The Importance Of The Death Penalty In The United States

Werent we taught as little kids that revenge is never the answer? Then why is there such thing as a death penalty? "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted." This is what is stated in the 14th amendment of the Bill of Rights. So why is there still a death penalty in the United States? The first laws created towards the death penalty go as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which allowed the death penalty to be carried out for 25 different crimes. In these early times death sentences were done by means of crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. Newer ways to go about the death penalty, more nineteenth century, include hanging, electric chair, gas chamber, and lethal injection. What do all these methods have in common? Well, they are all used to execute someone who has committed an extremely wrongful crime when there are better ways to deal with such individuals. Capital punishment is barbaric and goes against what is said in the Bill of Rights. There are numerous reasons why the death penalty should be removed from the 32 states that still allow it.

Capital punishment, more commonly known as the death penalty has been a divided issue in the United States for a long time. The argument for capital punishment is important because no problem has ever been more consistent in a society as much as crime and the reliable methods of preventing it. Currently there are 31 states in which the death penalty is legal with the primary use being lethal injection. However this leaves 19 states where the most dangerous criminals relax for the rest of their lives costing hard worked tax dollars and providing nothing back to society. I believe the death penalty should be legalized in the entire nation and I will prove why the opposing arguments do not hold up.

The death penalty is sometimes known as capital punishment. This where a person can be put to death legally by the state for a crime he/she is accused of committing. The sentence to execute the person is called the death sentence and carry out the act to punish the violation is the execution. The death penalty is not a new practice and is not limited to the United States. Literally death penalty refers to a person being tortured in public. About 90% of all execution occur in Asia. Many nations now prohibit the use of the death penalty as punishment.

The death penalty is an issue that has the United States divided. The death penalty is a controversial problem in law that has become a popular debate among politicians due to its economical and ethical issues. While there are many who encourage it, there is also a huge amount of those who are against it, including myself. I believe the death penalty should be illegal throughout the country.

Now there is a lot that the United States could do to get rid of the death penalty. The government could pass a law on the Federal level or the states could individually do it. The last option would be the last option since many states, like Texas, would not willingly get rid of the death penalty. However if they, the Federal government should use a model similar to the European Model. It is common knowledge the stance of the European Union, but Behrmann and Yorke wrote it best in their article entitled “The European Union and Abolition of the Death Penalty:”

The majority of people believe that the death penalty is applied fairly today in the US. According to Washington D.C; six out of 10 people favor the death penalty. People might think (at first,) that the death penalty is cruel, until they actually know what and why it is used for. The death penalty is mostly used on convicted murders, while some have been used for on extreme cases relating to aggravated rape. “When asked about the frequency with which the death penalty is imposed, 40% of Americans say it is not imposed enough, with the remainder equally divided between saying it is imposed "too often" (27%) or "about the right amount" (27%).”(Dugan) With this only 27% of people think that the death penalty is applied “too often”, while 40%

The death penalty in the U.S. is a very serious concern still to this day. Capital punishment is the same exact thing as the death penalty, it is a governed sanctioned practice to put a person to death. The death penalty effects all people whether it be because of the crime the person committed to receive the death penalty or the person’s family. This is a major controversy in the U.S. because some people think that you should not put a person to death or keep them locked up for doing something that is not a norm. While others believe that you must have some type of punishment so that people will be more likely to not commit a horrible crime. When people do commit egregious crimes, like murder or rape, they are to be punished by law if proven

The penalty of death in return for a crime is a direct representation of the inhuman cruelty of our society.

When thinking of problems that face the United States today, what are the first problems that a regular citizen would think of? Many would say the police officers or the war on drugs or the recent terrorist attacks, but how many people would say the death penalty? The death penalty is a plague that is sparring with the modern citizens of the United States, but the problems and controversies associated with this epidemic are often-times swept under the rug and leave the masses misinformed or uninformed. What if the gatekeepers of good and evil, the United States government, incited torture and pain onto its citizens instead of the promised benefit and relief? The death penalty is not the painless and humane death that it is claimed to be; countless

In order to limit the number of crimes, keeping innocent people from getting executed, and save the taxpayers millions of dollars, we need to eliminate the death penalty in all states for good. Capital punishment has occurred in the U.S. since colonial times. Since then, more than 13,000 people have been lawfully executed. There are 31 states that still allow the death penalty, and they must change. These states need to eliminate it on the grounds that it transmits a dangerous risk of punishing the innocent, it is wrong and cruel, and is an ineffective prevention of crime versus the other option of life in prison without parole.

