Edward I Koch Death Penalty Analysis

Senator for Utah Orrin Hatch once said, “Capital punishment is our society’s recognition of the sanctity of human life,” (Brainy Quote). While the arguments for both sides of the debate over the morality of the death penalty are vast, the bottom line is that the death penalty does not disregard human life, but rather it reveres it, as Hatch said. Morality is defined as, “The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct,” (The Free Dictionary). One who seeks to protect a person who has committed a heinous crime such as murder is arguably not in accords with what is right and wrong. Therefore, although killing is generally accepted as being wrong, the death penalty is sometimes the only solution to bring justice to a

Bruck mostly uses logical and emotional appeal to persuade his readers against capital punishment. His appeals correlate with his use of tone to persuade. He begins his essay by scorning Koch’s reason for the death penalty by stating that Koch views is “the standard ‘moral’ defense of death as punishment.” Hs use of tone and appeals is stronger when he discusses varies cases of wrongful executions such as Green and Knighton’s because of the strong use of pathos and logos. For instance, he states that the “the state of Georgia refused to allow the examiner into prison” in Green’s case even though Green asked for one in order to prove that he was not guilty of killing the woman but of only kidnapping her. The word “refused” has an emotional connotation of bewilderment and frustration from Bruck. That is what he hopes to convey to us and for us to have a mutual reaction to what he is stating. He mostly has a strong emotional appeal when he argues about Knighton’s case. His tone is hateful and

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.

Would it be true that capital punishment saves lives? Edward Koch, in his article “Death and Justice” believes it does. Koch, using common techniques to influence his audience, suggests that killers should be handled within this tried and avenged form of punishment. Koch opens his article by quoting convicted murderers Robert Lee Willie and Joseph Carl Shaw, both in the last moments of their lives pleading for the justice system to put a stop to the endless cycle of killing. Using simple logic, Koch argues that the sudden changing of the killers’ moral character is not a result of remorse for the victims, but rather an attempt to save their own lives from the killing hands of the justice system. Koch effectively uses these quotes to suggest to the reader that a killer might have thought twice about his/her own actions if the death sentence were a belief.

Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, is a controversial subject which has been argued for decades due to the ethical decisions involved. People believe the death penalty is the right thing to do and that it is the perfect example of ‘justice’ while others believe that it is immoral and overly expensive. The death penalty is not a logical sentence for criminals, it doesn’t give them the right type of justice and it is immoral.

¨The taking of even one life is a momentous event.¨ (Bernardin, The Consistent Ethic of Life). The consistent ethic of life is founded on the belief that all life is sacred and worth protecting, while the reasons for capital punishment may seem similar-- retaliation for a life lost-- the death penalty directly goes against everything the consistent ethic of life teaches. As proven through these presentations, capital punishment cases are often inaccurate and biased, while the act of the Death Penalty has proven to be painful with many examples of botched executions. Not only is killing immoral, but how can we go through with these executions when evidence has shown the death penalty can be inefficient and some

In 1985, David Bruck wrote an article titled The Death Penalty in the New Republic. In the article, David Bruck wrote a rebuttal to the assertions that New York Mayor Ed Koch had in support of the death penalty. Mayor Koch asserted that the death penalty gave proper respect to the lives of the victims. However, Bruck argued that the death penalty gave the voice to the murders, and that the spectacle created an event that was less than respectful to the victims. Mayor Koch also points out that there has been no evidence that innocent people have sentenced to death. However, Bruck uses Mayor Koch’s own source to prove that innocents had been wrongly convicted, but that those cases did not involve the death penalty. Consequently, the finality

In April 1985, Edward I. Koch published his essay on capital punishment in the liberal magazine New Republic. Koch was a hardworking congressman who eventually became the gutsy mayor of New York between 1978 and 1989. In his essay “Death and Justice”, he addresses common arguments liberals make against the death penalty. According to Koch, “Life is indeed precious.... had the death penalty been a real possibility in the minds of these murderers, they might well have stayed their hand” (3). Koch wants to guide his readers to see that the justice system is failing innocent people whose lives are of tremendous value. He undeniably stirs things up for the strong sided liberal party readers who tend to protect murderers from being executed. However, as someone who was once a congressman, his modes of persuasion with ethos, logos, and pathos, are incredibly effective and on point.

