Persuasive Essay On Capital Punishment

The ethical issues centering on capital punishment, both for and against, are many. Thus, the retentionists or advocates of capital punishment argue that the death sentence is equal to justice or just desserts for taking another life, and is not cruel or unusual punishment (Rae, 2009). In addition, retentionists also argue that capital punishment is a deterrent to violent crime, and capital punishment lessens the financial burden to taxpayers in harboring inmates who receive a life sentence (Rae, 2009). However, and according to Marcus (2007), most criminal justice professionals disagree on deterrence (p. 11). Opposing the retentionists, are the abolitionists who primarily argue that the death penalty cheapens human life and undermines the dignity of human beings who are created in the image of God (Rae, 2009, p. 259). Furthermore, abolitionists also argue that capital punishment is retributive, unconstitutional, racist, and punishing to the poor and sometimes innocent (Pugsley, 1981). Lastly, abolitionists contend that capital punishment denies the opportunity for an inmate to change and be rehabilitated (Pugsley, 1981).

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.

Leviticus 24:21 “The man who strikes and kills an animal should make compensation for it, but the one who strikes and kills a man should be put to death”. The death penalty has been around for a very long time and is not a new concept to our world. The usage of the death penalty dates back as far as the Babylonian era and was used for an assortment of crimes. This practice was also used greatly by the ancient Greeks and Romans, soon England began to practice this punishment and the founding fathers of our now great American colonies carried the capital punishment with them when they crossed over, where it is still used today as lawful punishment is a majority of states.

Is the foreboding practice of capital punishment humane and ethical to use? The first recorded usage of this practice was back in the Eighteenth century where it would be used when people are found guilty in murder cases (Reggio). Since then 1,436 people have been executed in the United States, mostly through lethal injections, that are a common use today (Rethinking). Not only murder calls for capital punishment, but so does treason and espionage, which is collecting political and/or government information. Though as more people throughout the centuries have begun to develop different beliefs, more people are also questioning the use of the death penalty. Capital punishment should be banned because it condemns the innocent, it is expensive, and there are other methods that can be used instead.

This position paper will attempt to challenge previous opinions regarding capital punishment. The objective is to persuade the audience to oppose capital punishment by revealing biblical, political, and moral perspectives, as well as supplying effective counters to traditional thinking. This paper seeks to balance each rationale in order to appeal to several mindsets, and beliefs in regard to capital punishment.

I chose this topic because capital punishment is very controversial. On one hand, the criminal is being severed the punishment he or she served on someone else or he or she served on numerous other people. On the other hand, the criminal is confined to prison for the remainder of his or her life. It truly comes down to death or life in prison. I support the death penalty and it aligns with my beliefs and moral compass. With a law enforcement and military background, the general public is not exposed and has not witnessed the true evil that a human being can inflict on another person. Until someone interviews and sits down face to face with such a callous criminal, who has no regard or concern for human life, it could be hard for them to understand how the death penalty could be fitting for certain crimes. Criminals thrive on control and when they sentenced to death, that control is completely taken away. Another reason why I support the death penalty has to do with the fact that a criminal could receive a presidential pardon. For example, a criminal that is sentenced to life in prison and after serving twenty to thirty years could be released by a sitting president who is about to leave office. This power of pardon does not have to any basis of the criminal’s innocents or reason. Therefore, in my opinion, justice has not been served.

The United States justifies punishing someone for a crime by committing what is considered a crime against a person. The death penalty should not be considered an alternativecriminal punishment because its cruel and unusual. People make mistakes, and the individuals that are classified as criminals are humans too, so why is it acceptable to kill off people for making mistakes? Regarding the capital punishment, when one understands the history of this sentence he or she can identify the problems it creates, know the pros and cons of its existence, and easily establishes that the death penalty should not be a solution used to punish individuals.The history of the death penalty began as early as the 17th century. It is a punishment ofexecution, administered to someone legally convicted of capital crimes. In other words, it is killing a criminal for doing something very bad. What’s considered very bad? According todeathpenaltyinfo.org, you can receive the death penalty for crimes other than murder such as treason, aggravated kidnapping, trafficking, aircraft hijacking, bombing, espionage, and assault by incarcerated, persistent felons or murderers. There are multiple ways to execute an individualand each technique is cruel and unusual. According to the article “Capital Punishment”,published 2017, people are executed by using the techniques such as lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, and firing squad but Alabama only uses electrocution and lethal injection

The death penalty was put into action and has been enforced since the eighteenth-century B.C, this is when the laws were first established for the death penalty. In 1608 Captain George Kendall was the first man to ever be executed in recorded history. Throughout history you see how the death penalty changed according to religion, race, and the severity of the crime committed. In the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, he codified the death penalty therefore setting precedence for 25 different crimes, thus informing people what to expect for the crimes they committed or planned to commit. Draconian Code of Athens made death the only punishment for any crimes committed in the Seventh Century B.C.

