The Death Penalty in America
Up until recently, I felt that the Death Penalty is not necessary as a form of punishment. I felt that if an individual committed a horrendous enough crime to get the worst form of punishment available; the death penalty would be letting them off easy. I believed that having to spend the remainder of their lives in prison was the most extreme form of punishment for criminals. After speaking to a person close to me, I feel differently. As of now, I think that the death penalty results in retribution, closure for families, and is the most extreme, last resort, form of punishment, which we require in some cases. The death penalty is humane and cost-effective, and should not be going anywhere in the future.
There is a single person in my life that is the sole influencer in the way I think today. This man is a family friend who had a relative of his get murdered. The perpetrator is serving a life sentence in prison but is not on death row. Before realizing that I am indeed pro-death penalty, I had never I never took into consideration the victims and their families. After learning of my friend’s story, and understanding his pain and reasoning, I concluded that if the law condemns a murderer to death, there is a better sense of retribution for the victim’s family. Even though the killer will spend the rest of his days behind bars, he still gets the gift of living, while the victim will never be able to do the same. While the victim’s family’s pain has lessened over time, none of them feel as if justice is adequately served, in their case as well as many others, because of the reasoning listed before. I believe that parents and kin should be entitled to some form of relief, and if that relief comes from the execution of a killer, then so be it.
Relating to the retribution the family receives, they will also be able to finally see some closure to what is most likely a long and draining experience. There is no way to bring a victim back, but there is a way to prevent a killer from putting more people in the same situation. Going back to my family’s friend who had a cousin murdered; there was never full closure for the parents or other kin. They all felt temporary relief at the indictment
The death penalty, by definition, is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. Each state has their own determinates of why someone would be given the death penalty, for example, in Missouri, it is first degree murder, but for Alabama it is intentional murder with 18 aggravating factors.
The death penalty has been a controversial topic for years, being a maximum punishment, giving to a person committing a horrible crime no choice but death. Though death penalty does have a small impact in the way, people think after committing a crime. It does not make a criminal pay their sentence because they executed them and the victim’s family are abandon
Since the beginning of time there has always been the question of what to do with someone that has committed a serious offense that has resulted in serious injury or even death to a person. The death penalty has always been a topic of whether it is humane or inhumane to put someone to death over their crimes against another human being. The death penalty to some is either acceptable to where a person should be put t death for their crimes or is not doing anything to deter people from committing crimes. the death penalty is starting to become less of a punishment and more of a costly expense to taxpayers whom for “Each death penalty case in Texas costs taxpayers about $2.3 million.” The death penalty for some think it should be abolished while others would rather see it extended.
They claim it gives closure to the victim’s family, as well as justice in the “eye for an eye” concept. Death penalty advocates argue that the execution of convicted murderers deter others from committing murder for the fear that they will also be executed. Supporters believe that in removing the worst criminals from society and reducing crime, over time it is saving innocent lives. There is no chance in killing another person, no chance of being paroled, no chance of escape. They believe that death as a punishment is effective and beneficial for
However, supporters would suggest that the act is keeping criminals and other bad people off the streets and out of the population. Which viewpoint is sounder? Well, the opposition would suggest that society show mercy towards these criminals by keeping them locked up for life, but had they shown mercy to their victims, then they would not be in this situation. Though the opposition’s viewpoint is true, they cannot refute the fact that it was the criminal’s performance of the crime that lead to their outcome. Criminals should recognize the reasons for the laws and abide by them. Many of the criminals who have murdered someone have been incarcerated and awaiting trial, giving them a chance to think about what they have done. However, eventually, they are released on parole, and a murderer is loose in the community claiming to be a changed person, though remaining completely capable of committing the crime again. Having the death penalty insures that the public is safe. This reasoning is shared by thirty four out of fifty states that still perform the death penalty (“Death Penalty Information Center”).
Executing someone does not reduce crime. Once in a while, the cause starts considerably more wrongdoing. Innocent individuals are executed with capital punishment. According to the Death Penalty Information Centre there are literally 100’s of people who have been sentenced to death and later proved innocent. (The Death Penalty Information Centre). Evidence, DNA, and witness statements are not always one hundred percent reliable, which is why capital punishment is so ridiculous we don’t take into consideration human error, and there's a lot of it as we can see by the hundreds of innocent dead people who were wrongfully convicted. Certain minorities are seemingly always the one’s being sentenced to death. It is tempting to imagine that minorities waiting for capital punishment share a destiny not the slightest bit associated with our own, that our treatment of them sounds no echoes past the chambers in which they die. Such a fantasy is ultimately corrosive, for the resonations of unfairness are not all that effectively kept. (Richard C.
