Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

The death penalty is quickly becoming one of the more controversial topics in the United States. Currently, there are 31 states where capital punishment is legal. As of April 2016, there have been 1,431 executions in the United States, but the number of executions in recent years has been steadily decreasing (Timmons 2017). The death penalty can be put up for moral debate, and one can ask oneself whether the death penalty is ever morally permissible. There are some pros and cons to having capital punishment. For example, deterrence and prevention are good reasons to have the death penalty, but, in reality, the cons far outweigh the possible benefits that may come from capital punishment. The cost of imposing capital punishment is

Death penalty is also known as capital punishment or execution. Societies from all over the world have used this sentence at one point in history, in order to avenge criminals. Most common reasons for being sentenced to death were war crimes, war treason, murder and espionage. Back then, the capital punishment was almost always accompanied by torture, and executions were public. The most used execution method was by hanging. If an inmate chooses the electric chair it takes anywhere between 2 min and 15 minutes. The criminal receives a jolt between 500 and 2000 volts for every 30 seconds, attending doctor waits for body to cool after each bolt and check if the heart is still breathing. While in some societies, violent death penalties are still being employed – like shooting, hanging, electric chair and gas chamber – in most countries, these have been replaced with a painless method – the lethal injection. When the person is put to death for the death penalty they use a lethal injection execution, in most cases. Sodium thipal makes the person go deeply unconscious but unable to feel himself being paralyzed from the “pancuronium bromide”. On death row an inmate waited an average of 15 years between sentencing and execution but a quarter of inmates die on death row from natural cases. The time has come to make punishment fit the crime, too oppose lethal injection, but not because these untried new drugs might obituary cause pain, but cause confusion, lethal injection conflates

Capital punishment is one of the most controversial ethical issues that our country faces these days. Capital punishment is the legal penalty of death for a person that has performed heinous acts in the eyes of the judicial system. Discussion on whether capital punishment is humane or considered cruel and unusual punishment has been the main issue this of debate for years. Recent discussion goes far beyond the act itself but now brings into question whether medical personal should aid in this practice.

PRO: "The crimes of rape, torture, treason, kidnapping, murder, larceny, and perjury pivot on a moral code that escapes apodictic [indisputably true] proof by expert testimony or otherwise. But communities would plunge into anarchy if they could not act on moral assumptions less certain than that the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. Abolitionists may contend that the death penalty is inherently immoral because governments should never take human life, no matter what the provocation. But that is an article of faith, not of fact. The death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor able to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat him as an animal with no moral

The capital punishment is defined as execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction, by a court of law of a criminal offense-according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. There are five methods to execute an offender, a lethal injection, the gas chamber, electrocution, hanging, and the firing squad. The lethal injection is the most commonly used, because there is no pain associated with this form of execution. Since 1976, there has been about 1400 executions in the United States of America. In those 1400 offenders about 150 offenders were proven innocent. The death penalty does not deter criminals, proving that it is unnecessary and preventable.

Each year there are around 250 people added to death row and 35 executed. The death penalty is the most severe method of penalty enforced in the United Sates today. Once a jury has condemned a criminal of a crime they go to the following part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death penalty and the judge coincides, then the criminal will face some form of execution. Lethal injection is the most common process of execution used today. There was a period from 1971 to 1975 that capital punishment was governed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The reason for this conclusion was that the death penalty was considered cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. The decision was overturned when new methods of execution were introduced. Capital punishment is a difficult topic and there are many different views such as its deterrent value, the religious aspect, the cost of death vs. the cost of life in prison, the morality, the social issues, and the legal considerations.

The majority of states in America resorts to the death penalty; nonetheless there is a trend toward abolishing capital punishment. As of two thousand seventeen there are nineteen states that have abolished the death penalty as a form of punishment for various reasons. Over the years the death penalty has cost the US millions. This punishment violates our Human Rights and evidently does not deter crime as some people may believe. The death penalty is permanent and does not allow a possibility of rehabilitation; taking someone’s life away cannot be justified. The system is flawed for many reasons, some of which are incompetent lawyers, disparities amongst minorities, and wrongful convictions. The death penalty is awfully ineffective on the grounds of being ethical, cost effective, or a deterrent to crime.

Capital punishment is one of the most highly debated topics int he United States. In summary, Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United States, currently being used by the federal government and thirty-one states. This form of punishment was brought into existence all the way back to the American colonies. Consequently, not very many countries still use this method making the United States the only Western country currently applying the death penalty. Only fifty-seven countries worldwide still practice it. The United States was the first to develop lethal injection, the most popular form of execution, which has since been adopted by five other countries. The public opinion continuously sways back and forth on if the death penalty is constitutional or not.