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.

To this day it is still unknown as to when the first method of capital punishment was employed in America, however it is said that some of the first recorded deaths began in the early sixteen hundreds. As with any government decision there is always backlash from society and capital punishment is no exception. As vile as a felony may be, capital punishment should no longer be allowed. Too many innocent lives have been lost due to lack of representation of the suspect, police manipulating suspects into false confessions, prosecutors rigging lineups by setting suspect's up for immediate failure, and refusal for further investigation. (FN). Failure to meet standard expectations and positioning a suspect up for death is all too common. These situations violate both the eighth amendment which bans infliction of cruel and unusual punishment, and the 14th amendment which bans deprivation and deniment of equal protection. Too many instances of capital punishment fall under violation of cruel and unusual punishment. By way of illustration there have been a number of cases where unusual drug combinations, improper IV placement, and carelessness have lead to strenuous and excruciatingly painful deaths, which violates the 8th amendment of cruel and unusual punishment. In light of the 14th amendment it has been argued in countless cases that this amendment has been violated in terms of execution of juveniles, and execution of the mentally ill and mentally retarded.

Capital punishment in the United States continues to be used even with all its controversy over the effectiveness as a deterrent to violent crimes. Capital punishment is punishment handed down by the court which involves the legal execution of a person who has committed a serious crime such as murder and has been sentenced to death under the court of law as mentioned in the book, “Criminal Justice in Action the Core.” Death sentences and executions for women offenders are also rare in comparison to male offenders. According to Death Penalty Information Center says that on September 30, 2015, Kelly Gissendaner, in Georgia was the last female executed for arranging to have her boyfriend kill her husband. The boyfriend received a life sentence in exchange for testifying against her (“women”). Kelly children pleaded for compassion, saying they had forgiven her and did not want to lose their mother. Several of her former prison inmates said that Kelly had given them the courage to turn their lives around. Pleas for clemency also came from people like Pope Francis, a former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice, and the former Deputy Director of the state Corrections Department (“Women”). Before the modern era of the United States death penalty beginning in 1976, “the last female offender executed was Elizabeth Ann Duncan by California on August 8, 1962” (“Women”). Nonetheless, capital punishment continues to be carried out under the law that society has deemed the death penalty as

Capital punishment is reserved for the most severe and horrendous crimes. Since 1976, 1,463 people have died by death penalty in the United States. Lethal injection is the most common method in the U.S. since it replaced the electric chair in 1995. For the past few years, there has been a large debate over whether or not capital punishment should continue to be used. Capital punishment should not be used in the American legal system to deter criminals from committing crimes because of the botched executions, risk of executing the innocent, and the support is falling.

Never have injustice, discrimination and violence seemed so pertinent than they are today, grossly emphasized by violent protests, police brutality, hateful speech and brutal discrimination toward American citizens of all genders, races, religions, sexual orientations, and political ideals. Horrific circumstances of discrimination and inaccuracy within our system of capital punishment, in particular, have pulled at America's heartstrings, falsely persuading many to urge the complete abolishment of capital punishment across the country. Yet, these horrid examples of injustice and wrong convictions cloud the judgment and reasons of many Americans. In this international issue in particular, countless Americans believe so thoroughly in their perspectives for or against the issue that they become convinced their truth is the only truth. However, in order to truly establish under what circumstances capital punishment ought to be administered, one must attempt to eliminate bias, and consider each opinion involved. It is then, when all aspects of the death penalty are considered, it becomes abundantly clear that although the ghastly application of the death penalty can be inhumane, discriminatory and inaccurate, when the clear distinction between capital punishment and its execution is made, it can be established the capital punishment, along with the principles and values it promotes, is moral and just

The definition of capital punishment is the legal killing to punish someone who has committed a crime. For certain crimes like murder, the death penalty is enforced. The death penalty should never be used because innocent people could be killed.

committing a crime. As a society, we have the upmost interest in preventing murder, so we use the strongest punishment available to deter this crime, and that is the death penalty. The U.S. ranked fifth in the world in capital punishment, alongside China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq (Merino, 2015). Our society seeks to be good, defined as moral, upright, wholesome, and virtuous. None of these terms are associated with capital punishment, and we should abolish capital punishment for several reason. (U.S. News & World Report Weekly).