The Constitutionality Of Capital Punishment

On September 9, 1993 a seventeen year old boy, Christopher Simmons, and his a few of his friends met up to discuss and devise a plan to commit a robbery and maybe even a murder, just for fun. Simmons’ plan was not complicated: find someone to burglarize, tie up the victim and either leave the victim tied to a tree or push them off a bridge. Simmons and his accomplice went through a window that was slightly cracked and proceeded into the bedroom of Mrs. Crook. The two teenagers tried the woman up and loaded her into the back of her minivan. They drove to the state park at the edge of town where they had planned to dispose of the body and that is exactly what they did. The boys were caught later on that month put on trial for murder in

The use of capital punishment is a contentious social issue in the United States. Currently, it is a legal sentence in thirty-two states and illegal in eighteen (States With and Without the Death Penalty). Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty is “the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime” (Oxford Dictionaries). A sentencing for the death penalty can be mete out due to a capital offense of treason, murder, arson, or rape. The most commonly used methods for capital punishment include lethal injection, handing, and electrocution. The act of capital punishment is unethical and immoral. Capital punishment is

The death penalty has been in the justice system of America tracing all the way back to the days of its founding fathers. Though it is a highly controversial legal and moral matter, it still stands today as the most ultimate punishment in the United States. Many countries have been or are currently abolishing their death penalty under the notion that it is unjust and morally wrong. The United States, on the other hand, has 38 out of its 50 states with laws that state the death penalty as its ultimate punishment. Since 1990, more than 350 people have been put to death with another 3,300 waiting in death row. Another statistic that is an eye opener is since 1976, 552 executions have occurred in the United States, with 394 by lethal injection, 141 by electrocution, 11 by gas chamber, three by hanging, and two by firing squads. Half of the executions that have taken place after 1976 have happened within the last five years, 52 happening so far this year (Death Penalty). The Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violates the 8th Amendment, which protects the right from “cruel and unusual punishment, on June 29th, 1972. The respective states halted executions in 1967, awaiting the ruling of the case. However in July, of 1976, the Supreme Court, as a just punishment for certain crimes, upheld the death penalty (Fagan, n.d.). For the nine years that the death penalty was suspended, the United States did not have a substantial amount of crime increase, which is somewhat

The constitutionality of the death penalty has been a heated topic of discussion for decades. The history of the death penalty in the United States is extensive; from a suspension to a reinstating and individual statutes throughout the 50 states. One of the most controversial of the Supreme Court cases involving the death penalty is Roper v. Simmons. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of people who were under 18 at the time of their crimes violates the federal constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishments. In making its decision, the Court considered both the emerging national consensus and psychological organizations citing new evidence of delayed brain maturation that impacts culpability (define this

One of the longest ongoing ethical conflicts in political history is the idea of ending one’s life for the sake of justice. It has stood the test of time over gun control, church and state, or even abortion. Consequently, being an issue of controversy is will most likely not be resolved any time in the near future. Many issues contribute to why there is such diversity. Most controversial subjects are brought into the light after something happening that relates to it. Capital punishment is one issue that, for the most part, is always a topic of interest. There are many extremists on each side of the argument, and there are also many issues that make up this debate. The constitutionality of capital punishment is one of the most debated issues. It’s a question of ethics and of its effectiveness.

Capital punishment has been a long debated topic of discussion for decades in the United States. Additional controversy over the United States death penalty has risen from a 2014 botched execution in the state of Oklahoma. The incident occurred when the lethal injection was administered and the “drugs meant to kill a convicted murderer did not, though he later died of a heart attack.” (LA Times) The article from the LA Times discusses political backgrounds and climate for capital punishment. There is an argument that we should abolish capital punishment in the United States, while some argue we need to uphold crime and punishment. The article discusses

The United States of America, and nations worldwide mourned the execution of Troy Anthony Davis on September 22 of 2011. He was a convicted felon sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer in the state of Georgia. Davis became the face of capital punishment before and after his execution, causing uproar from the public and public figures worldwide. In an interview for CNN, Germany’s junior minister for human rights, Marcus Loening, stated, “There are still serious doubts about his guilt. An execution is irreversible – a judicial error can never be repaired” (Wilkinson). Georgia, along with thirty-two other states, considers capital punishment constitutional. The eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Cornell). Why is it then, that the United States Supreme Court finds capital punishment constitutional? Through an array of research of law and philosophy behind the death penalty, one must keep in mind that these are people’s lives in discussion. The United States holds justice, liberty, and freedom as central to its democracy. However, it practices capital punishment on the same scale as a communist country like China, a broken government country like Iran and an absolute monarchy country like Saudi Arabia. The Death Penalty is the ultimate punishment when seeking justice for a crime so heinous that a life sentence would not