A long, notorious trial, where the ultimate crime is committed, is taking place. Hard work and long hours contribute to the trial. Countless evidence and testimony is reviewed allowing the jury to settle on a verdict. As the jury reaches its verdict convicting the defendant guilty, the judge begins sentencing giving the man a chance of life in prison without parole or a sentence to death. But what is the greatest punishment given to those convicted of capital punishment, is it life in prison or the death penalty? The death penalty dates back to ancient times and has been around since then. Today it is still practice but has been debated whether it is constitutional and if it should still be used today and in the future.”We should construct our punishments more nearly to fit their crimes -- neither much more nor much less than what they deserve”(Blecker). Those who commit grisly acts of capital offenses should be made to pay the ultimate price and sentenced to the death penalty.

"Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic system. The death penalty is uncivilized in theory and unfair and inequitable in practice... we strive to prevent executions and seek the abolition of capital punishment" (ACLU). Our whole society is based on the liberties and rights its citizen’s gain from living here, but the death penalty violates that along with the country’s constitution. The act in itself is inhumane, similar to murder, but is execution justified because it’s in the name of the law and justice? Since, the intent to end someone’s life is always wrong and human rights are fundamental to our way of life, the death penalty should be limited to those with the intent to commit horrendous acts against humanity as a whole.

Capital punishment is the death penalty to punish offenders for heinous crimes. Capital Punishment has been used for thousands of years and it has not helped reduce crime and those future criminals who will commit heinous crimes. This topic always sparks a passionate conversation with the effectiveness of the Judicial system. Another punishment instead of the death penalty is life without parole. The American Judicial system has been unfair and corrupt; for example, attorney’s that work for the state are overworked with their caseloads. Trial attorneys are extremely expensive. Those living under poverty line is impossible for them to receive help from the expensive attorneys. Those sitting in death row doesn’t get the chance to change, find themselves spiritually and or seek forgiveness. God forgives anyone from the crimes that have been committed. They should be given the opportunity to seek guidance, help and spiritual guidance from their wrongdoings. There are massive problems associated with the death penalty; one of the problems are innocent people dying from a crime they never committed and racism/bias. The only way to solve these issues is to get rid of capital punishment.

In the United States more than 1,423 people have been put to death since 1976, when the Supreme Court alleviated the moratorium on capital punishment (McKeown). Capital punishment is act of killing inmates performed by state for serious crimes. The death penalty is applied unfairly towards people. Also, it goes against the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment to individuals. Capital punishment ought to be abolished due to the state killing in discriminatory ways. The opposition claims that the death penalty is effective for deterring crime and not imposed enough. However, there are other alternatives for punishment, such as life without parole.

Capital punishment in the United States is an ethical problem that we still face as a form of retribution for one’s crimes. Capital punishment is defined as the death penalty when an individual is sentenced and then killed at the behest of the government because of a crime to be sentenced to death in any nation that enforces the law a person must be found guilty of heinous crime. There is a lot of debate about whether the death penalty is effective or not. Some argue that it’s not going to solve anything. The murderers already killed someone, so what are we solving by killing them? Which can be morally wrong for a person to kill a murder. Others may argue that death penalty does serve a purpose that killing those who have killed other people, and it teaches a lesson to other potential future criminals. How does each state determine the murder punishment based on their action? However, the real issue is should the states allow capital punishment for murder? Death penalties create mental suffering which is often costly, and it been used largely against groups that have difficulties due to poverty, discrimination and the chance of success but an innocent person is executed. In some case, it will be good to have a death penalty but only in very specific and extreme cases point of view in Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Is it the moral action to do?

For hundreds of years, capital punishment has been the solution to crimes committed by the people of the United States and many other countries which leads to an endless debate on whether the death penalty should exist or should be abolished. Many people may support the death penalty because the convicted will get what they deserve. On the contrary, those who oppose the death penalty bring up the reasoning of the wrongly convicted. The clash of these debates has created a large amount of controversy.

Capital punishment has been used in order to execute criminals who have committed some of the most heinous crimes throughout United States history.  Although the crime rate is considerably lower than in years past, the death penalty is still in effect in many states. More than two-thirds of the states in the U.S. still use capital punishment as the ultimate penalty for criminals. Supporters of the death penalty claim that there is a line that cannot be crossed without receiving the ultimate punishment. However, there are many opponents of the continued use of capital punishment because of moral and economic reasons. Due to the fact that the death penalty is immoral, affects the families of the victims, is racially discriminatory, and economically unsound, opposers believe capital punishment should be outlawed in all states.