The Importance Of The Death Penalty

More than two centuries ago, the death penalty was commonplace in the United States, but today it is becoming increasingly rare. In the article “Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?”, Diann Rust-Tierney argues that it should be abolished, and Joshua Marquis argues that it should not be abolished. Although the death penalty is prone to error and discrimination, the death penalty should not be abolished because several studies show that the death penalty has a clear deterrent effect, and we need capital punishment for those certain cases in which a killer is beyond redemption.

“The use of the death penalty in the United States has been rapidly declining since the end of the 1990s” (Dieter, 2015). This is contrast to the believes of the Founding Fathers where “the death penalty was widely accepted at the time the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights were ratified” (Gardner & Anderson, 2014). While the crimes have not changed, aspects of capital punishment which were once viewed as constitutional, today are deemed cruel and unusual. The prevailing liberal view sees the death penalty as morally unjustified and a vengeful form retribution. “It is the most brutal form of state power, requires massive state administrations and it costs significantly more than life imprisonment which is both more humane and equally effective” (Davidson, 2015). They point to the lack of deterrence it provides and highlight the racial and gender biases of the criminal justice system and the potential for the execution of the innocent by the State. In contrast, those in favor of capital punishment see it as a valid, moral and constitutional punishment as punishments should be imposed in proportion to the crime. The death penalty is reserved for the most violent of crimes in society and without it, justice is not achieved for victims and their families. The death penalty must be viewed again as a valid, moral and legal

Many people question the need for the death penalty, the execution of those who have committed certain crimes, as a capital punishment. For instance, the author of “Against the American System of Capital Punishment”, Jack Greenburg, who is a Professor of Law at Columbia University, argues that the death penalty does not benefit society and is not necessary. Likewise, Kevin Johnson, writer of “Study Finds No Evidence Death Penalty Deters Crime”, also argues against the use of the death penalty by pointing out the flaws in the common research of deterrence. On the other hand, some may also argue for the many aids the death penalty offers. Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy at Fordham University, Ernest Van den Haag, with his “The Ultimate Punishment: a Defense”, and authors James M. Reams and Charles T. Putnam, with their article, “Making a Case for the Deterrence Effect of Capital Punishment”, both give arguments for the grander justice the death penalty offers. While each of these articles give very well thought out claims for the necessity of the death penalty, using arguments including racism, and deterrence, Van den Haag’s claim gives the clearest and best arguments.

“We have killers walking among us. We have killers living in our neighborhoods,” explained Howard Morton, executive director of families of homicide victims and missing persons. With the disappearance of the death penalty, violent crimes are more likely to occur. Frightened for their lives, murders would wonder what repercussions they will face. Legalizing executions would make America safer, criminals would think before committing crimes, and they do not learn from their mistakes in prison, making the re-commit crime rate higher.

The death penalty is arguably one of the most controversial issues of our time. Currently, only eighteen states and Washington D.C. have abolished the death penalty. However, the question remains: what does research say for or against the death penalty? In 2009, a study was done that found the statistic that 88% of criminologists believed that capital punishment is not a deterrent to murder (Radelet and Lacock, 2009). The majority of research also points to the conclusion that the journey from arrest, to trial, to execution is extremely expensive, even more so than that of a life sentence. Finally, who considers the people tasked with performing the execution? What about their mental health? Through examining the death penalty’s facts, deterrence,

The United States should not stop using the death penalty. Most criminals that are sentenced to the death penalty would have to serve 100 years to life prison sentences if not legally killed. Therefore, there would be more felons to be accommodated for in each prison, causing overcrowding. Which potentially could lead to lethal offenders getting parole and let out into the world. Another reason the death penalty should continue to be used in the U.S. is that it increases the possibility of prisoners escaping if we don’t. Like it was said before, there would be more prisoners, hence more odds of one or more escaping. Escaped prisoners are even more of a threat to the world than ever. This is because once they have escaped they are on the run,

