The Death Penalty Should Be Legalized

Throughout the United States an argumentative topic is the death penalty - should it be legalized across the 50 states or be declared unconstitutional? Some believe the death penalty is a better option for those who deserve the highest form of punishment available. However, others argue capital punishment is a waste of resources and should be brought to an end. Therefore, while many believe the death penalty should be legalized throughout the United States because it offers a higher form of punishment, others believe the death penalty should be repealed because it causes unnecessary deaths.

Imagine that you are arrested and going to be tried for a crime that you did, or did not, commit. What if you cannot afford the cost of a lawyer? Will you be able to handle the physical and mental toll that all of the appeals have on a person? The death penalty, or capital punishment, is one of the most debated topics in America. It has been used for centuries, but many claim it to be barbaric, and want the practice to end all together. The death penalty should only be used in cases where there is absolute evidence that the criminal is guilty, because life in prison can be an alternative, there are many flaws in the justice system, and it can be a cruel and unusual punishment.

Historically, executions have been around for a long time. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. but didn’t make an appearance in the United States until 1608 (Part 1, n.d.). Death penalty is seen as a form of accountability for someone’s action. Most easily understood when you take a life, you lose your life--an eye for an eye. Nonetheless, over time people have started humanizing the situation and creating controversy. The Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as permitting the death penalty, until the early 1960s, when it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment, and therefore arguing it as unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment (Part

Over the course of history, the death penalty is a very heated and debatable topic. The death penalty is often viewed as inhumane and cruel. As a country that prides itself on American values and justice, we need to call attention to the criminals sitting in our jails. This is a monumental decision that no one wants to make, but someone has to. My personal stand point of the death penalty is that the death penalty is in place to help rid our society of criminal's that are incapable of being rehabilitated and released back into society. I support the death penalty because these criminals have caused emotional upheaval and are costing our society more funds required to sit in our jails with the life sentence with no parole rather than exercising

The death penalty has been around since the time of Jesus Christ. Executions have been recorded from the 1600s to present times. From about 1620, the executions by year increased in the US. It has been a steady increase up until the 1930s; later the death penalty dropped to zero in the 1970s and then again rose steadily. US citizens said that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was believed that it was "cruel and unusual" punishment (Kurtis 67). In the 1970s, the executions by year dropped between zero and one then started to rise again in the 1980s. In the year 2000, there were nearly one hundred executions in the US (Biskupic 34). On June 29, 1972, the death penalty was suspended because the existing laws were no longer convincing. However, four years after this occurred, several cases came about in Georgia, Florida, and Texas where lawyers wanted the death penalty. This set new laws in these states and later the Supreme Court decided that the death penalty was constitutional under the Eighth Amendment (Biskupic 34).

The death penalty today is a hot button question that many experts cannot agree on. The topic deals with justice, logistics, and human morality which leads to either a person remaining alive or losing their life. It is not an easy choice to make because the death penalty has so much to do with human desires for justice as it does the justice system carrying out just punishments for crimes committed. In almost all of human history, capital punishment has been a punishment that was used to punish individuals who broke laws the society upheld. The United States of America is no different as it still continues to use the death penalty as a punishment in many states across the nation. The United States has contemplated the legality of the death penalty, with multiple court decisions dictating if and what is legal, as discussed in the video produced by CNN (http://www.cnn.com/videos/crime/2014/05/06/orig-jag-death-penalty.cnn/video/playlists/death-penalty/).

The death penalty is a controversial topic in the United States today and has been for a number of years. The death penalty is currently legal in 38 states and two federal jurisdictions (Winters 97). The death penalty statutes were overturned and then reinstated in the United States during the 1970's due to questions concerning its fairness (Flanders 50). The death penalty began to be reinstated slowly, but the rate of executions has increased during the 1990's (Winters103-107). There are a number of arguments in favor of the death penalty. Many death penalty proponents feel that the death penalty reduces crime because it deters people from committing murder if they know that they will receive the death penalty if they are caught. Others

First, the death penalty gives some closure to the victim's families who have suffered enormously. Family members of the crime victims may take years, even decades to recover from the shock and loss of a loved one. Though, some may never recover. But the one thing that helps hasten this recovery is to achieve some kind of closure. Because life in prison only means that the criminal is still around to haunt them. A death sentence would enable them to close that

The death penalty, which can also be referred as capital punishment, has been around for centuries and can even be traced back to the eighteenth century B.C. There is still many complications regarding the death penalty. Some religious beliefs interfere with it and this is why the death penalty is a big issue. The death penalty was first used in America by colonists in Jamestown, Virginia, when they killed Captain George Kendall for being a spy. Ever since then, the death penalty has continued to cause conflict in the judicial system. There are many types of executions used around the world, some can be described as harsh. Many countries have used the death penalty but now some countries are against it. Everyone has a different way of viewing something, the death penalty included.

The death penalty has been around for a while. The first death penalty laws date back to the eighteenth century with the Code of Hammurabi. In the Code of Hammurabi, there were up to twenty five different crimes people could have been executed for. The Hittite Code, The Roman Law, and the Draconian Code of Athens all included

The death penalty has been dated back to the “Ancient Law of China” but it’s mostly known during the time of “King Hammurabi where the death penalty was given for 25 different crimes”. The first actual recorded death penalty usage was set during the “16th century where one was accused of magic, and ordered to take his own life”. In America, the first person known to be put to death was “Captain George Kendall” for allegedly “being a spy for Spain.” What seems to make America’s first interpretation of the death penalty is that it was even used for “minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians”. The death penalty is a way for those to punish people for their

Capital punishment has been a part of the U.S criminal justice system for centuries. The death penalty has been the most controversial aspect. The death penalty is legal in 33 states but the rest of the 19 states abolished it. There are over half of Americans that support the death penalty while the rest of them believe that it is unacceptable. People who support the death penalty believe that capital punishment lowers future crime rates, but people who are against it believe that it is a cruel and think innocent people could be mistakenly put to death for something they did not do. Capital punishment should be allowed because it saves lives, decrease the homicide rate, and saves more money for the government.

The Death Penalty has been used in the United States since the very foundation of our nation; the first recorded case was the execution of Captain George Kendall in 1608 in the Jamestown colony as it was believed Kendall was a spy (DPIC). Americans have seen executions throughout history and are somewhat exposed to the idea but the 21st century is a very different place than the 17th century. This century is a time of equality and rights for people of all

Many who disagree with the death penalty believe it is immoral, discriminates, is very expensive, increases crime, and is only a way to carry out revenge. This, however, is not true. Capital punishment should be legal because it is moral, by not allowing criminals to roam the streets once again. It does not discriminate against those of color or the poor, and is actually less expensive than life imprisonment. The most important reason why the death penalty should be legal is because it deters crime.

Capital crime is something that is meant for people that are found guilty of committing a serious crime, such as murder, rape, or theft. These are offences that should not be taken lightly but by killing the offender, the government is carrying about the action that they are trying to prevent. Also, the wrong person may be sentenced to death. After this person is executed, there is obviously nothing that can be done for the terrible mistake to be reversed. The death penalty should be abolished because it is more expensive than life imprisonment, numerous innocent people are condemned to death row, and it is cruel and inhumane.