The Death Penalty Discourse With An Unprecedented Effect On The Debate Of Capital Punishment

Capital punishment has been a controversial issue that still exists in America today. Capital punishment is a law passed by the government to punish any individual that has been convicted of committed a heinous crime. The death penalty has been a method used throughout history as punishment for criminals. The punishment also known as the death penalty is a scheduled execution, which would be done with lethal injection. The reason why this punishment is chosen is because when crimes are committed that shock the conscience, the immediate emotional reaction is to retaliate with severe punishment (Schnurbush 2016). The death penalty is debated when it is brought up, opinions vary from one group of people to another, one side says the execution is murder, and the other saying that it is justice being done. Each side presents valid arguments to why people should be for it or against it; people’s opinions are formed by personal beliefs.

For years, politicians have been passionately debating the subject of the capital punishment, which has only served to create more divisions within our society. It is an extremely sensitive subject, and one that inspires strong emotions in both directions. Like abortion, gun laws, and the war on terrorism, capital punishment is an issue on which everyone is never likely to agree.

There are about 121 innocent people sitting on death row tonight. A study by the National Academy of Sciences reports that conservatively, 4.1 percent of defendants sentenced to death are indeed innocent. Capital punishment is abolished in many parts of the developed world, but is still carried out daily. In this day and age, its existence may seem questionable. After World War II, crime rates increased in the United States, peaking from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Violent crime nearly quadrupled between 1960 and its peak in 1991. Sure enough, thirty-two states, the federal civilian and military legal systems permit the death penalty. Its application is limited by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution to aggravated murders committed

Against the Death Penalty: An Annotated Bibliography While the Death Penalty has been historically used as a deterrent of crime, it is barbarity, is economically costly, and racially bias in the United States of America. With this research paper, I will explain how the death penalty should be abolish from our judicial system. Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org./ This is a website that gives lots of information about the death penalty from the history, current inmates and trials that could lead to death row.

In this paper, the authors examine how the death penalty argument has changed in the last 25 years in the United States. They examine six specific issues: deterrence, incapacitation, caprice and bias, cost innocence and retribution; and how public opinion has change regarding these issues. They argue that social science research is changing the way Americans view the death penalty and suggest that Americans are moving toward an eventual abolition of the death penalty.

There is a question as to the fact that the capital punishment infringes on our Constitutional Rights. One of the main arguments for this is the “killing of the innocent”. There have been 151 inmates released from death row since 1973, 10 of which were released in 2010, due to the new technology that has come about , one of which is DNA. Some of the things that have led to wrongful convictions are inadequate representation, snitches that are offered deals for their statements, political pressure, and police and court misconduct. (Amnesty

Imagine that a beloved one was at the wrong place at the wrong time when a murder occurred. They went to a convenience store at three in the morning to get some snacks for the two of you. Then, two mornings later, they are arrested and charged for murder, on the behalf of the crime that occurred minutes after they had left that same convenience store. They are put on trial and sentenced to death, however; you know they are innocent and it’s all a mistake, but it’s too late. One of the most controversial issues in the Criminal Justice system today is capital punishment. Capital punishment defines as the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime. Death Penalty defines as the punishment of execution, administered to someone

In most states, a person convicted of first degree murder has the potential to be given the death penalty. Capital punishment is a subject that can be counted upon to stir emotion and controversy into any conversation or argument. The very concept provokes a profusion of valid questions and opinions. Today's daily world of

Whether capital punishment is fair or not a longstanding controversy. Currently the punishment has still been carried out in some countries, such as China and the United States. Numbers of capital punishment in China is in the first place, compared to other countries (Sterbenz, 2014). However, 98 countries have abolished capital punishment (Amnesty International facts and figures on the death penalty, 2007). Although most of countries have no capital punishment to crimes, it is still argued whether it can decrease crime rate and other social issues.

The death penalty is one of the most controversial arguments in this era as it determines the ultimatum of life or death. While it remains legal in a majority of states in America, it is debatable based around the aspects of morality, practical grounds, and cost efficiency. At the same time many believe that it is an effective way of eliminating crime in society as it has been this way since people began hanging colonist for witchcraft. Former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, who has studied the death penalty more than half his life, argues the negative effect the death penalty tolls on our morality as it “lowers us all” as human beings and only reflects the meaning of our life as hatred. American political writer and panelist on a CNN political

Beasley, David. “The Case Against The Death Penalty” American Civil Liberties Union, 12 Jan. 2001. Accessed 8 Mar.

The sun is overshadowed today with the cloud of death lingering in the air. Everything is somber, watching a man prepare to take his last breath in the name of justice. As the clock ticks away to the man’s fate, so do his crimes. For the crimes he committed can’t be forgiven and shall be given the justice of the ancient times. The life for a life shall be commenced as the clock ticks his final moments. As the countdown ends, the world watches the man’s last breath. The man is dead and justice has been served, but what if this man was innocent? What of the executioners who were serving justice, actually killed an innocent man? Who should take responsibility for this? Nothing can be done, the man is dead. Documentation of executions by capital punishment, or the more commonly known death penalty, has been engrained in America since the colonial times. However, wrongful convictions are a world of unknown. By definition, they are unobserved when they occur. So, why do we allow such unobservable events a chance to end an innocent person’s life? Due to this, the death penalty is a detriment to the American judicial system, because it allows errors when compared to many other humbler methods, such as life without parole. You can see the differences by the expenses and length of time it takes to execute both of these justices. Not to mention the current standards of evidence that still can convict people wrongfully, as well as the supposed deterrence of the death penalty.

     The death penalty is a controversial issue to discuss. There are some who believe that the crime should fit the punishment. There are also many people who oppose the death penalty. They believe that life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is a just punishment. I am strongly opposed to the death penalty for many different reasons both moral and ethical.

Death penalties back in the Eighteenth Century B.C. had different methods of execution, such as crucifixion, hanging, burning alive, and the guillotine. However, people began to see the death penalty as a "cruel and unusual" punishment in the early 1960s and unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. I strongly oppose with the statement that the death penalty is reasonable —a life for a life. For the reason being, that capital punishment is not humane and violates human rights. In addition, the death penalty mistakenly gives governments the power to take human life where death has to occur naturally. Moreover, the capital punishment is not complete without race and class bias. Leading to irrevocable consequences and wrongly executing innocent people who had only been victims of our bad decisions. Ultimately, the death penalty is more like a desire for revenge than for justice. After all, these facts put emphasis on my disagreement of the thought that the capital punishment is reasonable.

Capital punishment has been a cause for debate for many years, and people continue to disagree on the topic. A battle rages between Americans who are fighting for a safe and just world, and those who want to abolish the death penalty, weakening our already struggling legal system. Capital punishment may be a controversial subject, but it is one that must be addressed with today's violent society. The death penalty provides the necessary punishment and deterrent for criminals in the United States.