Death Penalty Persuasive Essay

The death penalty disproportionately targets minorities especially African Americans. In the United States of America there is an unequal and unfair burden against African Americans in the criminal justice system. In 2011, African Americans were only 13.6% of the American population (Rastogi, Johnson, Hoeffel, & Drewery, 2011). However, African Americans in 2011 made up 42% of the total death row population (Snell, 2011). Although a minority of the total population in the United States, African Americans make the majority of inmates on death row facing execution. Furthermore, the death penalty in many states is used as tool that following the racial legacy of Jim Crow laws. Sentences resulting in death are higher in states with a history of lynching (Schweizer 92). States with a history of lynching are predominately found in the Southern United states. The Southern United states has the highest population of death row inmates. In 2009 alone there were 1,630 inmates currently on death row in the South compared to 226 in the North and only 988 in the West (Schweizer 92). In addition, the race of the victim often will determine the sentence. Results from the Baldus Study suggested evidence of racial disparity in the state of Georgia based on the victims race (Schweizer 92). The Baldus study argued African American defendants who committed murdered white individuals had much higher probability of receiving the death penalty. Prosecutors in Georgia pursued a verdict of death in 80% of their cases if the defendant was African American and the victim was white (Schweizer 92). This is purely racial discrimination and prejudice. Finally, “Since 1977, the overwhelming majority (77%) off death row defendants have been executed for killing white victims, even though African Americans make up about half of all homicide victims (Amnesty International).”The race of the both the victim and perpetrator in criminal is irrelevant.

Andre Crawford killed 11 women on Chicago's South Side over the course of six years. He lured his victims to abandoned buildings, then strangled, beat or stabbed them. As they lay dying, he raped them. Later he returned to have sex with the corpses (Andre Crawford). None of this was enough for him to get the toughest punishment allowed under Illinois law: the death penalty. In some places, people receive the death penalty for killing one person. So why shouldn’t he for 11 murders?

In the United States of America, the death penalty has been carried out in more humane ways than other countries. Our country inherited our death penalty laws from the British when they settled here in the sixteenth century (DIPC). America in the past used, lethal injection, electrocution, hanging and gas chambers. Oklahoma was the first state to implement lethal injection; but Texas was the first to use the tedious process. It requires strapping the inmate down to a gurney, then having a member of the execution team put heart monitors on their body, then putting a needle in usable veins in each arm. Long tubes connect to several intravenous drips. The first thing to go through the tubes is saline, then when given the signal the inmate is injected

Hammurabi once said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” As of April 1, 2017, there were 2,843 death row inmates in the United States. Society has changed at some point over time. At some point people have forgotten the difference between right and wrong and have forgotten that some things aren’t okay to do. People think that it is okay to kill, rape, torture, etc. They think they can do all of this stuff and not get punished for their actions. How can we as a society think that we can make a change in this world if people continue to do hateful things and think that those things are okay to do? We need to continue to punish people so they understand that they will have consequences for their actions? None

The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment because it is a vivid reminder of slavery, branding, and various corporal pains were common. It is an inhuman tradition that should not have any part in a civilized society. Nonetheless, only the United States in the whole western industrialized nations still holds the Capital punishment. The prosecutors who are 98% white choose randomly a sampling of convicted criminals would receive a sentence of death, where the prosecutor does not have to consider any constitutional laws or criteria. Simply, the discretions of the narrowly minded persecutors whose concerns might solely be their personal and political gains.

The Death Penalty, it's one of the most controversial discussions that is being brought up more and more in view of the fact that horrible offences are being committed eversomore. The penalty is discussed in the means of just or unjust, is it right or wrong. I believe that it should be implemented nationwide because of the number of murders, mass shootings, bombings, and many more horrific crimes. In the United States, the Death Penalty is currently in constant discussion and both sides are butting heads on if it should be implemented or if it should not, as of recent times there are 31 states which have the death penalty. People that are supporting the penalty believe that if a capital offence is committed, the criminal should be

How many people and their families have to suffer before the death penalty is abolished? Did you know that the death penalty not only sentences those who have committed unsightly murders to death but it discriminates? Or maybe you did not know about how much money it cost each and every time a human being is put to death. The government claims that the death penalty is to “rid the world of all evil”, yeah right! There has been cases where the people who was so called “evil”, was later found innocent. But guess what? It is too late because they have already been wrongfully accused and executed. I mean seriously, who are we to determine if someone gets to keep their life or not? Is that fair? Although some may believe that the death penalty is given only to those who deserve it, others argue that it is not the proper was to go about bringing someone to justice. People also that it is not always efficient, cruel and unusual punishment, and put innocent lives at risk.

