Capital Punishment Should Be Abolished Essay

The debate on whether or not the death penalty should be abolished has been ongoing for quite a long period of time. While there are those who believe that the death penalty does not serve its intended purpose, proponents of the same are convinced that the relevance of the same cannot be overstated and hence it should not be abolished. In this text, I examine the arguments for and against the death penalty.

     Why should the death penalty be abolished? The death penalty should be abolished because of many reasons. Many people believe the saying, 'an eye for an eye'. But when will people realize that just because someone may have killed a loved one that the best thing for that person is to die also. People don't realize that they are putting the blood of another person life on their hands. This makes them just as guilty as the person who committed the crime: the only difference is that they didn't use weapon except their mouth to kill them. The death penalty should be abolished because it is racist, punishes the poor, condemns those who are innocent to death, and is a cruel punishment.

When it comes to ethical dilemmas, few are more polarizing and contentious for citizens of the USA as whether capital punishment should be used as a punishment for crime. Also known as the death penalty, the practice involves legally executing a criminal if they commit a crime of a certain level; most often, this punishment is prescribed to those who have murdered other people. Opponents and proponents of the death penalty have clashed for decades, often claiming differing results prove their respective sides to be superior in many areas. For example, those that support the death penalty claim that it is a cheaper punishment in financial terms than lifelong imprisonment without parole, while those that oppose capital punishment believe the exact opposite, stating that capital punishment is the more expensive of the two options. Additionally, there is a major rift between the two sides involving the effectiveness of the death penalty as a crime deterrent; opponents believe there is little to no beneficial effect, while supporters often declare that the death penalty has been proven to decrease murders and therefore saves lives. Moral positions also play a role in the debate; proponents view the punishment as a just way to punish someone who has committed a capital offense and a path towards closure for families of victims, while some on the other side hold that it is wrong to take a life regardless of what a person has done or that death is a cruel, extreme, unnecessary

Many people believe that capital punishment is morally impermissible. They believe that several forms of punishment other than the capital punishments are available for serious offenders. Debate on the application or award of execution as capital punishment is rooted from the argument by Kant that; capital is sometimes morally permissible and required. Although it is mostly the most effective deterrent method. It suffers some setbacks, especially when the evidence presented is less. Little evidence leads to the execution of innocent people. It is therefore immoral to execute offenders with little and rough evidence (Sheldon, 1936).

One of the longest ongoing ethical conflicts in political history is the idea of ending one’s life for the sake of justice. It has stood the test of time over gun control, church and state, or even abortion. Consequently, being an issue of controversy is will most likely not be resolved any time in the near future. Many issues contribute to why there is such diversity. Most controversial subjects are brought into the light after something happening that relates to it. Capital punishment is one issue that, for the most part, is always a topic of interest. There are many extremists on each side of the argument, and there are also many issues that make up this debate. The constitutionality of capital punishment is one of the most debated issues. It’s a question of ethics and of its effectiveness.

Capital Punishment has been a significant topic of debate for the past few decades. Capital punishment is defined as “punishment by execution of someone officially judged to have committed a serious, or capital, crime” (Vaughn 250). In my opinion, the most important aspect of this debate is the actual taking of a human’s life. Although all humans have the right to life, there are certain situations that can overrule this right, such as taking the life of an innocent human. Since the right of life does not hold in every situation and if an innocent human’s life is taken, then it is morally permissible to set the right to life aside and use the death penalty on the person who committed murder (Vaughn 255). In this case, capital punishment is not considered a

Throughout United States history, there has been controversy over the death penalty. Should serious criminals be punishing with death, or should we outlaw the death penalty? Many people think that deterrence is one of the good justifications for the death penalty, but others believe that death penalty is the same type of crime that the criminals commit. The violation of the human rights is the main reason why some people want to outlaw capital punishment; also the state violates the human’s rights for inmates during the cruel time that they spend on death row. The evidence that capital punishment may very well deter murder had been in doubt, based on the irrational idea that killing another human life can be a bad example for society. In

The death penalty can be summed up entirely in one word, bias. For a country that prides itself on “justice for all” and “all men are created equal”, the death penalty falls short of such boast. The subsequent arguments are not formulated to defend the individual and their horrific crime, rather they are presented in order to support why the death penalty is unfair and should be eliminated. If such brutish punishment if seen as just for the crime committed, should it not apply equally to all, regardless of race? The debate of whether the death penalty is inappropriate has been been thoroughly investigated for many years by scholars and journalists alike. I shall defend my position against this sanction based on erroneous convictions, racial biases, and the the high costs associated with the prosecution and detention of death row inmates.

