Death Penalty Deterrent To Crime

This paper will briefly cover the world history of the use of the death penalty as well as its current use in the United States of America. The paper will discuss the statistics of how often the death penalty is utilized as a sentence for capital crimes as well as the time a convicted person spends awaiting the death penalty to be imposed. This paper will utilize research from published sources. This paper will also review current death penalty issues are the occurring in our court systems today.

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.

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.

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.

The death penalty was first developed in the Eighteenth Century B.C. by King Hammurabi who mentioned death as a punishment over 20 times. In Britain around the Tenth Century A.D., the method of hanging was extremely common. Other methods developed over time such as boiling, beheading, burning at the stake and quartering. In order to be ‘executed’ the criminals would commit capital offenses such as not being honest to a law officer or treason. As time passed, the amount of criminals executed grew larger every year and the government in England knew something had to change. Therefore, the death penalty was reduced by about 45%. The first usage of the death penalty recorded in America was the death of Captain George Kendall in 1608. He was caught as a spy for Spain which lead to his violent death. In 1612, the Governor of Virginia, Sir Thomas Dale began the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which allowed the death penalty for multiple small crimes. The death penalty became inactive in the early

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.

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.

The Death Penalty, or capital punishment is nothing new in the world. SInce the dawn of civilization people were sentenced to death for sometimes even the most minor of crimes, such a theft. As the world has changed in the last few thousand years, so have attitudes toward the Death Penalty,yet it is still a punishment that is carried out throughout the world today. In the United States, as of July of 2015, 31 states in the Union actively carry out the death penalty. Only 19 states have abolished the death penalty and replaced it with life in prison without the possibility of parole as the maximum sentence. However, with the declining popularity of the death penalty in the United States and throughout the world, the question that needs to be

The death penalty is the ultimate punishment. There is no harsher punishment than death itself. This nation, the United States of America, is currently one of fifty-eight nations that practice the death penalty, if one commits first-degree murder as of 2012. People that believe in the death penalty also believe that it will deter murders. In this paper I will argue that the death penalty does not deter criminals and that this nation should outlaw the practice.

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.

This paper will discuss the Death Penalty. It analyzes the effectiveness of the death penalty. It covers the history of the death penalty as our nation shifts through various eras in its history, as well as the historical background of the death penalty in New York. It considers all factors such as crime rates, deterrence, the rights of the people, and consequences of the death penalty. Analogies were made of areas all over the country as to what degree the death penalty effects crime all around. It concludes this paper by reflecting on the information provided of the death penalty and provide an alternative to it.

Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty, written by Mark Costanzo, neatly lists reasons for opposition, and abolishment of, the death penalty. Costanzo provides a review of the history of the death penalty, a review of how the death penalty process is working today, questions on whether or not if the death penalty is inhumane and cheaper than life imprisonment. He also questions if the death penalty is fairly applied and the impact, if any, that it has on deterrence. He closely examines the public's support of the death penalty and questions the morality of the death penalty. Finally, Costanzo provides his own resolution and alternative to the death penalty. Each of these items allows the reader an easy, and once again, neat view

In society there many things that are debated among the people based on their beliefs, morals, and values. For this paper chose the death penalty because it is one of the highly debated topics in not only today’s society but also in the past. The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, it used as a procedure of retaliation against those who commit violent crimes such as murder and other capital crimes. There are many forms of this punishment, for instance, the electric chair, lethal injections, and the firing squad. There are many feelings and arguments in relation to capital punishment. Some people believe that the death penalty is moral because they deserve it and it provides protection to the society. However, in this paper I will argue that capital punishment is totally immoral because it is not fair, is it unnecessary, and unethical.

The Death Penalty has been used in the United States since the very foundation of our nation; the first recorded case was the execution of Captain George Kendall in 1608 in the Jamestown colony as it was believed Kendall was a spy (DPIC). Americans have seen executions throughout history and are somewhat exposed to the idea but the 21st century is a very different place than the 17th century. This century is a time of equality and rights for people of all

Capital punishment is beneficial to the community. It provides the society with a sense of security. The death penalty contains a positive influence on the future. A heavily debated topic is, “Does capital punishment deter people more than a life sentence to prison?” An explanation on why will be covered later. An issues many people have with capital punishment, is when it is just or not just. This is a topic many stray away from, because it is difficult to decide. Finding the right consequence for an action is difficult. While this paper is for the use of capital punishment, it is clearly not needed for every crime, or even every murder. Overusing capital punishment, such as using it for every murder, will negatively impact the country, and not using it has the same effect.