As Cass R states… “Capital punishment may be morally required, not for retributive reasons, but rather to prevent the taking of innocent lives”. Death penalty is one of those extreme punishments that would create fear in the mind of any person. If murderers are sentenced to death and executed, potential murderers will think twice before killing for fear of losing their own life.

Opening /Thiess Statement: There are many things that come to my mind concerning the death penalty. For one, while others are against the death penalty, I am strongly for it because I believe with so many live being taken for senseless killing and crimes; it’s high time to send a strong message and make good on the death penalty, even it means the execution. The United State is made up of three branch of government. They are the legislative branch, executive branch and the judicial branch. Each branch has an important role job to do concerning our judicial system. The legislative branch makes the laws; the executive branch carries the laws and the judicial branch evaluates laws. Throughout this

ranging from an appeal against its barbarism to a claim that it is used in a discriminatory

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is nothing new. It has been around for thousands of years. It is mentioned in the bible as punishment for over 30 different crimes. It is also found in the Code of Hammurabi, which dates back to 1750 BC. England, America’s “mother nation,” had seven crimes that were considered capital offenses by the end of the 15th century, and by the year 1800 there were over 200 capital crimes listed for the country (“Capital”). In the U.S. today the death penalty is a topic of concern for many. Former New York City mayor, Edward I. Koch, in his article, “Death and Justice” describes the situation perfectly. After using an analogy between capital punishment and cancer, and the “barbaric” methods we use to treat cancer, he wrote, “Murder is not the “disease” we are trying to cure. The disease is

He brings up an argument to the opposing’s side stand that capital punishment cheapens the value of life. Koch states, “It is by exacting the highest penalty for taking human life that we affirm the highest value of human life” (486). For evidence Koch uses a comparison of rape victims. Stating if the penalty for rape were to be lowered, “It would cheapen their horrible experience, and expose them to an increased danger of recurrence” (Koch, 486). I am on the fence about using this comparison as support because both rape and murder are extreme offenses and could in fact put the victim’s life back in danger if the sentence was reduced. However criminals convicted of rape do not receive the death penalty as murder criminals do. Therefore the author is comparing shorter prison time to the death penalty which in its entirety is not as convincing. I do however respect that the author is in fact looking at both sides of the argument and formally arguing with the opposing side. His character helps in persuading and backing up his

Many ethical concerns arise when the issues of the death penalty is brought into the public eye. Some people argue it is morally wrong to kill a person while others believe that the authorities should maintain an iron fist and not be lenient. So what are the most common arguments that are used to defend the death penalty as well as attack its validity? (I shall try to avoid religious beliefs because while every religion might have similar practices, not every religion is exactly the same in terms of its views on the discussed issue. Moreover, while the Christian bible stated “thou shall not kill” it also requires a death penalty for wide variety of crimes of crime ranging from doing work on Saturday to murder. Nonetheless, while there are many religion- based objections, one that even non-believers argue is playing the role of God.) Let us focus on a more human-oriented point of view. Common reason against the death penalty include negative effective effects on society, lack of deterrence, value of human life, unfairness and chance of error. Also the family of the family of the prisoner comes into play, in addition to lack of jury convections (Constanzo, Mark). On the other side of the spectrum is justice, vengeance, deterrence, value of human life, cost and safety (Constanzo, Mark). Tough certian aspects of pro’s and con’s intervene such as value of human life, cost and

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment is a legal procedure in which a state executes a person for crimes he/she has committed. This punishment has been implemented by many states, and is normally used for atrocious crimes, especially murder. It is also used on crimes against the state such as treason, crimes against humanity, espionage, and violent crimes while other states use it as part of military justice. There are mixed reactions on capital punishment depending on one’s faith, and the state they come from. In my view, I am not in favor of death penalty, as I strongly believe that, death penalty is unacceptable and an inhumane practice for it denies one the right to live. Death penalty does not deter crime, it is an act