014). If potential criminals see criminals put to death, would it stop them from committing a crime? The answer is unclear, but a survey was done of criminologists in 1996 and roughly eleven percent believed that the death penalty was a deterrent to other criminals (“Death Penalty,” 2014). The same survey was done again in 2008 and the percent was nearly cut in half, six percent of the criminologists believed the death penalty was a deterrent (“Death Penalty,” 2014).
The death penalty does not deter criminals from committing crime. Most criminals who commit crimes do not have intentions of being caught and believe that they are invincible from the repercussions of their actions. Because of this, the death penalty really does not deter criminals from committing a crime. In fact, the death penalty could be considered an “easy way out” because the criminal does not have to spend several months, years, or even the rest of his or her life behind bars with little contact with the outside world. The criminal can just die and no longer have to suffer with knowing what he or she did, how it has affected others, and how it will continue to affect his or her life. Also, many criminals end up committing suicide in prison because they do not want to have to spend every day locked in a jail cell for extended periods of time.
Capital punishment dates back to 18th century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. Under this code twenty five crimes, excluding murder, were punishable by death. In historical data, the first death penalty was imposed to offender who was blamed for magic in 16th century BC Egypt (Regio, 1997). Unfortunately, death penalty is still practiced in some countries. For example, in Egypt recently on 24 March 2014, Minya Criminal Court imposed death penalty to 529 followers of Egyptian ex-president Mohamed Morsi for their participation in violence (Amnesty International, 2014). Nowadays, United States also practices capital punishment. According to the fact sheet of DPIC (2014) 20 criminals from different states were executed this year
My assumption is that the death penalty does not deter people from crime. I do not believe that the fear of receiving punishment or justice will deter murder. When people commit crimes, they do not think or care about the consequences at that time. If that were true, people would not speed on highways or do drugs in fear that they would be prosecuted. I believe that with or without capital punishment people will still commit crimes. I believe that the death penalty does not have conclusive evidence to be a tool in the criminal justice system to deter people.
In this paper I’m going to talk about Capital Punishment and the numerous ideas, thoughts, views and opinions people have about it and how they feel about this type of punishment. There are people who see capital punishment as morally wrong and committing a murder or on the side of the spectrum people see it as the right thing to do and believe that the individual receiving the punishment deserves it. I will also talk about how capital punishment can be used as a deterrent and make individuals second guess the decision they want to make and this may very well be a consequence of their actions. Another thing I will look at and talk about is how people have been falsely accused and sentenced to death or are currently sitting on death row. Also the technology and resources that are available today are so precise and extremely effective that to falsely convict someone is extremely slim and not common at all. There are numerous types of methods used to commit capital punishment and I will take a look at them and discuss them and look at some of them are inhumane and cruel. The process of getting on death row and eventually getting put to death is a very long and tedious one and it takes years to happen. I will discuss how people can make appeals, try and have their case heard again and to try and get off death row even though at times it isn’t successful at all. I will also discuss the states that still practice capital punishment and what states have outlawed
Putting people to death for committing murder makes other potential murderers think twice about killing someone. Capital punishment deters many murders every day. If all that had to be done was spend life in jail, getting free meals, having a roof over their head, and place to sleep at night, then killing
Welcome to America, the land of the free, of the prosperous, of the opulent. America the Beautiful, one of the only places in the world where all citizens regardless of race, background, or social class are constitutionally guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—that is unless you're on death row. In modern day America we are still faced with the antiquated ritual of capital punishment, a practice that interferes directly with the law of the land. The same forms of punishment used during the middle ages are still in effect today, the same ideas that should have been abolished had the U.S. government revised it's penology. Capital punishment is cruel as well as unusual and inadequate for our advanced society. The United