Avery Monceaux
Dr. Wood
English 102-WQ1
October 22, 2017
For Capital Punishment
Capital punishment is the legitimized killing of someone accused of a crime to serve as punishment. Crimes punishable by this method are known as capital crimes or offenses. Capital punishment is a hotly debated topic that has been around for many decades. In the U. S for instance, this painstaking debate has split the people right in the middle with the opposing camps not ready to loosen their strings whatsoever in favor of the other opinion. Capital punishment is an illegal act under the US Constitution as stipulated in the 8th Amendment. This has made the capital punishment issue the more complicated. By all standards, the definition is frightening and very scary. There have been many cases that have influenced the development of the death penalty in various states across the US and also around the world. The moral justification of capital punishment is one that has split the opinion of people right in the middle. Nonetheless, a risk-benefit analysis would reveal that the 8th Amendment is an unfair piece of legislation and this is because of various reasons.
According to the Eighth Amendment of the US laws, "excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." A breakdown of this refers to the fact that bails should not be set too high that the defendant becomes unable to settle it. Courts should also not deny bail when possible, and
Capital punishment is one of the most controversial topics in today’s world. Many people believe that it is morally wrong to have capital punishment as a sentence to a crime. People also do believe that it is morally permissible for a severe crime. Capital punishment is also known as the death penalty. It can be given as a sentence when somebody is convicted of an extremely violent crime. The biggest issue that can be seen with this is that somebody could be innocent and sentenced with the death penalty because of the nature of the crime that they have been accused of even if they didn’t commit it. I believe that there is a moral line between using the death penalty and using other forms of punishment.
Capital punishment, which is also known as the death penalty, is the punishment of a crime by execution. This extreme retribution is reserved for those who have committed heinous, or capital crimes against society, therefore considered an ongoing threat. Capital punishment was abolished from the Canadian Criminal Code in 1976. It was substituted with a compulsory life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years for all first-degree murders. However capital punishment is still practiced in over 30 of the 50 states in the USA. Some say that Capital Punishment is an unjust solution to crime, and others say that it isn’t a solution at all, as it is subject to flaws just as any system can be flawed. Dating back, before the Eighteenth Century B.C., Capital Punishment has been an integral part of the judicial system in the majority of countries. Considered to be the ultimate punishment, few criminal offenders will receive this ultimate form of retribution. The State of Texas has the highest record of executions at 300 since the 1970’s. Those executed are murderers and those who have committed serious offenses. The idea is "an eye for an eye", but as Gandhi wisely stated, “An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind”. Shockingly, there have been convicted criminals executed only to be proven innocent later, this is far too late after they have long been
In an effort to make sure that innocent men and women are not wrongly convicted in capital punishments cases, they are given a wide range of appeals procedures. Immediately following sentencing an automatic appeals process called Direct Review begins. It is during this process that appellate courts review the lower trial court’s decision, checking for errors and making sure the case was tried on sound judgment. If any errors are found
People on death row are not really dying. “In 2010, a death row inmate waited an average of 178 months (roughly 15 years) between sentencing and execution. Nearly a quarter of deaths on death row in the U.S. are due to natural causes.” (Wikipedia, 2015). We are paying tax dollars to have people sit in prison for up to 15 years, and to have three quarters of them executed. Should we even have capital punishment?
Do you ever wonder what should happen to dangerous criminals? Watching the news just thinking “huh?” Well what do you think should happen to the dangerous criminals? There are many opinions. Some people think the only option is the death penalty. I honestly agree and disagree with that because there are some death penalties are justified and some are not .Listen to these two cases.
Perhaps we should give the judge a knife and tell her that if she has
Capital punishment is an issue that has long been debated amongst Americans. We have been questioning the morality of "an Eye For an Eye" way of thinking. Many say that serious crimes deserve serious punishments such as death, where others view death to be an unjust punishment for any crime. Each side seems to be equal in its volume of supporters. There are also many who ride the fence on the issue, unconvinced of either side. I, however, am writing to illustrate the immoral view of capital punishment. This document does not presume to have the right answer to the question, for to assume that would be arrogant. No, this essay is merely a tool to be used in weighing this very important issue.
Capital punishment has been around since the colonial days (over 400 years) and while the humane side of it has improved greatly, heinous crimes still happen every single day. Answer me one question? If capital punishment is served as justice for a heinous crime, why do people still commit murder today? Wouldn’t preventing that heinous crime from occurring in the first place be better for the victims, the murderers, and better for America in general. Why do we continue to pursue justice instead of pursuing ways to prevent us from need to serve justice? Why do we pour resources into serving justice instead of pouring resources to prevent it? Would I rather see the person who killed my friend be put to death, or would I rather still see my friend? I think most of us would choose the latter without missing a beat. With that, I believe the death penalty is not working because of its excessively unresolved research of its true deterioration of crime, prohibitive cost of an imperfect system coupled with a complicated legal process, and probability risk of human error in putting an innocent person to death.
