The Debate Over the Morality of the Death Penalty Essay

The death penalty is a controversial topic in the United States today and has been for a number of years. The death penalty was overturned and then reinstated in the United States during the 1970's due to questions concerning its fairness. The death penalty began to be reinstated slowly, but the rate of executions has increased during the 1990's. There are a number of arguments for and against the death penalty. Many death penalty supporters 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 in favor of the death penalty feel that even if it doesn't deter others from committing crimes, it will eliminate

Thousands of people will attack the death penalty. They will give emotional speeches about the one innocent man or woman who might accidentally get an execution sentence. However, all of these people are forgetting one crucial element. They are forgetting the thousands of victims who die every year by the hands of heartless murderers. There are more murderers out there than people who are wrongly convicted, and that is what we must remember.

The question of ethical behavior is an age-old conundrum. The prevailing issue with ethics is that it is extremely difficult to measure. A person’s moral fabric is largely based on their particular personality traits, as well as, their psychological state and environmental influences. Many believe that ethics are tied to a person’s conscience, and that good morals are often facilitated by a strong religious background. Furthermore, a person’s moral development can be linked to their economic situation and cultural differences. Interestingly, even while examining the status of one’s moral code is challenging; everyone seems to have their own unique array of ethics.

The issue of capital punishment is one that has been in discussion for many years. How can anyone control the life of another human being? The accused may have taken the life of another citizen but what gives anyone the right to take his. This is the main point of the question but it gets vastly more complicated as the issue is further investigated. For instance, the psychopath who goes on a murderous rampage might have an abnormality with the frontal lobe of the cortex in his brain. Now, if this is the case this person may not be able to control his murderous impulses. So, should this person be punished, and not only should he or she be punished but should the punishment be done for retribution? After all, most punishment is based

Most people in the United States believe we should have the death penalty. They believe that the death penalty keeps people from committing crimes. Most of these people today think that people will get scared of being executed by gas or needle and that they won’t commit real bad crimes. A lot of other people believe that it is just plain wrong to kill someone and no one should be killed for any reason even murder and rape and so they are against the death penalty. I will talk to you about these problems with the death penalty in my paper. Everyone should ask themselves what they believe. Do you believe that by killing people using the death it will save lives. The death penalty is called capital punishment. You get sentenced with

The death penalty is a topic that has been around for years that deals with ethics, a set of moral principles or values. This issue has been constantly filled with people’s emotions, attitudes, and their beliefs from all walks of life. There are people in favor of the death penalty while others will argue against it. No matter how the world changes there will never be a final argument or resolution to the understanding, acknowledgement, or ending to the rights or wrongs of the death penalty.

The Death Penalty Discussion In today’s world terrible crimes are being committed daily. Many people believe that these criminals deserve one fate; death. Death penalty is the maximum sentence used in punishing people who kill another human being and is a very controversial method of punishment. Capital punishment is a legal infliction of death penalty and since ancient times it has bee used to punish a large variety of offences.

We have all heard the saying “eye for an eye,” and many people think it should be equivocated with capital punishment too. If a person murders someone else, or commits a gross injustice, why not execute the murderer as well? “Simply putting someone in jail does not compare to taking someone’s life” (Carmical). If a murderer goes to jail the then prisoner gets 3 free meals a day, recreational time, A/C, television, housing, etc. The punishment does not fit the crime. They may not have a lot of freedom, but they have their lives. “In fact, it is morally wrong not to execute a murderer because [all] punishment [should] fit the crime” (Carmical). However, some people think differently about the death penalty.

     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.

Imagine that someone you love or someone very close to you is a victim of a very serious crime, a crime so serious that the person who committed it is now sitting on death row with limited time left to live. How do you think you would feel? Would you be thinking that they deserved to die? Or would you be hoping that evidence would come to light to show them innocent or, even though the crime was horrific would you think they don’t deserve to be punished by death? Would you want to watch the person die at the hands of the law to ensure justice has been served or would you rather they spend the rest of their life in prison as punishment? When violent crime affects you personally it can make the death penalty look like a good option. The

The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and violates the right to life. It's hard for me as a Swede to understand that a country such as USA still have that kind of punishment. For many people and nations the USA serves as a model, so it is to me very difficult to imagine how you can persuade nations like Burma and China to respect basic human rights when you don't do it yourself.

On one end of the argument is the belief that all human lives are of equal merit, because they are humans it gives them equal merit. Therefore no human should ever take the life of another, even if that individual has taken other lives. This argument is mostly favored by people of religious faith, but there are some sensible individuals who also adhere to this as an ethical position. At the other end of the spectrum is an argument in favor of the death penalty because of its ability to get rid of a problematic human so that they will be able to do no more harm. This is a very utilitarianism-like perspective of the death penalty. To examine this perplexing ethical dilemma one must first figure out their stance on what death is, like Socrates would.

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

When committing a rape, murder, or treason does it occur to you that, if Caught, you could be, electrocuted, gassed, or lethally injected? I highly doubt it. So what is it that is running through your mind? Do you honestly think you can murder or rape some innocent person and get away with it? I don’t think so. I feel the death penalty is a great concept. My philosophy is, why should someone that murdered an innocent human being still be able to breathe, while his or her victim cannot? Life without parole is a good idea, but that person is still getting the chance to breathe, eat, sleep, smell, hear, and see while his or her victim cannot. Many people see capital punishment as cruel and wrong, but is not what that person did cruel

When one thinks about the death penalty, they usually think of capital punishment, which is punishment by death as well as a practice by the government of killing people as punishment for serious crimes. Capital punishment has been used in the United States since 1775 when all thirteen colonies were at the outbreak of the American Revolution. It was not until 1787 that the founding fathers allowed the death penalty when writing the constitution. In 1790 United States Congress established a Federal Death Penalty, which was also called the Crimes Act of 1790, that created six capital offenses, treason, counterfeiting, three variations of piracy or felonies on the high seas, and aiding the escape of a capital prisoner, also in that same year the first person was executed under the United States Federal Death Penalty for committing “murder on the high seas”. The end of the 1700s, brought reform for the death penalty laws, like in 1793 the concept of varying degrees of murder was introduced, which softens the death penalty laws.