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Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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Resolved: The death penalty as a punishment is not appropriate and should be banned. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the meaning of the death penalty is death as a punishment given by a court of law for very serious crimes. The death penalty does not assuage the grief felt by families of victims, it is not a deterrent to violent crime, and it is not a wise use of taxpayers dollars. In our current justice system, when a legal adult (17-18 depending on the state) commits a crime that involves someone dying, they can be given a death penalty sentence. The supreme court of the United States decided in Kennedy v Louisiana that the death penalty would be disproportionate to any offense against an individual that did not involve the death of the victim. Many people use the saying an eye for an eye but is it really that black and white?

A study conducted at the Marquette law review found that their were higher levels of physical, psychological, and behavioral health in a victim’s family as well as more satisfaction in a case when the defendant got Life without parole rather than the death penalty. An important aspect of the death penalty, in the minds of its creator is how the emotional state of the families would prefer to have an outcome similar to the outcome done to their family members. Without that part of the debate they are left with less points in the favor of the death penalty. There was also research done in the University of Minnesota by Scott Valum,

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