Death Before Dying: Voluntary Confinement On Death Penalty

“Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate.” The New York Times. The New York Times.

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

Thesis Statement: Although the rivals of the death penalty accept this to be unethical and non-gainful, promoters of the death penalty have ended up being this to be a financially savvy, and morally redress obstruction of future killings.

The idea of capital punishment deterring crime is difficult to determine; some could rationalize that the death penalty should in theory stop potential murders from committing crimes. However, this rationalization has never been concretely proven. The research into capital punishment’s effect on deterrence is immense; however, the majority of research on this issue has differential findings. Although some research suggests conclusively that capital punishment deters crime, others found that it fails to do this. Understanding deterrence, the death penalty, and the results of

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

More than two centuries ago, the death penalty was commonplace in the United States, but today it is becoming increasingly rare. In the article “Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?”, Diann Rust-Tierney argues that it should be abolished, and Joshua Marquis argues that it should not be abolished. Although the death penalty is prone to error and discrimination, the death penalty should not be abolished because several studies show that the death penalty has a clear deterrent effect, and we need capital punishment for those certain cases in which a killer is beyond redemption.

On the other hand, Greenberg, Reiman, and Gray argue against deterrence and how it is not a leading factor for justifying the administration the death penalty. “Because of the goals that our criminal justice system must satisfy - deterring crime, punishing the guilty, acquitting the innocent, avoiding needless cruelty, treating citizens equally, and prohibiting oppression by the state - America simply does not have the kind of capital punishment system contemplated by death penalty partisans” (Greenberg 1670). Greenberg argues how due to the American system of capital punishment, deterrence is not a factor due to the “infrequent, random, and erratic executions” of this system

Von Drehle, David. "The Death of the Death Penalty." Time. Time, 8 June 2015. Web. 04 Nov.

Brooklyn Scobee Dr. David Marble LAW-100-43 10, November 2015 Annotated Bibliography Burgason, K., & Pazzani, L. (2014). The Death Penalty: A Multi-level Analysis of Public Opinion. American Journal Of Criminal Justice, 39(4), 818-838. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9261-7

The authors describe the history of the death penalty statues in the United States and how

Also “offenders aged fifteen and younger at the time of their crimes was unconstitutional” (“introduction to the death penalty”). This shows that there are many factors that prevent a person from getting the death penalty and these limitations protects them from it. In recent years, “the United States numbers of death sentences are steadily declining from 300 in 1998 to 106 in 2009” (“introduction to the death penalty”). This shows that the usage of the death penalty is declining and many people are not being punished with the death penalty. This also shows that the death penalty is still being used in certain crimes in the United States. This is showing that the death penalty might not be used as much in the future.

There are many controversial points of view on the death penalty in America’s society. Is the death penalty socially correct? Is it just? The death penalty is an execution sentence that a person convicted of a capital crime must face. A person can only be sentenced to death in 33 states (deathpenatly.org). There have been as of April 1, 2012, 3,170 death row inmates in the Unites States history, with an exception of the two inmates in New Mexico and eleven in Connecticut that remain on the death row due to the law not being made retrospective to these inmates. The controversy whether the death penalty is just or unjust has been a debate in America for many years. There have

Radelet and Akers investigated sixty-seven leading American criminologists about the observational study on deterrence and discovered that a remarkable majority of specialists agreed that the death penalty has never been, is not, and never could be preferred to long imprisonment sentences. Approximately Seventy-eight percent of the states analyzed declared that the death penalty does not reduce the homicide rates. Moreover, Ninety-one percent of people responded politicians support the death need to look tough on crimes. Particularly, Ninety-four percent indicated that there was limited evidence to support the deterrent impact on the death penalty. Ninety-one percent stated that the capital punishment has little effect on homicide rates, and

Bright, Stephen B.: "The death penalty as the answer to crime: costly, counterproductive and corrupting"; 35 Santa Clara Law Review 1211 (1995)

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