Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, “is the pre-meditated and planned taking of a human life by a government in response to a crime committed by that legally convicted person” (usliberals.about.com). “Most death penalty cases involve the execution of murderers.” Capital punishment can also be “applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes” (ProCon.org "Death Penalty ProCon.org"). The death penalty is done “primarily by means of lethal injection” (ProCon.org "Death Penalty ProCon.org").
Many people are arguing whether or not capital punishment is effective and should still be used in the American system. Proponents of the death penalty argue that the death penalty deters crime. In contrast, opponents of the death
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Many believe it is a win-win situation.
Proponents believe that the death penalty also helps deter crime. Supporters of the death penalty debate that the death penalty is the most extreme warning to most criminals. With the knowledge of punishment by death, criminals are less prone to commit murder. Supporters argue that people’s worst fear is death and criminals would do anything to avert it (http://listverse.com). Hashem Dezhbakhsh, PhD, Professor of Economics at Emory University, and Joanna Shepherd, PhD, Associate Professor of Law at Emory University, wrote in their July 2003 study "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: Evidence from a 'Judicial Experiment'" in Economic Inquiry:
"[There is] strong evidence for the deterrent effect of capital punishment... Each execution results, on average, in eighteen fewer murders with a margin of error of plus or minus ten” (http://deathpenalty.procon.org).
Supporters of the death penalty believe it is the best justice for murder. Proponents argue that capital punishment “fits the most severe crime that can be committed”: murder (http://listverse.com).
3. Side 2: The Death Penalty Should Not Be an Allowed Punishment in the US
Opponents of the death penalty cite numerous reasons for their argument; two specific reasons against the death penalty are:
1. The death penalty maintains social injustices.
2.
The death penalty is a topic that has been argued for and against by many people. Some have no qualms with the punishment while others protest it greatly. As such there are three main arguments that are presented by both sides; is the death penalty immoral, does the death penalty deter crime, and should the death penalty ultimately be allowed in the court of law.
Opponents of the death penalty believe capital punishment is unnecessary and inappropriate in our modern
There are many reasons to both support and oppose the death penalty. Many people can feel very strongly about whether or not they approve of this method of punishment. I feel that the death penalty is wrong, and I believe that there is much support to back this up. I believe that the death penalty is wrong because it is not an effective deterrent, racially and economically bias, unreliable, expensive, and morally wrong of society.
The topic of death penalty is highly controversial and debated on in American society. The death penalty has put many convicted murderers and criminals on the government. Using death sentence as a punishment for extreme crimes portrays America in a negative way. Although the death penalty brings justice to violent criminals, I argue that the death penalty is immoral and financially crippling the United States.
The death penalty is supposed to deter murder and bring the justice that the murder families of the victims should be rewarded (Hyden). Although many scientific researches can conclude that it does not deter murder and the members of the murder victims’ family have rejected/rejecting the program because it retraumatizes them with long process of trials, appeals, and of course the media (Hyden). In contrast, a sentence of life in prison is certain and instant, allowing the families to move on knowing that the justice of the crime is being served. Comparing whether or not the death penalty should be legalized, the reasons as to why it shouldn’t be, are strong enough to change one person’s mind. The death penalty still should be illegal in the United States.
Many people who are supporters of the death penalty say that it’s a successful deterrent. But this isn’t true because the death penalty is administered very inconsistently and arbitrarily. “Only a small proportion of first-degree murders is sentenced to death, and even fewer are executed” (Bedau). There are also several states that have a lower criminal rate without using capital punishment. For example Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan all get along just fine without the use of the death penalty. Also “…all other Western industrial countries get along quite well without killing their citizens” (Ryan). There are many judges that are against the use of capital punishment as well.
All of the research that I have done suggests that the death penalty is not a major source of deterrence for criminals to commit severe crimes such as homicide. In a 2009 survey of America’s top criminologists, published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology and written by Professor Michael Radelet, eighty-eight percent of the expert criminologists stated that they do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent for criminals to commit homicide. Respondents to this survey were asked to base their answers on research, rather
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.
The death penalty is a controversial issue because it involves a dispute between sides which hold opposing views. Those who support the death penalty believe that it deters criminals and makes them think twice. Some supporters claim that it is morally right and gives victims justice. Furthermore, supporters of the death penalty think that it is the only way to fully protect society.According to “Solid Majority Continue to Support Death Penalty” ”About six in ten americans favor the use of death penalty for a person convicted of murder”(Solid 2016). On the other hand those who oppose death penalty think that the cost outweighs the benefits. They also argue that the death penalty can be faulty at times. Opponents argue that the death penalty
Capital punishment is used predominantly for, but not exclusively to, the crime of murder. This employs the “eye for an eye” sort of belief system that has been in use for hundreds of years. This type of thinking is backed by a principle that was a key point in Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince.” Machiavelli contends that “it is much safer to be feared than loved.” This is a mindset that is shared with those who support the death penalty. This is because if one knows that they will die if they perform a certain act, they will generally be unwilling to perform that act. People who use even the slightest bit of logic and reasoning could reach the conclusion that it is better to use the threat of death to keep potential murderers from killing innocent victims than to abolish capital punishment and sacrifice innocent lives.
There is substantial evidence supporting the fact that the death penalty does not deter crime in the United States. Death Penalty Focus, a website dedicated to providing the public with information about the death penalty, stated that scientific studies have constantly failed at proving that the death penalty deters crime more that long prison sentences, including life in prison without parole.
While criminals must be punished for their criminal actions, “legalized murder”, as author Coretta Scott King put it, is immoral. The death penalty is legalizing the very thing that many on death row are charged for, murder. There is a multitude of lawful alternatives, to the death penalty, of reestablishing a better reputation for the criminals. The Constitution has no true right to allow such a felonious form of rehabilitation.
I strongly believe in the death penalty because it deters crime. According to James Pitkin (2008) “Advocates of the death penalty argue that it deters crime, is a good tool for police and prosecutors (in plea bargaining for example), makes sure that convicted criminals do not offend again and is a just penalty for atrocious crimes such as child murders, serial killers or torture murderers.”
The death penalty is something about which many people do not have a clear opinion. It is considered to be the punishment of execution, administered to someone convicted of a capital crime. Many people support the death penalty, while others wish for the death penalty to be abolished. My personal opinion on the death penalty is that it should be administered only in cases of certain crimes such as: serial murder, serial rape, and terrorism.
Studies of the deterrent effect of the death penalty have been conducted for several years, with varying results. Most studies have failed to produce evidence that the death penalty deterred murders more effectively then the threat of imprisonment. The reason for this is that few people are executed and so the death penalty is not a satisfactory deterrent. If capital punishment were carried out