Many would think that the victim’s families would want revenge for the ones they’ve lost, but that isn’t always true. According to Carlson’s story, he wanted vengeance for his sister’s death in 1983, but once he witnessed the execution of the man who committed the murder, it left him with “horror and emptiness”.(1) Carlson realized that “capital punishment only continues the violence that has a powerful, corrosive effect of the society”(1). The death of another person is never justifiable, no matter what act they committed. There’s always someone affected by the death of another, whether that person was sentenced to die, or was murdered.The justice system should not have a say in whether a person’s life should be taken away, nor should any
The death penalty is a very controversial topic and some believe in it and some do not. I believe that capital punishment is a very good idea because it proves to the family of the victim that the state doesn’t only care about the community, but they care about those people in general. Capital punishment is also a great idea because it also keeps the community safe. Capital punishment proves to criminal offenders that the state will take a state and not put up with everything they believe they can get away with. When the state kills those whose guilt is in serious doubt, or when the state kills those to whom it has not given fair justice, it doesn 't just perform an injustice upon the individual, the rule of law, and the Constitution. It also undermines the very legitimacy of the death penalty itself, for its continuing use as a sentencing option derives its civic and moral strength mostly from the fiction that it can be, and is, credibly and reliably imposed (“Capital Punishment”). Supporters of the death penalty argue that it provides the only fair punishment for the most heinous crimes. A prison sentence, even a life sentence without possibility of parole, does not adequately avenge the cruelest and most calculated murders, proponents say. A convicted murderer has taken life, they argue, and the government has a moral obligation to
However satisfying vengeance may seem, a civilized society cannot accept an eye-for-an- eye, tooth-for-a-tooth delivery of justice. Although some families and loved ones of murder victims approve the death penalty, many others are against it. Further, some family members of homicide victims comment that the death penalty process prolongs their pain, and only serves to make their healing more elusive. Financial and emotional support is what they need most, not more violence. In the words of the father of one murder victim, "Violence is not an acceptable method of solving the problems that arise in our daily lives.... The use of the death penalty only lowers the standards of government to the
An article online talks about how the Stambaugh family had to face the murderer that killed Jody Stambaugh. “The Stambaugh brothers describe the heartache, fear, and repeated traumatization the family has had to endure every time their sister's murderer has requested a parole hearing. If their sister's murderer had been sentenced to death, they conclude, his other victims and victims' survivors would have been spared decades of suffering”. Stambaugh, Irl, and Gary Stambaugh. "Death Penalty Would End Punishment of Victim's Family." The Death Penalty, edited by Jenny Cromie and Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven Press, 7 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 Mar. 2017. Some might say that sure it helps the victim’s family to be at ease, but it does not help the murderer’s family to be at east. Yes, it is going to be hard the murderer’s family to be at peace since their love one is going to be put to death, but that person made the crime to murder someone else who was an incident. Everyone in the world wants peace and harmony, but we can’t do that if more and more families are still sitting in this world in sadness when their love one’s family are being murdered and there is no consequence to the
When I read Sister Helen Prejean’s book, Dead Man Walking, my anti-death penalty perspective stayed the same, but I became interested about the victim’s families. Before reading the book, I used to wonder how a person can get satisfaction in the killing of another through capital punishment. However, I never thought about the pain of the victim’s family. I could not even imagine how I would react if I lost someone close to
The death penalty is a necessary punishment in this time of cold-blood killers that do not deserve to live because it can save taxpayers money, help victims families justification, and deters criminals from other crimes being committed.
Probably one of the most valid points in arguing for the use of capital punishment is justice for the families. I couldn’t imagine waking up to a phone call or knock on the door saying that my family member has been murdered by someone and won’t return. Even the thought of that makes me angry to begin with. I know my first thoughts would be to end the life that took one that was innocent. Blind rage and anger make you have irrational feelings that demand action but it is called ‘blind’ rage because that is simply blind. I realize that people would argue my feelings would be completely
According to Deathpenaltyinfo.org, as of July 1st, 2017 there were approximately 2,817 prisoners on death row. CNN.com says that, as of now, the death penalty is only legal in 31 out of the 50 states. Did you know that the average death row inmate will spend roughly 15 years in prison before they meet their final day; nearly a quarter of death row inmates die of natural causes while waiting for execution, and exhausting all of their appeals? How about that in Virginia death row inmates are now able to play games, watch TV, send emails, and have physical contact with visitors along with much more? Death row is for criminals that have committed heinous crimes and have been convicted by 12 unanimous jurors to death. So, why give them that many privileges?
The death penalty is a prosecute that is used to kill criminals that have committed crimes that are so bad they should not be left alive. The idea of putting another human to death is hard to completely fathom. The physical mechanics involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve it, is beyond my understanding. Knowing that it must be painful, dehumanizing, and sickening. The Eight Amendment says” Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Constitutions). And for the article Changing Views on\\e rate has gone down at a steady from the 1990 to now and that they death penalty is sometimes necessary, and it is our responsibility as a society to see that it is done.