Pros And Cons Of Abolish The Death Penalty

The idea of capital punishment deterring crime is difficult to determine; some could rationalize that the death penalty should in theory stop potential murders from committing crimes. However, this rationalization has never been concretely proven. The research into capital punishment’s effect on deterrence is immense; however, the majority of research on this issue has differential findings. Although some research suggests conclusively that capital punishment deters crime, others found that it fails to do this. Understanding deterrence, the death penalty, and the results of

The death penalty is still in use in the united states. The state with the most executions is in Texas with a total of 545 from 2017 to the year 1976 (Number of Executions, 2017). The death penalty is a very big debate. There are many reasons why and why people do and don’t like the death penalty.

The death penalty is the ultimate punishment. There is no harsher punishment than death itself. This nation, the United States of America, is currently one of fifty-eight nations that practice the death penalty, if one commits first-degree murder as of 2012. People that believe in the death penalty also believe that it will deter murders. In this paper I will argue that the death penalty does not deter criminals and that this nation should outlaw the practice.

If criminals had the horrifying threat of the death penalty, they would think before commiting crimes. “The death penalty is a necessary tool to fight and deter crime. Capital punishment deters crime by causing

One controversial issue in the modern world is the death penalty, to keep it or to ban it is the question. In the United States, the death penalty is given to people convicted of capital crimes. These crimes include, but are not limited to, murder, espionage, treason, and death after an aircraft hijacking. Capital crimes do, however, vary by state. There are many different stances on this issue. Banning it, not banning it, adding different limitations, etc. One common stance is the death penalty should be banned in the US. There are pros and cons of the death penalty, however, the cons outweigh the pros.

“One argument for the death penalty is that it is a strong deterrent to murder and other violent crimes. In fact, evidence shows just the opposite. The homicide rate is at least five times greater in the United States than in any Western European country, all without the death penalty.” (Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime?, 2012.)

The death penalty is the the “punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime.” (Google.com) The death penalty has been around for about 400 years now. The death penalty originated in virginia in 1605 by Captain George Kendall. The death penalty itself is a very controversial topic and many people have different [points of view on it. Within this essay will be the main parts ion why the death penalty is the worst thing that has come to the United States.

(1) The death penalty should not be abolished because the fear of the highest form of punishment will keep potential victims alive.

The death penalty doesn’t discourage persons from committing murders. Some may respond that the deterrent value of capital punishment is unproved. But if we

17). Most murderers, in Greenburg’s opinion, are ruled by their whims and therefore will not consider the possibility of being put to death for their actions (Greenburg, par. 18). Moreover, Greenburg points out that the majority of killers are not very smart or disturbed whether by their own doing or with the help of drugs or alcohol (par. 18) Using the reality that so few people are actually executed Greenburg creates an interesting case against the death penalty: if virtually no one dies, how can criminals be deterred by such a unlikely consequence? Greenburg realizes we can never know the exact thoughts of a would be killer, but looking at his interpretation of the reality of our legal system, it not hard to understand his prediction of its ineffectiveness. While Greenburg provides practical reasons to combat deterrence, Michael L. Radelet and Traci L. Lacock in the article “Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates?: The Views of Leading Criminologists,” give expert opinions by summarizing the opinions of leading behavioral scientists. This valuable and insightful resource shows how criminologists have recently shifted away from the belief that death is an effective deterrent. Why? Earlier research showed that execution directly paralleled with lowered homicide and removal of criminals from death row resulted in increased homicides. (Radelet & Lacock 494) But later search found these major studies to be skewed and largely unconnected to murder

The death penalty, it has been the argument of ethics and politics, yet there has never been an agreement on whether to abolish it or not. It has been part of the US history as well as the world history; its practice was show through cruel actions and has become the current lethal injection. It is the debate that never ends and will never end. In this debate called “Abolish the death penalty”, Diann Rust- Tierney and Barry Scheck argue for the abolishment of the death penalty, while Robert Blecker and Kent Scheidegger argue against the abolishment of the death penalty. Diann Rust- Tiereney, the executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, begins her debate by trying to prove that the death penalty is

Some may argue that the death penalty deter criminals since they are likely to choose life over death. Based on Dr. William Schmitz point of view, “the death penalty should be kept and not dragged out of 20 years, and the insanity defense should be thrown out” (“In defense of death…”). While the insanity plea is an easy escape for criminals, the death penalty still does not discourage criminals from committing crimes once again. According to Jones, “in 1997 the average murder rate per 100,000 population among death-penalty states was 6.6, while for non-death penalty states it was 3.5” (Jones). If the death penalty is suppose to serve as a deterrent, then there should have been a cumulative effect in lowering the homicide rates. However, most criminals rarely consider the consequences while engaged in their crimes. Informed by the FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, “from 1995-1999, states without the death penalty had a 45 percent lower average homicide rate than the states with the death penalty” (Belousek). The only public good that this system brings to society is that it serves momentary justice. Lives taken by criminals

Another aspect of this awfully barbaric law is that hey show no compassion even to minors. “The state of South Carolina has the distinction of having put to death the youngest person to be executed in the United States in the twentieth century” (Boner, 32). In 1944 George Stinney, an African American fourteen-year-old, was convicted of murdering two white girls. The only evidence was his supposed confession, in less than ten minutes the all white jury convicted him and in less than two months he was executed. The first states to abolish the death penalty were all in the north, Connecticut was the first in 1830, then Michigan in 1846, followed by Rhode Island and Wisconsin 150 years later. In the south the Death penalty was tied to slavery and to this day almost all the south states still have it.

“Capital punishment is likely to deter more than other punishments because people fear death more than anything else. They fear most death deliberately inflicted by law and scheduled by the courts Hence, the threat of the death penalty may deter some murderers who otherwise might not have been deterred. And surely the death penalty is the only penalty that could deter prisoners already serving a life sentence and tempted to kill a guard, or offenders about to be

Death penalty advocates argue that the execution of convicted murderers deter others from committing murder for fear that they will also be executed, and also that murderers will be incapacitated: once dead, they will have no opportunity to commit additional murders. Death penalty opponents dispute the deterrent effect of capital punishment, arguing that few murderers rationally weigh the possibility that they might face the death penalty before committing a murder. Finally, death penalty opponents do not dispute that execution incapacitates executed murders, but argue that life imprisonment without possibility of parole is equally incapacitating. (Jacob Sullum, Los Angeles)