When taking a human life in response to a crime, a state is acting on behalf of all of its citizens. Capital punishment is an expensive procedure with permanent ramifications. It is therefore very important that the matter of capital punishment be seriously reconsidered. In order to protect all of America's citizens, I recommend that congress approve a constitutional amendment that reads:

Capital punishment is one of the most popularly debated topics in the nation today. Since colonial times, more than 13,000 people have been legally executed. A large percentage of these executions occurred during the early 1900's. In the 1930's, as many as 150 people were being legally executed every year. However, the number of executions started to decrease as public outrage became apparent. In 1996, thirty-seven states, including New Jersey, legalized the death penalty. Of the other thirteen states, Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1847, Minnesota in 1853, and Alaska and Hawaii never had the death penalty. Today, there are over 2,000 people on "death row." Almost all are very

In a cold room of an unmarked building, a man awaits his death. The man lies on a metal table, strapped down like a wild animal. The straps cut into his wrists and legs, but no one cares. He is not scared—not anymore. He has no time for fear now. He vows to think only of the things that matter most—his daughters, his wife, his mother, the sunsets he will never see again, the ice cream he will never again enjoy. He knows he does not deserve to die. Yet nobody in the room cares; not the doctor who prepares the IV, the state official who stays busy scribbling away on meaningless paperwork, or the guards who avoid eye contact in the corner. A man will die soon for something he did not do, and nobody cares. This is the precise reason that he

Does taking another’s life actually avenge that of another? The disciplinary act of capital punishment, punishment through death, has been a major debate in the United States for years. Those in support of capital punishment believe that it is an end to the reoccurrence of a repeat murderer. The public has, for many years, been in favor of this few and pro-death penalty. Yet as time goes on, records show a decrease in the public and the state’s support of the continuation of capital punishment. Those against capital punishment believe it is an immoral, spends taxpayers’ money improperly, and does not enforce a way to rehabilitate criminals and/or warn off future crimes.

The number of individuals executed via the Death Penalty peaked in 1999 and has been receding at a dramatic rate. As it is becoming less frequently used, its necessity and morality has been called into question. Both sides of the argument offer convincing arguments; however, mounting evidence shows it is cost-prohibitive, it fails to act as a deterrent, it is racially biased, and that the justice system is fallible. I will analyze both sides critically to try and gain insight into why we are part of the 29% of countries who choose to retain it as a form of punishment. Moreover, the two ethical theories I will use to carry out this analysis involve the Harm Principle and Moral Relativism. Both ethical theories can support the pro and con side, so I will be using both as I look at each side of the debate. Using the principles outlined in the Harm Principle and Moral Relativism, I will analyze the morality of capital punishment and access which side the theories gravitate towards.

Try to imagine a relative sitting in a dark, cold, and tight prison cell and knowing minutes later that death would come for them through lethal injection. What if their case wasn't handled correctly, what if evidence was mishandled, and possibly an innocent person is going to die. Imagine the family who has been waiting years for justice to be served by the means of lethal injection. There is two sides to every story either way both families will grieve or already is. According to Death Penalty Information Center (2011), since 1976 the United States of America has executed 1,243 individuals who have been convicted of a serious crime. The death penalty has been used since the Eighteenth Century B.C. to present

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment is a legal procedure in which a state executes a person for crimes he/she has committed. This punishment has been implemented by many states, and is normally used for atrocious crimes, especially murder. It is also used on crimes against the state such as treason, crimes against humanity, espionage, and violent crimes while other states use it as part of military justice. There are mixed reactions on capital punishment depending on one’s faith, and the state they come from. In my view, I am not in favor of death penalty, as I strongly believe that, death penalty is unacceptable and an inhumane practice for it denies one the right to live. Death penalty does not deter crime, it is an act