The problem with capital punishment is that you can take the life of the killer but can’t take away the damage that's been done. Capital punishment needs to be abolished because it is risking the execution of innocent people, it is killing a person which is cruel and unusual, and it is wasting millions of dollars for the death penalty system.
We believe that capital punishment is a wrongful thing for people . More innocent people are taken from society by death with this penalty and guilty walks away. How do people know that these experts and detectives mislead things or mistaken evidence that really isn't evidence they just assume of what they see and base it of a conclusion they believe
Capital punishment is most evident and controversial when the state convicts and kills an individual when they have used violence within a certain territory therefore committing a capital crime. In the majority of countries around the world, the law permits the state to impose a lifelong confinement but withholds the authority to take a life. Currently, in 109 countries, the death penalty in law or practice is rejected while 86 retain and use the death penalty but most do not practice capital punishment on a regular basis. Furthermore, in a ten-year span, between 1990 and 2001, over 30 countries abolished this cruel mode of punishment and nations are continuously deciding the state should not have the right to take a persons life. The death penalty should be abolished because it violates human beings right to life and it is a biased and unfair procedure that racially and socially discriminates minorities and the poor. Although many support the death penalty, punishment leading to death is not the answer signifying retributivism and deterrence may seem appealing but are not the most favourable systems. Therefore, rehabilitation is the most effective technique benefitting both the individual and society.
The death penalty, otherwise known as capital punishment, is the punishment of execution given to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. While many argue that the death penalty is an efficient way to punish criminals, studies and academic journals have proven this to be false, as there are many preffered alternatives.
“An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation” (Coretta Scott King). In many ways, capital punishment is a classic American interest. Even into the twentieth century, public executions were a source of entertainment, drawing large crowds and children (Kaplan). Since America’s first recorded execution in 1608, the death penalty still holds tremendous power to elicit strong emotions and opinions (History of the…). Many Americans believe that state sanctioned executions are justified, due to the often heinous nature of the condemned prisoner’s crimes. Moreover, a recent U.S Supreme Court ruling reinstated the notion that capital punishment is a humane and necessary deterrent of violent crime (de Vogue). However, there is increasing concern that the primary method of carrying out capital punishment, lethal injection, once touted as a relatively painless process, may actually veer into the realm of torture. However, these botched executions, in which prisoners suffered painful and extended executions as a result of malfunctioning equipment, inexperienced medical staff, and poorly studied drug interactions are increasingly gaining public attention. Despite capital punishment’s long and contentious history, it is a deeply flawed, racist, ineffective, painful, and unconstitutional process.
To deny humane treatment at the hour of death, is it a correct step to be taken? Does death penalty violate a person’s rights? Is eye for an eye the right approach to justice? We all know that every individual needs to be treated with kindness and dignity. Though considered to be a detterant and a silver bullet for criminals, it is desirable to abolish capital punishment as it is inhumane, irreversible and a violation of human rights and has been abolished in many countries. “It has been said that capital punishment is cruel and unusual because it is degrading to human dignity.…But the dignity of human life comes not from mere existence, but from the ability which separates us from the beasts – the ability to choose; freedom of will. When we say that a man - even a man who has committed a horrible crime – is not free to choose, we take away his dignity just as surely as we do when we kill him. Thomas Baal has made a decision to accept society’s punishment and be done with it. By refusing to respect his decision we denigrate his status as a human being.”
Capital punishment is the government practice of punishing a criminal by execution that dates back to the 18th century, however times were very different back then. Nowadays, the death penalty is carried out by lethal injection and in some states the electric chair, while in the early years of this practice it was hanging, stoning, being torn apart, etc. Some crimes that are punishable in Florida by the death penalty are First-degree murder; felony murder; capital drug trafficking; and capital sexual battery. Pennsylvania was the first state to move capital punishment out of the public eye and into correctional facilities. William Kemmler lived in New York and was the first person in the United States to receive the death penalty in 1890 for the murder of his wife with an ax. As mentioned, the electric chair was a form of capital punishment and when the first electric shock was delivered to Kemmler at approximately 700 volts, he did not die right away. A second shock was needed at 1,030 volts for two minutes, afterwards there were clear signs that Kemmler was deceased. Doctors then stated after the execution that they would have been better off using an ax instead of the electric chair. Over the years the death penalty has been a very controversial topic. Some say that this should be illegal and abolished while others state it is more effective than life in prison.