Unofficially, capital punishment has a long history in the United States. However, it was not officially ruled as constitutional until 1976. Since then, “more than 900 executions have been carried out,” (ProQuest Staff). Early arguments against the death penalty were made by opponents who stated it violates the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution on the basis of the process being a form of cruel and unusual punishment. On the contrary, supporters of the measure maintain that it is not unconstitutional and is an appropriate consequence reserved for the most heinous cases. Also, at first glance, the research may seem to favor death penalty supporters and their arguments for capital punishment. In a 2007 article in the New York Times, author

The execution of criminals has been performed by nearly every society to date. The death penalty came to the Americas when European settlers brought the idea of capitol punishment from Britain. The ideology behind taking someone’s life for crimes they have committed is a simple one. If a person commits a hennas crime such as murder or rape, they shall receive the death penalty. In more recent times we now see many countries abolishing the death penalty. The trend suggests that the capitol punishment policies still implemented in the United States may be outdated, but yet there is a large majority in the United States who feel capital punishment is necessary. In contrast there are many that feel that it’s immoral, unconstitutional and should be abolished. The political issue is whether or not capital punishment should be outlawed in the United States. An explanation of capitol punishment and some positions from those who are for and against capital punishment will be given. Next, review the positions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and interest groups on the issue and how these positions interplay with values of freedom, order, and equality. Then argue as to why capitol punishment should be outlawed.

Capital punishment is a highly controversial topic within the legal system and the general public. The death penalty is controversial because many people believe that there is no justification for putting a person to death, even if that person is a convicted murderer. Many also believe that it violates the eighth amendment of the Constitution which says, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”. Although the overall percentage of people in favor of the death penalty has significantly decreased since the 1990s when it was eighty percent, the majority of the population is still in favor of keeping the death penalty in the American judicial system with sixty one percent.

The death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1977, and since then murderers and rapist have been executed for the violent and harsh crimes they were found guilty of committing. In the past thirty years over 1,200 prisoners have been put to death for crimes in which they were convicted. The government of each state executes these prisoners by way of the electric chair, gas chamber, and the most common way lethal injection. A survey, from the Death Penalty Information Center, shows that over half of the citizens in the United States support the death sentence. Some supporter of the death penalty may even believe that sparing the guilty shows them mercy and the victims’ families no justice. If

The issue of death penalty today is a popular topic for numerous public and scholarly discussions. The death penalty has a long and distinguished history in the United States, as it has been around in some form—either official or otherwise—since the beginning of American society. America originally adopted the British justice system, with hundreds of crimes being punishable by death. Slowly but surely, states began to eliminate the number of things that could lead to the death penalty. Likewise, new methods were introduced, with the electric chair coming about around the turn of the 1900s. The modern death penalty system came after the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia. Today, the death penalty is only available for murder, only available for people over 18, and not available for people who are mentally retarded.

The death penalty is an extremely controversial topic that is developing within our society today. According to Andre and Velasquez in “Capital Punishment: Our Duty or Our Doom,” 2000 people in the United States are currently awaiting capital punishment due to atrocious crimes (Andre and Velasquez 2013). This issue is becoming more controversial as more states are beginning to consider ratifying this concept states Andre and Velasquez (Andre and Velasquez 2013). The reason this issue is becoming more controversial is due to the fact that this punishment is at the peak of severity. Capital punishment is the legal process for a court to deem death upon an individual due to the severity of the crimes committed. These crimes can range

The death penalty is surrounded by many strong opinions. The United States, as well as many other countries, have an extensive history with this form of capital punishment, yet there is no way to know the exact number of executions that have preceded. In the United States, there is a great controversy over the morality and the purpose behind the death penalty; and, if the purpose of the penalty was fulfilled, would it still be worth the possible consequences. There are many who argue the constitutionality of the penalty as well as the irredeemable factor of possibly killing those wrongfully convicted. In comparison, there are those who believe with proven guilt, the penalty provides justice.

The United States will not conform to the amendments as provided in the United States Constitution or provide the process for all of its citizens when they are in trial. The harsh penalizations through the use of Capital Punishment should not be utilized in our judicial system. For the past 50-years, there have been questions asked about one issue that we just cannot get on board with. The idea of killing citizens had started to weigh heavily on the conscience of humans. The debate on whether capital punishment should be a penalty or not for those convicted of capital offenses remains one of the most controversial issues in our country. This debate has stemmed from whether capital punishment is a violation of the eighth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Eighth amendment states “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (amend. XIII, sec.3).” This amendment entails that no inhumane, excessive, or unusual punishments should be inflicted upon a person as a penalty of the violation of law (amend. XIII, sec. 3). This amendment questions the issues of The Death Penalty; it is used less over the years, so why do we keep it around as a safety net, and so-called “Deterrent,” or to satisfy our own the idea of justice for the people (Alfano). Another factor that has stimulated around the debate about capital punishment is the number of wrongful convictions of those subjected to capital punishment. According to