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Argumentative Essay On Capital Punishment

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Capital punishment is a harmful form of retributive justice that perpetuated the myth of redemptive violence and harms the families of the victims and the perpetrators. Capital punishment, the execution of individuals convicted of serious crimes, usually murder or treason, is often justified by saying that it provides closure for victims families and is a deterrent for crime. Recently more families of murder victims have been speaking out against the death penalty. One example is Lorrain Taylor. Her two sons were killed while working on their car which had broken down on the side of the road. In a quote from the ACLU Taylor said “Taking another person’s life does not stop violence. “There’s a contradiction in responding to murder by executing people.” Another murder victim's family said “We do not think that the execution of Jojo’s killer will make the world a better place. “We honor Jojo’s life by working for peace and social justice – goals that were important to him (ACLU of Northern California).” There many website and groups of murder victims families who are working to end the death penalty.
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One of the primary arguments used for the death penalty is that is is a deterrent to crime. The belief is that harsh punishments will keep people from committing serious crimes. While this opinion was widely held some time ago in the united states more recently, people are starting to believe that using the penalty as a deterrent is not effective. In 1985 62% of

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