Persuasive Essay Pro Death Penalty

The death penalty disproportionately targets minorities especially African Americans. In the United States of America there is an unequal and unfair burden against African Americans in the criminal justice system. In 2011, African Americans were only 13.6% of the American population (Rastogi, Johnson, Hoeffel, & Drewery, 2011). However, African Americans in 2011 made up 42% of the total death row population (Snell, 2011). Although a minority of the total population in the United States, African Americans make the majority of inmates on death row facing execution. Furthermore, the death penalty in many states is used as tool that following the racial legacy of Jim Crow laws. Sentences resulting in death are higher in states with a history of lynching (Schweizer 92). States with a history of lynching are predominately found in the Southern United states. The Southern United states has the highest population of death row inmates. In 2009 alone there were 1,630 inmates currently on death row in the South compared to 226 in the North and only 988 in the West (Schweizer 92). In addition, the race of the victim often will determine the sentence. Results from the Baldus Study suggested evidence of racial disparity in the state of Georgia based on the victims race (Schweizer 92). The Baldus study argued African American defendants who committed murdered white individuals had much higher probability of receiving the death penalty. Prosecutors in Georgia pursued a verdict of death in 80% of their cases if the defendant was African American and the victim was white (Schweizer 92). This is purely racial discrimination and prejudice. Finally, “Since 1977, the overwhelming majority (77%) off death row defendants have been executed for killing white victims, even though African Americans make up about half of all homicide victims (Amnesty International).”The race of the both the victim and perpetrator in criminal is irrelevant.

Now many would think what type of pros can you receive the death penalty? One pro would be retribution this is just to make sure that the person takes full reasonability of the crime they committed and know that they are being punished for it. The next one would be deterrence which will help them understand that they should engage in no form of a crime because of the consequences behind it, however, I don’t believe that it actually works all the time because many individuals learn the consequences of a crime in elementary school from DARE. Less damage is adopted to prevent more now this can mean different levels to many. Well, a criminal is like the flu, they are an airborne virus to society. They affect everyone’s life rather they realize it or not. The death penalty is actually cheaper than what people think. Society pays less for individual who are sentenced death than those who are not. The death penalty eliminates all the negative on society if a person kills someone we never have to worry about that person again because they will be put to death and never have a chance to hurt society

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.

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.

Unlike in most countries, the United States criminal justice system is not represented by a single, all-encompassing institution. Rather, it is a network of criminal justice systems at the federal, state, and special jurisdictional levels like military courts and territorial courts. Criminal laws at these levels vary, although these are all based on the US Constitution. Often times people confuse retribution with revenge. Vengeance means to signify inflicting harm on someone out of anger because of what he/or she has done. Retribution is the punishment inflicted on someone as justice for a wrong or criminal act. The death penalty is a necessary and appropriate punishment. One cannot reject capital punishment because it is retribution; the issue is whether it is an appropriate form of retribution.When a society fails to punish criminals in a way thought to be proportionate to the gravity of the crime, the danger arises that the public would take the law into its own hands, resulting in vigilante justice, lynch mobs, and private acts of retribution. Everyone agrees that there should be some punishment for murder. This mandate turns capital punishment into a necessity when nothing else serves as real punishment for a

Why should the death penalty be legal in every U.S. state? There are crimes that are so utterly odious that no amount of jail time will be ever punishment enough. Although personally not a fan of the death penalty, these most common arguments in its support might change one’s mind.

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.

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”).

There are so many pro’s as to why we as a country need the death penalty. One of those reasons are, it provides closure for the victims, and or family members. The death penalty ensures families, and surviving victims that the murderer will be not be able to strike again. For example, a surviving victim will never feel closure unless the murderer himself is put to death. Meanwhile, the less fortunate ones who were murdered, raped, kidnapped, and etc. will never find closure until that person gets what they deserve.

There are three reasons for siding for the death penalty: Incapacitate, deterrence, and revenge. Incapacitation removes those who do harm upon a society and ultimately it gets rid of a ‘bad person’ without giving them a chance to parole and continue their crimes. In addition, this promotes deterrence within a community and stops crimes before they even happen. However, some people do question if deterrence even works, in theory the probability of the death penalty should stop serious crime altogether but that only accounts for those criminals who are planning the crime and have time to think about the possible consequences. Those crimes that are committed in the ‘heat of the moment’ will never have any real deterrence. Revenge is another reason

     Capital punishment is a very controversial issue, but it is a just penalty for murderers. Murderers forfeit their lives for taking the life of another. Capital punishment deters criminals from committing violet crimes. Incapacitating criminals is also another form of deterrence. The death penalty removes harmful criminals from society. In doing this, people can feel much safer knowing that there is one less criminal on the streets. The death penalty is also more economical than life without parole. Capital punishment is good for society, and should be used in a more timely manner.

In the United States of America, the death penalty has been carried out in more humane ways than other countries. Our country inherited our death penalty laws from the British when they settled here in the sixteenth century (DIPC). America in the past used, lethal injection, electrocution, hanging and gas chambers. Oklahoma was the first state to implement lethal injection; but Texas was the first to use the tedious process. It requires strapping the inmate down to a gurney, then having a member of the execution team put heart monitors on their body, then putting a needle in usable veins in each arm. Long tubes connect to several intravenous drips. The first thing to go through the tubes is saline, then when given the signal the inmate is injected

There's better ways to make one suffer than death penalty. Death penalty actually might be a luxury for the criminals, all the money they spend on them, all the time. If they made a really bad crime, they already knew to what they were putting themselves to, they knew they were putting their lives in danger.

One of the best reasons I feel that the death penalty is a good thing is that it can deter would-be criminals to commit a crime. Yes people may argue that back then in the old days that didn’t stop them but if you actually look it up the crime rate back then it was not as high as the crime rate now. Would-be criminals would think before they act if they wanted to commit a crime, and I understand that it may not phase them at all but you can’t get rid of all crime it isn’t possible.

The problem with the death penalty is that it is a big waste of money. Yes, in some cases it can make people feel better, like they are getting revenge on the people that did the crime to their loved one or someone they know but that is really cruel. In the article, The Price of Justice it shows how the price were a few years ago and it can only of up from there “in 1988, The Miami Herald reported that the cost of the death penalty in Florida was $3.2 million per execution compared to $600,000 for life imprisonment.103 Similarly, The Dallas Morning News reported in 1992 that the trials and appeals of a capital case alone cost Texas $2.3 million per case on average”. Making the criminal sit in a jail cell that is not that big with other bad people is more of a punishment then just killing them. And it is a lot cheaper to do it that way as well. The cost of the death penalty is not reasonable because the state can’t even perform the death penalty the right way. And we can use the money for better things for our states and for our society so we can improve our comity’s so