Contradictions Of The Death Penalty

The legitimacy of the use of capital punishment has been tarnished by its widespread misuse , which has clouded our judgment regarding the justifiability of the death penalty as a punitive measure. However, the problems with capital punishment, such as the “potential error, irreversibility, arbitrariness and racial skew" , are not a basis for its abolition, as the world of homicide suffer from these problems more acutely. To tackle this question, one must disregard the currently blemished universal status quo and purely assess the advantages and disadvantages of the death penalty as a punitive measure. Through unprejudiced examination of the death penalty and its consequential impacts, it is evident that it is a punishment that effectively serves its retributive, denunciatory, deterrent, and incapacitative goals.

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.

People that support the death penalty argued that death penalty is righteously justified when enforced in murder especially with disturbing elements such as for multiple murder, child murder, serial killing, torture murder, mass murder, terrorism, massacre or genocide. It is said that the death penalty for murder is and should be "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth".

Capital punishment is also observed to be beneficial for the society because it deters the criminal from committing another crime and it prevents the other criminals from committing the same crime, however there is no scientific research that proves a causal connection or a cause and effect relationship between capital punishment and the commission of a crime. Killing a human being as a deterrent to crime is, in principle, using a human being as a means rather than an ends. If we agree with the fact that killing is wrong except in self-defense and therefore the killed would need to be punished. Then the argument follows that the killer’s punishment is to be killed can be seen as highly contradictory. This just turns into circular reasoning because to kill someone because they killed someone then this circle would just go on and on and people would continue to kill and kill and keep the cycle going. To kill the person who has killed someone close to you is simply to continue the cycle of violence which ultimately destroys the punisher as well as the offender. Executing someone for killing your loved one does not always necessarily give the family closure but may actually bring more pain because than that

Mahatma Gandhi echoed the phrase, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Capital punishment has been a process of punishment since time before Christ. Capital punishment or the death penalty, is the process of punishing, an individual, by execution for committing a crime. One moral theory to justify this process of punishment is cited in Mark Timmons’s book Disputed Moral Issues: A Reader. The consequentialist theory states, “A specific punishment for a certain crime is morally justified if and only if it would likely produce at least as much overall intrinsic value as would any other alternative punishment.” (Timmons, 535) However, this theory has multiple issues in justifying the death penalty, which would be consider a negative consequence. These issues are execution of innocent people, financial cost of executions, and the belief that executions are a deterrence.

Against the Death Penalty: An Annotated Bibliography While the Death Penalty has been historically used as a deterrent of crime, it is barbarity, is economically costly, and racially bias in the United States of America. With this research paper, I will explain how the death penalty should be abolish from our judicial system. Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org./ This is a website that gives lots of information about the death penalty from the history, current inmates and trials that could lead to death row.

Capital punishment which is also known as the death penalty refers to the court-ordered execution of a prisoner. It is a punishment of a serious crime called the capital offense and generally involves felony murder and more. Not all states have laws that support the death penalty but those that do are prisoners sentenced to death. There are people who agree with the death penalty because people see capital punishment as payment for murder. Those who oppose capital punishment like me argue that the death penalty is unjust, immoral, and indefensible state sanctioned murder of a human being. Even though they have committed a heinous crime, that vengeance is not the answer for healing the grief of victim’s families or communities or other loved ones. It does not act as a deterrent to crime, and is not an acceptable alternative to long-term imprisonment because the death penalty carries the possibility of wrongful execution of an innocent person.

As it is beneficial for society as a whole, provides a strong deterrence against future crime, and because it protects the rights of victims of high crime, capital punishment is a legal and appropriate measure in the United States legal system. Capital punishment is the best way to set an example for would be criminals so they will see the punishment if they commit a capital crime. This is also a way to cut down on the jail population, and is rising, which means that jails are becoming over crowed and

The death penalty is under a theory call “Just Deserts” Radelet and Akers (1997) suggest that the citizens who commit cirimes should be put under an execution for tributive reasons. These citizens that commit crime should suffer, the effects of life imprisonment are not enough for murdering a person. Some views are worthy to go under a debate, but no research can tell us if an issue is right or wrong. No studies can answer the question of what these citizens or criminals deserve, nor settle debates surrounding the death penalty.

It is acting as a deterrent because logically speaking who would want to do something knowing the punishment is death? Capital punishment is utilized as a hindrance for wrongdoing. The thinking behind this is, if individuals realize that specific demonstrations are deserving of death, then they won't confer those demonstrations. It is faulty whether capital punishment is a successful obstacle. One issue with this is lots of states no longer support the death penalty. The other reason is, you can never know what number of individuals are hindered from conferring a specific demonstration since they never submit it. It is conceivable to contrast capital disciplines states with their partners to see the distinction in the sorts of wrongdoing deserving of death and whether they are higher, lower, or the same as a state without the death penalty.

In the argument for the death penalty, we take a look at “lex talionis”, the eye for an eye principle. Humans deserve praise for good deeds, and punishment for bad ones. This punishment could arguably range from the harshness of death, to a smack on the head, but in either example, the punishment must fit the crime. The eye for an eye principle ensures that no matter the crime, there is a just and understood punishment for all people. If we take the lex talion literally, and the criminals do deserve those punishments, but in turn, we must be prepared to deliver those punishments. Executing murderers prevents them from committing their crime again, and thus protects innocent victims. However, punishment does not apply itself to the culprit after

Punishment by death for people convicted of certain crimes also known as the death penalty is unethical. There are currently 31 states including New Hampshire, in the U.S. with the death penalty and 19 states without. The death penalty is immoral and violates human rights. In some parts of the United States we have a biased criminal justice system which can lead to false an unlawful sentence to death. The death penalty also has irreversible outcomes if proven innocent, it doesn’t lower crime rates, and it is very expensive. The death penalty is just contributing to the cycle of violence, retribution is not the answer.

The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most

People and courts often justify capital punishment as society’s moral duty to safeguard the safety and well-being of its citizens. According to Miriam-Webster, capital punishment is the practice of killing people as punishment for serious crimes. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being. There is much controversy in the punishment of offenders who have committed murder. It is the maximum sentence a person can receive if the crime of murder is committed. Some would say it is inhumane and not a real punishment because the person cannot serve an experience punishment through death. Other perceive death as being just because of the belief in “Eye for an eye.” The pros and cons differ as to whether it is effective in

The concept of the death penalty is one of the most debated issues from then until now. Stearman (2008) defines death penalty as the government action, which takes someone’s life as a punishment for wrongdoing. In the legal system, the death penalty is commonly known as the capital punishment, which is derived from the Latin language, meaning “lose your head and you lose your life” (Stearman, 2008). It is considered the most extreme punishment that a government can utilize on its citizens. In the history, there are several societies throughout the world that utilized death penalty, especially as their last option in a small number of cases. There are two opposing sides shared by people who support and oppose the death penalty even though not all crimes are punishable.