Many Americans believe the death penalty should be allowed in order to deter crime and bring justice. This belief often stems from the violent world they are shown every day in the news. Understandably they hear and see these violent crimes and think that extreme punishments must be given for extreme crimes. Despite this, 37% of Americans oppose the death penalty (Gallop). These people often argue that not only does capital punishment fail to solve the growing crime problem in the U.S., but that innocent people can be executed in the pursuit of justice. This is certainly true; not even supporters of the death penalty would deny that point. After all, no matter how great we think our justice system is, there are flaws in it just like in every other criminal justice system. The flawed nature of our justice system brings about a very important question, though: what is justice? While it is sometimes difficult to give a simple and comprehensive definition of justice, saying it is fair and reasonable behavior is a good and short definition. Since our justice system will continue to be flawed and humans are sometimes unreasonable and unfair, we cannot possibly have justice all the time; an innocent person will end up being punished at some point. Since this is the case, justice must be whatever the most beneficial option available is. Needless to say, if the death penalty is allowed it must be because it is the most productive option since justice must be productive if it is

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

Why, after all the executions of people who were later proven innocent, is the death penalty still a justifiable outcome in the legal systems of developed countries? The United States has been ranked fifth for the highest number of executions. According to Alexis Manning, “ the U.S has a strict attitude toward punishment in general.” The death penalty is the punishment of execution administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. There are a variety of ways people see the death penalty. Some people oppose the death penalty and some agree with it, those who support the death penalty think that those who are on death row should be killed faster, but the opposition states that the death penalty is uncivilized in our country.

believe the death penalty should not be used in the united states. It does nothing beneficial to any party involved. The death penalty does not drop crime rates the cost of putting someone on death row is much greater than someone being in jail for the rest of their life.

Burgess, Regehr & Roberts (2013), lamented “The Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, controlled the use of capital punishment by prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment in the Eighth Amendment” (p. 175). The justice system has valid alternatives to the death penalty, such as life imprisonment without parole, that constitute adequate punishment even for the most repugnant crimes. Moreover, it is dangerous to engage in ethical equivalencies and hierarchically rank human beings; the point should not be to judge whose life is more vulnerable, but rather to affirm that all human life must be valued. A system that ends a human existence cannot stand in a righteous and just society. The solution is for the justice system to provide remedy to victims, not vengeance. Moreover, this view fails to give due credence to the reality that the death penalty system has not been and cannot be proven to be a successful deterrent, is more expensive than relevant alternatives because of the appellate process, is subject to human error, and is often riddled with economic and racial bias in its application. The irrevocable nature of the death penalty renders it an unsustainable and indefensible remedy in an imperfect justice system. What should be done to the death penalty is not an intellectual exercise. The death penalty can divide and damage families, due to the fact that death is final and because individuals have deeply held feelings about the morality and utility of executions, unlike any other punishment the death penalty creates irreconcilable conflict amongst the surviving family members of murder

When examining more closely, the details about how capital punishment is practiced can also be puzzling. Because there are no perfect beings in this world, the justice system is inalterably flawed; even with the advancing technology, there will never a guarantee on not executing the innocent if capital punishment is not abolished. For instance, even though the Court had prohibited the sentencing of an offender to death such that race and class dominate an important part to the consideration of the verdict, racial discrimination still occurs frequently in the capital punishment system. Black jurors, black defendants, and black victims are significantly deprived. It is much more probable for a black defendant to be executed over a white defendant;

The death penalty has been one of those things in the justice system that has slowly changed as the years have gone by. The death penalty has its pros and cons. There are guilty people who deserve the death penalty and then there are innocent people who get convicted of crimes that they didn’t do. This paper will let you open your eyes to the criminal justice system, specifically to the death penalty.

In the constitution and criminal justice system in the united states the death penalty is us used only for the most heinous of crimes. Some of these crimes include treason,espionage, murder, large scale drug trafficking a rape. The constitution states that it is a reasonable punishment and it is also necessary and justified in punishment of crime and the justice system. And truth be told america needs the death penalty. Here are the reasons why capital punishment are good it can save money in the prison system, it deters crime and repeat offences and it also brings a feeling of relief to the victims and the family of the victims.

In contrast, the question of deterrence can be answered objectively using common sense and statistics. By analyzing different arguments for and against the death penalty, such as the "fear of death" myth, the cost of the death penalty, and the racial and economic bias of the death penalty, it can be shown that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent of crime.