Is The Death Penalty Really Necessary?

Though it may seem that the debate over the death penalty only most recently surfaced, the dreadful tradition of capital punishment arrived in the United States at the time of the colonists. In the 17th century, most people were hung, beheaded, burned alive, or crushed under stones. All of these were in public, where a large crowd gathered to watch the horrible sight, similar to the tradition in old Europe. Eventually, the 19th century favored hanging as the most common form of execution. This marked the start of a more humane approach accepted as constitutional as executions moved away from the public eye. More developments came in the 1800’s as a movement to abolish capital punishment arose. This effort was stalled for a time during the Civil

“And despite scientific efforts to implement capital punishment in a "humane" fashion, time and again executions have resulted in degrading spectacles, including the botched lethal injection in April 2014 that took more than 40 minutes to kill Oklahoma inmate Clayton Derrell Lockett and prompted Glossip v. Gross” (Heyns and Mendez). Capital punishment is an inhumane and outdated way for punishing criminals. The use of capital punishment is hundreds of years old in America. It is used as a punishment for criminals who have committed a violent crime in which they physically harm others. The point of the death penalty is to show that these kinds of crimes are not tolerated, and to deter criminals from committing these kinds of crimes. Unfortunately

The death penalty, or capital punishment, has been around as early as the Seventh Century B.C. and is still used in many countries today, including the United States. There are many arguments stating capital punishment should be abolished for many reasons, including that capital punishment violates the Bill of Rights, and life in prison is a more effective deterrent than capital punishment; there are also counter-arguments, saying that capital punishment should not be abolished for reasons such as capital punishment achieves justice for those who have been wronged and that it brings a sense of closure to families.

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.

American prisons today are filled to their capacities, yet crime here in America seems to have increased. I am speaking of one of the cruelest forms of crime that must be eradicated, which is murder. It seems as though a life sentence does not impose fear into modern day criminals, seeing that serious crimes are being committed more often. The death penalty is something that is needed here in the United States to help lower these ongoing vicious crime rates. In the essay “The Death Penalty: Is It Ever Justified?” Written by Edward I. Koch, this exact issue is discussed. Koch believes capital punishment in the form of the death penalty may help make these criminals to understand morality, or right from wrong. He states, “Life is indeed precious, and I believe the death penalty helps to affirm that fact” (483). If they were aware of the penalty, criminals may have, “Shown moral awareness before their victims die, and not after” (484). Through persuasive techniques Koch will support his argument in favor of the death penalty.

The death penalty in the United States can be traced all the way to early American history when it was under the colonial rule of Britain. Though in early history the death penalty was used for even menial crimes such as burglary, capital punishment in the United States is currently used for only the most heinous crimes, such as first degree murder, rape, treason, or espionage. Because the nation was unified under similar Christian beliefs, there was no question of how death could be the worst punishment for the worst crimes. However, through diversified religions and a growing sensitivity to criminal rights, the death penalty is increasingly under more scrutiny in regards to the 8th amendment, which bans the implementation of cruel and unusual punishments. In Furman v. Georgia, three inmates challenged the legality of their sentences, bringing light to the questionable relationship between capital punishment and the Eighth Amendment. In order to appease this realization that the death penalty was too gruesome, many states have changed their execution methods from hangings and electrocution to lethal injections that create a more seemingly peaceful death. “In fact, death penalty opponents often argue against the use of lethal injections on the grounds that this method makes executions more palatable to the public by creating the appearance that the inmate is simply being put to sleep” (Radelet, Borg 54). However, though lethal injections are far less violent compared to

With all the jails in the United States being overcrowded with convicts with serious crimes, and doing life without parole. I start to wonder what the impact would be if the United States allowed the death penalty to be used in all fifty states?

