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The Bible Does Not Allow the Death Penalty Essay

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Capital punishment has been a part of public debate in the United States for as long as I can remember. Proponents say it prevents crime; opponents claim it is cruel and unusual punishment. Social science has been unable to either conclusively support or disprove the theory that capital punishment deters crime (Schonebaum, 2002), mirroring the mixed emotions of many Americans on the subject. Historically, execution has been a significant form of punishment for deviance from social norms and for criminal behavior. (Schaefer, 2009, p. 175) The most powerful argument for the deterrent effect of the death penalty comes from the commonsense notion that people fear death more than life in prison.
In 1967, Thorsten Sellin argued that “the …show more content…

But gun proponents emphasize the Second Amendment of the US Constitution as the reason handgun ownership cannot be denied to the majority of citizens. Also, Americans have been desensitized to violence by various media. Psychologists at Iowa State University showed that “exposure to violent video games increases aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, physiological arousal and aggressive behaviors, and decreases helpful behaviors.” (Iowa State University, July 27, 2006) These are just a few factors that I feel keep our crime rate higher than all Western Democracies.
What are some other countries’ responses to the death penalty?
The United States is the only Western democracy that practices capital punishment. (Schonebaum, 2002) In the eyes of most of the world, the United States is being hypocritical. We point out other countries that commit human rights atrocities and demand that they be ceased, yet we continue to execute prisoners.
International trends are unmistakably towards abolition. Use of the death penalty worldwide has continued to shrink, and has also been increasingly curtailed in international law. Since 1990, an average of three countries each year have abolished the death penalty, and today over two-thirds of the world's nations have ended capital punishment in law or practice. (International death penalty,) America increasingly is standing alone among “civilized” countries in practicing the death penalty.
What is your position on the death

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