Death Penalty: The Four Sociological Theories

Sociology is the study of social life and the change and consequences of human behavior. Human behavior is social in nature, the topic of sociology ranges from divisions of race, gender and sociology of work and sports. In my opinion, sociology is one of the few fields which have such a broad scope and relevance for breadth, depth and application.

Sociology is the study of how social forces influence individuals living within a society. Any society is made of norms, values and beliefs that have the effect of constraining individuals’ thoughts and behaviors. Through understanding and sociological imagination, individuals can remove or at least lessen the social forces’ impacts that are causing the constraints.

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.

Sociology is the scientific study of human society. It examines the development of social structures, and the interaction between these structures and human behaviour. Sociologists aim to provide tools of understanding the process of socialisation, and investigate the causes and consequences of things such as labels, belief systems, bureaucracy, gender roles, relationships, and inequality. Becker and Horowitz (1972) claimed that "good sociology is sociological work that

When discussing the death penalty, rarely do we acknowledge the impact executions have on the men and women who facilitate the process. Although this process is solely voluntary, the side effects are not. According to several executioners, the first experience is far from what they had anticipated. To bring to light the stories of these men and women, Jim Willet facilitates an audio recording which covers the process of executing an inmate and the aftermath which is often felt by the executioner.

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.

Sociology is the systemic study of human society and social interaction. Sociologists study human societies and their social interactions in order to develop theories of how human behavior is shaped by group life and how, in turn, group life is affected by individuals (Kendall, 4). The movie Crash (Haggis, 2005), is full of many sociological issues, such as race, social class, and gender. Crash makes you see how group life is affected by individuals and how human behavior is shaped by group life.

Sociology is the study of human social behavior; this discipline studies why a person is more likely to be homeless or a victim of domestic violence, rather than providing a solution.

The accomplice of behavior and attitudes towards the way society is functioning and changing creates the use of the term, “sociology.” Sociology is defined, in Sociology Matters by Richard T. Schaefer, as, “The scientific study of social behavior and human groups.” Merriam-Webster defines Sociology to be,”The study of society, social institutions, and social relationships.” Given the two clear definitions, sociology involves studying humans within the surrounding society posses.

Conflict theory looks how resources, status, and power create conflicts and tensions in society. Theses sociological perspectives are different and yet similar in their approach to understand

Conflict theories, however, stress conflict, struggle and change. An example, is the functionalist theory which believes harmony is necessary for society to function effectively. Another difference between consensus and conflict theories is that the consensus theorists stress value consensus. This is shared values which are agreed upon by society as a whole. However, conflict theorists do not believe this. Conflict theories believe that values are imposed on society by powerful groups and that there is no agreement, amongst less dominant groups, on what constitutes societies norms and values. The consensus theory is the better theory for criminal justice because it contents that society finds its own way and it is product of social needs and values, it also serves the interest of society at large meaning that it gives society a chance to put their input

Society’s desirability on the death penalty is not a germane to the criminal judicial system. In a residential poll conducted by the City of 57% favored a sentence of life without parole for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. (MacQuarrie). Moreover, “Twenty years ago, use of the death penalty was increasing. Now it is declining by almost every measure. The recurrent problems of the death penalty have made its application rare, isolated, and often delayed for decades. More states will likely reconsider the wisdom of retaining this expensive and ineffectual practice.” Moreover, societies as a whole has grown a less desirability too embrace Capital Punishment. The temperament of today’s populace negates violations human rights,

Sociology is a study of society social life, social change, and social causes and consequences of human behaviour and allows us to gain an understanding of the structure and dynamics of today’s society, looking at the interlinking links patterns of human behaviour. Sociology looks at the in which social structure and institutions affect our everyday life. Sociological imagination was founded by C. Wright mills in the 1950`s it is an overall understanding of that some of the things that happen in society may lead to a particular outcome. Mills said

Sociology is the study of the social lives of human beings and how humans live culturally and socially develop relationships. It is crucial to understand the society that humans live in and a series of social behavior that humans undergo. The three major ways you could view sociology, Structural Functionalism, Conflict theory, and Symbolic Interaction. Not everyone will have the same sociological perspective because the different perspectives are truly based on what you believe this world runs on.

Sociology is the study of the behavior of people and groups within society. This helps out how society works and thinks, If people understand how society thinks we can improve it. With this in mind, you can apply sociology theories and ideas to any scenario of daily life dealing with person to person interaction or even to an individual in regards to the society.