The death penalty was introduced to The United States by Britain. There have been over 14,000 executions in The United States since 1608. In 2011, 36 states held 3,158 inmates under the death sentence. Hanging, firing squad, the gas chamber, the electric chair, and lethal injections are all methods that are and were used in the history of The United States. Many individuals do not realize what the prisoners go through before getting executed. They also do not know what happens during the execution. The means of execution can be carried out through what types of executions are there, the development of lethal injection, botched execution through the eighth amendment, and the conflict of a trained medical

While some states chose to reinstate capital punishment, they reformed to limit how harsh the death penalty was and the terms in which it is given. “Pennsylvania adopted a law in 1794 to distinguish between first- and second-degree murder and limited the death penalty to murders committed with premeditation or in the course of carrying out another felony (first-degree murder). In 1846, Louisiana abolished the mandatory death penalty and authorized the option of sentencing a capital offender to life imprisonment rather than to death, a reform universally adopted in the U.S. during the following century.” (Capital Punishment.) The most common general offenses that result in capital punishment are things such as espionage, treason, and various forms of murder.

Does death justify the loss of a loved one? The death penalty has been around for decades, raising questions and resulting in the issue of whether it is socially acceptable or morally incorrect. Instinctively we perceive death with horror, particularly the thought of killing someone else. But as human beings we also have a barbarian instinct that wants revenge when someone has hurt us deeply. Generally people who have suffered a tragedy, in which a loved one has been taken from them, would tend to support the death penalty. While those who have never experienced such an ordeal may see things with a different perspective and debate that a criminal’s life is a human life nevertheless. Arguments of why the death penalty should exist include

France’s Reign of Terror offered the world a new symbol for execution: the guillotine. Today the electric chair, lethal injection, and firing squad provide the same image. All symbolize death as well as the crime that the perpetrator committed. In 1793 in France, an individual met the guillotine because he or she committed treason by going against the radical ideas of Maximilien Robespierre. In the modern United States, citizens face one of the instruments of capital punishment after they commit murder, treason, or espionage. Though the instruments and charges for capital punishment have changed, the basic principle remains the same. Capital punishment, more harshly known as the death penalty, has become a well-known and controversial part of the United States’ criminal justice system. Ever since societies began to practice the capital punishment, people have tried to abolish the death penalty. The United States, however, should continue to practice the death penalty until it reduces the number of homicides and other serious crimes committed by its citizens to help protect innocent citizens.

Putting people to death that have been judged by their peers to have committed certain extremely heinous crimes is a practice of ancient standing, but in the United States in the last part of the twentieth century, it has become a very controversial issue. Changing views on this difficult issue and the many legal challenges to capital punishment working their way through the courts resulted in halting all executions in the United States in 1967. Eventually, the Supreme Court placed a moratorium on capital punishment in 1972 but later upheld it in 1977. Restoring capital punishment is the will of the people, and yet many voices are raised against it. Heated public debate

When I first signed up for this philosophy course, I didn’t do it because I wanted to, but instead because it is a required course for my major. I honestly thought that it would be a boring course, and it would be super hard to get a good grade. However, as the course progressed, it turned out to be the only class that kept my attention the full semester, and I believe the main reason for that, was that I was interested in the subjects and learning other people point of view and opinions on the subject.

Punishment is inevitable in a world that judges one’s every move. Common decisions turn into tendencies and tendencies turn into life choices that construed a life forever. For centuries people have faced execution for crimes which were considered to be horrendous. A system that has remained in our judicial system since the first execution in 1606 (deathpenalty.org). As of 2015 execution is only recognized as a form of correction in 31 states throughout the U.S. To ensure justice crimes are punished in a form or fashion equal to the severity of the crime committed. According to the US Federal Government list there are 41 capital offenses punishable by death. Included in this list are crimes such as first-degree murder, treason, and genocide.

The United States is ranked fifth in the world for the highest execution rate. Not only should the death penalty be banned from the United States, but also around the world. Hundreds of crimes are committed daily, but how severe does the crime have to be for an individual to receive the death penalty? The death penalty should be banned because the sentencing will stop the chance of killing an innocent life, stop inhumane actions, and stop the search for documentation or evidence because there is none which states what crimes or the severity of it should be sentenced to death for.