Should capital punishment/ death penalty be abolished in the United States? Many feel that the death penalty is immoral and question whether the state and federal government deserve the right to kill those whom it has imprisoned. On the other hand, those opposed feel that by not acting upon the death penalty communities would plunge in anarchy and that by having the death penalty it honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor able to control his/her own destiny for good or for ill. However, others believe it serves as a deterrent for citizens not to commit crimes, in fear of death. While others argue that there is no scientific evidence that supports this claim, that states that abolished the death penalty showed no significant change in crime or murder rate. States that have the death penalty did not have lower crime or murder rates. Therefore, the death penalty does not act as a deterrent. Although, abolitionist think killing the person who has killed someone close to you is simply to continue the cycle of violence, which ultimately destroys the avenger as well as the offender. Retribution is not really a rational response to a critical situation and it contaminates the otherwise good will which any human being needs to progress in love and understanding. In contrast, the opposition believes that society

Capital punishment has been a constant heated debate throughout the world, let alone, America. This punishment, also known as the death penalty, is when a person who has been convicted by the court of law can be sentenced to death. Many may argue that Capital Punishment is inhumane, portrays social injustice and does not guarantee deterrence. With thirty two states that still use this form of punishment, passing an abolishment on the death penalty would be a wasteful time-consuming act when there are other social problems we should advert our attention towards, especially when bills and laws can take up to twenty years to pass through each level of government. A just society requires the death penalty for the taking of lives. The death penalty is a necessary punishment in the modern age due to increasing terrorism, serial killers, and heinous crimes that are being committed. It is not vengeful, just fair. Capital Punishment deters crime, provides closure and vindication, and prevents the power of re-offending using retribution. As a society we should

The death penalty has been implemented in the world since the early eighteenth century. When the United Stated was created they adopted this policy because it was one of the only way of punishment the world knew. But as time has gone on many countries have moved away from this practice in favor of long prison sentences and other types of crime determents. This is a very controversial topic in the U.S. within the recent years because many political figures have come out passionately on either side of the issue. Many people say that the U.S. needs to strongly consider moving away from sentencing people to death as quick as possible because many people’s lives are on the line. The death penalty has proved ineffective in deterring crime, is

When we look at death penalty in America, it actually looks really good. According to an article by Lipka, Michael, more than half of America’s population, exactly 55%, favor death penalty. Recently Governor Jay Inslee announced that the State of Washington will not use death penalty while he is in office. In two thousand and eleven, Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon made the same move. The number of American’s who favor death penalty has declined a lot over the last two decades. In nineteen ninety-six about three-fourths, exactly 78%, of U.S citizens favored capital punishment. The big questions is then, to give people the opportunity to specify whether they “strongly favor” or “strongly oppose” the death penalty. In two thousand and thirteen only 18% of America’s population said they “strongly favor” death penalty. That is a very steep drop from 28% who said this in two thousand and eleven. America is now left with thirty-two states where death penalty in legal. (Lipka, Michael)

The death penalty is faulty in its age and obsolete in its usage, and frankly should be put out of its misery. Capital punishment began its time in the Middle Ages, as people were executed for simply thinking differently from the rest of society. Even now, as we look back on history we find their ways of execution purely barbaric and malicious in all its forms. However, we continue to practice these forms of butchery; the traditional method of execution, hanging, is still an option available in certain states. In addition, couple of states also still allow firing squads, and the electrocution chairs has been readily used throughout the last century. The United States stands as one of the few developed nations with a death penalty still in place. There’s a reason most of the European countries have banned the usage of death as punishment, it’s cruel, unusual and barbaric! Is that the image the U.S. wants to portray the alling regions, one of intolerance and unforgiveness? The United States surpasses those barbaric ways, with its exceedingly advanced ways and state-of-the-art technology, yet it’s one of the only countries left of the Western world that still has