I am a staunch supporter of the death penalty and capital punishment as it is probably the ultimate punishment when it comes to crimes. The death penalty is also a great deterrent for crime when you think about it. A lot of people who break the law do so because they’re not afraid to go to prison because most of the time they can just get out after serving their sentence and go back to breaking the law. But if people knew that they wouldn’t come back from their punishment after it then they’d probably think a lot more about breaking the law. Which leads me to not only support the death penalty but also extend it to other crimes like drug dealers, not drug users but drug dealers. We’d have to have a system for it though because killing someone just because they sold drugs doesn’t exactly sound morally right. So what we do is if someone is caught dealing drugs then they get the normal penalty that you get today, second time they get the same penalty they got doubled. But third time and there out, this evens it out a little as in my opinion as drug dealing isn’t on the same level as first degree murder but is definitely a problem that needs to be fixed and this in my mind seems like a good way to further the war on drugs. Rape may be a bit of a gray area for some as i’ve heard of people for rapists getting the death penalty and being against it. I personally don’t think it deserves the death penalty but some people do. The two crimes of drug dealing and murder are the only ones

Death Penalty is the ultimate punishment. There is no harsher punishment than death itself. In the early colonial days a man named George Kendall was executed for treason. In 1972, Furman VS Georgia successfully brought a temporary end to the death penalty for ten years. Pro capital punishment individuals claim that it is an efficient deterrence against criminals.

In 1996, 17 year old Kelly Anne Bates was murdered by her 49 year old boyfriend, James Smith, but it wasn’t just any murder. She had over a hundred injuries found on her body, with stab wounds by knives, forks and scissors equally including her mouth. Smith burned and scalded her legs, and mutilated her ears, nose, eyebrows, mouth, lips and genitalia. Moreover, stab wounds were also found in Kelly’s empty eye sockets. Smith even gouged at her eyes while she lived. Kelly lost over 40 pounds through starvation, and had not received any water for several days leading up to her death. Smith confessed the police that she drowned on her own, but police found blood in nearly every room. She did actually by drown, although reports show she was beaten around the head with a shower head immediately beforehand. Smith was soon after sentenced to life in prison ( Criminology in Oz “Anne Bates”).

There are various topics of discussion that cause people discomfort, one of those topics is the death penalty. The vast majority of people can agree that justice should be served and there should be consequences for those who break the law. The question then becomes, where does one draw the line? All crimes are punishable through either jail/prison time, community service, or fines, however larger more severe crimes are punishable through the death penalty. Such crimes include, treason, airplane hijacking, and murder. The death penalty is meant to serve as a consequence to those who committed a major crime and a warning to other criminals. However, this form of punishment should be abolished.

From public executions in the town square to lethal injections in a dark concrete bunker, the death penalty has been around since the dawn of mankind. The first documented cases of death penalty laws were noted to be in fifth century B.C.’s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. Violation of said laws would result in drowning, impalement, crucifixion, and many other arguably barbaric means of execution. Nowadays, due to more active legal barriers, not as many executions are being carried out. The methods that are legal and can be practiced in the U.S. as of 2017 are lethal injection, shooting/firing squad, hanging, electrocution, and containment in a gas chamber. All of these methods are specific to certain states, and not as widely used as lethal injection. According to Cornell Law School’s “The Death Penalty Worldwide” database, “Since 2001, 673 executions have been carried out by lethal injection, ten executions by electrocution and one execution by shooting, and no executions have been carried out by hanging or gas chamber.”

If your brother killed his best friend, do you think he should be executed by the state? Many people are conflicted on whether or not the death penalty should be used to deal with these types of situations. 49% of the population accepts the death penalty for those found guilty of murder, while 42% disagree. (5 Facts About The Death Penalty) Less than a month ago, on October 19, 2017 Torrey McNabb was executed in Alabama by lethal injection. (Death Penalty Information Center) Each state has their own decision on whether or not they choose to utilize the death penalty. For example, in Alabama the death penalty is legal. It would be favorable to either have the death penalty in every state or abolish it altogether. The use of the death penalty throughout the United States causes great controversy. Capital punishment should not be used due to the inhumane and unnecessary effects.

The majority of the American public continues to support the use of the death penalty despite the fact that it appears to be losing popularity in statehouses and courthouses nationwide. Support for capital punishment runs higher among white people who view individual responsibility as a narrative for “true” Americans. Racial prejudice is part of that support due mainly in where they live. The more black people you interact with on a regular basis the more it will reflect your racial attitude. As the numbers of Black and other minorities increase, that greatly impacts White support for capital punishment.

The death penalty is a prosecute that is used to kill criminals that have committed crimes that are so bad they should not be left alive. The idea of putting another human to death is hard to completely fathom. The physical mechanics involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve it, is beyond my understanding. Knowing that it must be painful, dehumanizing, and sickening. The Eight Amendment says” Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Constitutions). And for the article Changing Views on\\e rate has gone down at a steady from the 1990 to now and that they death penalty is sometimes necessary, and it is our responsibility as a society to see that it is done.