Capital Punishment on Trial Essay

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 the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime (law.cornell.edu, 2015). The first Congress of the United States authorized the federal death penalty on June 25, 1790 (deathpenalty.org, 2011). The death penalty can also be referred to as capital punishment, however capital punishment also includes a sentence to life in prison, as opposed to strictly executions. A convict can be sentenced to death by various methods including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging. After the death penalty was established, many debates have arisen arguing that these methods violate several of the United States’ Amendments. Select cases have been accused of violating the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. It is important to note that the judiciary goes through a series of processes prior to deciding a sentence for a capital crime. Many factors influencing the verdict include proportional analysis, individualized sentencing, method of execution, and classes of people not eligible of the death penalty. This paper will discuss brief descriptions of the methods used for executions, economical issues, the Supreme Court’s opinion regarding the death penalty, as well as important factors that make up the proportional analysis, individual sentencing process, method used, and determining classes of people who are not eligible for the death penalty.

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.

For centuries capital punishment has been used to “punish” criminals for a severe enough crime that they committed. It dates back to hundreds of years ago and has been enacted in many different countries, some that still have it today. Death penalty/capital punishment is the punishment of death an offender receives after having a court hearing and being convicted of a crime (ProCon.org, 2008). Once someone receives a death penalty sentence, they go on death row awaiting their execution. For a very long time, the controversy regarding whether or not the death penalty is ethical or just has been a topic of debate. I believe that the

Capital punishment has existed in the US since colonial times. Since then, more than 13,000 people have been legally executed. Today, there are only twelve states which do not have the death penalty: Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as Washington D.C. The locations of these states are important because they illustrate the lack of ideological homogeneity usually associated with geographical regions of the US. The methods of execution are as varied as their locations. The word “capital” in capital punishment refers to a person’s head,

The death penalty, or capital punishment, has always been a topic of much debate in the United States. There are those who support it and those who oppose it, and each side has their fair share of points being made, backed by supportive evidence. The topics range from the morality of this punishment, including the methods of execution as well as fairness issues in regards to sex and race. The first issue that will be addressed is in regards to the death penalty working to prevent violent crimes.

For years, politicians have been passionately debating the subject of the capital punishment, which has only served to create more divisions within our society. It is an extremely sensitive subject, and one that inspires strong emotions in both directions. Like abortion, gun laws, and the war on terrorism, capital punishment is an issue on which everyone is never likely to agree.

The argument on who are we to have the power to kill someone who has been sentenced to the death penalty play a major role in most people’s life because we ultimately decide their fate. Some would say that only God should be allowed to decide the fate of every single person, and yes this is true by all means. So therefore, we should not be allowed to determine who and when a person should be sentenced to death. Another argument a person who is against the death penalty would have is they will get what they deserve in the end. In other words karma will get them so to speak. When bad people do bad things they will have bad things come back to them whether when they get sentenced to jail or they die an untimely death. People who are opposed to the death penalty just feel as if people will get what they deserve. The feel as if once a person gets locked up he or she shall be imprisoned for life and have to rot in a cell until they die and with this hopefully they will see what they did was wrong and why they are where they are for a reason. With this comes the idea that people who care to much for human life think that if a person spends the rest of their life in prison instead of being put to death they will learn their lesson while they sit in prison. Yes, some do learn many life lessons while in prison most inmates who went

Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, has been effective tool in our country’s justice system since its inception. When an inmate is given this, the harshest sentence available, it is always with just cause. Capital Punishment is an important tool in our criminal justice system today and there are several reasons it should remain in effect.

Although the crimes they have committed has brought pain to other families executing our criminals brings the same distress to their families. One of the most prominent and influential cases was 1972 Furman v. Georgia. Where William Henry Furman was burglarizing a home when a family member discovered him. While trying to escape Furman fell and his gun went off killing one of the residents. This case is known to be unfair considering some jurors voted to have life in prison while other voted for him to be sentence to death. Furman was also seen to be very immoral, dropping out of school in only the sixth grade. Furman tested the lowest four percent of the intelligence test range, and was later diagnosed with being mentally deficient and having psychotic episodes. This proves that the death penalty serves no integrity to the mentally challenge. Although Furman had a gun he got scared and ran, meaning he had no intentions on using it. The death penalty is also seen be racist, it is said a black person will be sentence to death before a white person. Which is not fair behavior considering both black and white commit the same number of crimes. However, the death penalty can be costly where if you do life in prison. A 1982 New York study shows that litigating a capital case is 1.8 million ,while 40 years of life is only 602,000. Now with all the money being waste on the death penalty is it worth it so kill someone? Most people want to remember in life as

The topic of capital punishment is, and has been a sensitive issue. Debates over the capital punishment are centered on the morality of taking a human life. Questions on whether

The main goals of the criminal justice system are to: rehabilitate offenders, and protect society from those offenders. Ernest Van Den Haag argues that “doing justice or deterring others” (102) are the objectives of the system. Therefore, the use of the death penalty is a means to an end. Opponents of the death penalty must convince its supporters that it does not fulfill either of these objectives while proponents rely on either argument for the justification of the system.

In the United States particularly, the death penalty is an extremely debated issue of exchange and contention. It is a difficult issue with various perspectives. Some are ace capital punishment, others against capital punishment, but then others with

The death penalty may seem like horrific torture to some, but this method of punishment is implemented in 30 U.S. states. The killing of a criminal who has committed murder is permitted by the American government, and research shows that it is influential in deterring homicide. Because of the certainty provided by DNA evidence, the decrease in homicide proven by capital punishment, and the equalization this type of punishment provides, the death penalty is an effective and fair tool to punish those who have committed murder.

An issue that has continually created tension in today's society is whether the death penalty serves as a justified and valid form of punishment. Whenever the word "death penalty" comes up, extremists from both sides start yelling out their arguments. One side says deterrence, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. Crime is an evident part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and action in which it should be dealt with. In several parts of