Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

The death penalty, also frequently called capital punishment, is the executing for a crime. The most common crime referred to as “capital crime” is murder and specifically, murder in the first degree. Between 1892 and 1961, the death penalty was used in Canada and the result was death by hanging. The Parliament divided murder into capital and non-capital categories in 1962. It was not until 1976 that Parliament abolished the death penalty. The death penalty or capital punishment continues to be a controversial topic among many Canadians today. Canada, among many other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and almost all European countries have abolished capital punishment. Others, however, such as the United States, China, Iran, and others preserve death penalty as an option. The death penalty should remain illegal as it is expensive, does not deter crime, and is immoral.

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

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.

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.

Capital Punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the gravest punishment in the U.S. criminal justice system (Van den Haag, E., & Olin, J. M., 1986); It is the legal killing of a person guilty of committing heinous and malum in se acts against the public, such as the intentional killing of an individual, intentionally committing an act of violence knowing that it may be deadly to an individual, inflicting injury to a victim resulting in death, etc. (18 U.S. Code § 3591). According to the U.S. Code,

The vast majority of Americans have a rational and firm position concerning capital punishment, regardless of which position they hold. The supporters of capital punishment adamantly state it serves as a crime deterrent, while serving justice for our society and is morally right. Whereas the opponents believe that capital punishment is racially bias towards African Americans and other that other forms of punishment can be used without the government taking human life, and is immorally wrong. I personally think capital punishment is it is a vital part of our United States criminal justice system, just as it was in the Old Testament. The Old Testament states that it was a major element of the justice system in Israel. “Justice in God’s eyes requires that the response to an offense, whether against God or against humanity, be balanced. The lex talionis (“law of the talion”) served as a restraint, a limitation, to ensure the punishment would be no greater than the crime” (Colson, 2017).

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.

There are many ways that a trial could go for criminals. Capital punishment, also known as the “Death Penalty”, is used as a punishment for criminals who commit heinous crimes. The Death Penalty is determined in trial by the jury; in some cases a judge will override the verdict that a jury declared, either sentencing the criminal to death or removing the verdict all together. The death penalty should be continued, because overall the end result is beneficial for communities as a whole. The Death Penalty has been debated between people on whether or not the process of determining who gets put to death is racist, whether or not it deters people from committing crimes, if it is “cruel and unusual punishment”, and if it violates the eighth and fourteenth amendments.

The ultimate punishment is probably the death penalty as there is not harsher punishment than it. There are more than fifty-eight nations that still practice the death penalty including the United States of America. However in the US death penalty is only use in the case where someone commits first-degree murder. One of the main reasons why death penalty is not abolished is that people still believe in the fact that the capital punishment will deters murderers. There are currently five forms of execution in the United States: hanging, electrocution, lethal injection, lethal gas, and firing squad and all of these should actually be illegal. Death penalty is not a deterrent of crime; it is a crime itself and it also encourages violence besides the fact that is extremely expensive.

Capital punishment has been a controversial and a central part of political debates for decades. As the result of being a complex dispute, there are multiple, common perspectives on how it should be resolved. However, most citizens of the United States identify with one of two sides, those for and those against its continued use. Most commonly, the death penalty is used in gruesome murder trials and some other offenses, such as treason, espionage, and airplane hijacking. Those for it, tend to believe that it is necessary to keep these criminals out of society and that it deters crime, while those against tend to believe that the practice is medieval and unethical in society today. With a controversial topic like the death penalty, it is important to determine why this controversy exists and if there is a possible solution. The focus at hand is whether or not the United States Government should continue its use of the death penalty and how this answer could be implemented.

Capital punishment, seen by some as a just way to punish offenders of a crime. Seen by others as an uncivilized and inhumane action carried out by the corrections system. Easily seen as one of the most controversial issues in society. There are many different factors that go into death penalty cases. One factor involves the burden that the death penalty puts on the those involved in the case. The question lies in what is considered burdensome. A burden on a person is subjection to experiences that are unpleasant or hard to deal with. When a person is dealing with a burden, one may show symptoms of depression, burnout, and or anxiety. By asking target driven questions a conclusion could be drawn as to whether one group has more of a burden than another group. the answers given by attorneys involved in death penalty cases compared to attorneys that never deal with capital punishment will be evaluated. The differences in these answers possibly could drive the conclusion that the death penalty is too burdensome on society.

Many people follow the saying “an eye for an eye” when someone does wrong to them, but when it comes to a person’s life all the decisions made are crucial. Capital punishment is the death penalty given to someone as a punishment for a serious crime. As of 2016, 31 states allow the death penalty, 19 states don't, and 4 states have a governor imposed moratorium. Though some people see this as a fair punishment, it also comes with a lot of problems. Due to this reason, capital punishment should come to an end because of all the complications that come with it.

A[C1] death penalty is a sentence of execution served to culprits found guilty of murder or a capital crime. It is a type of capital punishment. [C2] Over the years, there has been different views on whether murder culprits deserve death punishments or not and while some of these debates have yielded positive results, some countries continue to allow this form of capital punishment. The death penalty is a barbaric and atrocious form of capital punishment and because of its nature of unfairness, immoral values, lack of deterrence and so many other reasons, it has been abolished in majority of countries around the globe.[C3] However, it is still used in about 58 countries. This form of punishment includes shooting to death, lethal injections, hanging, stoning and so on. [C4]

In 1989, Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted and executed for the deaths of his three daughters in a 1991 house fire near Corsicana, Texas. In 2009, the Texas Forensic Science Commission received an arson expert’s report that the investigation leading to his conviction was so flawed, that it’s finding could not be supported. Scientific experts — who debunked the arson evidence used against Willingham at his 1992 trial — convinced District Court Judge Charlie Baird in 2010 that the state of Texas wrongfully convicted him. However, Baird’s intended order never came to light because the court of appeals criticized his handling of the case and prevented him from working on it before he left the bench at the end of 2010 after choosing not to seek re-election. This case is a perfect example of why capital punishment should be abolished. Capital punishment, which is commonly known as the “death penalty,” is the lawful infliction of death as a punishment in response to a crime. Its motive is not found as morally correct but rather found as getting revenge against those who have committed an atrocious crime. Like the Willingham case, the justice system contains mistakes or flaws, which evolves into the killing of the innocent who are imprisoned. Consequently, it is imperative the focus is centered on the awareness that killing a human is absolutely wrong under all circumstances. Capital punishment is cruel, inhumane, and degrading; therefore, regardless of who is accused, the crime

The death penalty is a practice that has long since been dismissed and abandoned by the majority of countries, not only due to the ethics surrounding the issue, but also due to it not being an effective punishment that is able to deter and reduce crime. Only 3 countries that are considered to be developed countries, currently practice capital punishment; these being, the U.S., Japan and Taiwan. Every other developed country, as well as many developing countries, have long since abandoned capital punishment.