The Irreversibility Of The Death Penalty

Troy Davis, a black man who was suspected as the killer of a white off-duty police officer, was executed in 2011 with insufficient evidence in the state of Georgia (Bedau). There was no physical evidence or weapon presented in the prosecution and so they had to base their judgement all from eyewitness (Bedau). His execution raised an “international outcry” due to seven out of nine eyewitnesses contradicted their trial testimony and many of them confessed that they felt pressured or threatened by the police at the time (Bedau). Troy Davis have come close to execution three times previous to his death because of the doubts that linger of his innocence (Bedau). However, after passage of a federal law in 1996, it became significantly harder for petitioners to get a hearing from judges because they have limited the amount of times they can appeal death sentence (Bedau). When Troy Davis did get a hearing, the judge required Troy to have a “proof of innocence” – an impossibly high standard according to American Civil Liberties Union and so Troy was not able to defend himself (Bedau). Even with the doubts that was present in this case, the Georgia Board of Pardons persists on executing Troy Davis (Bedau). A modern country in the 21st century like America has lots of resources to almost everything, but we still use a law system as old as time itself. Although the death penalty has been necessary in the past, it is no longer justified in the 21st century.

Each year, approximately about 10,000 innocent people in the United States get convicted of serious crimes that they did not commit. And at least four percent of them receive the death penalty being completely innocent. Scenarios like this happen all the time because there are more and more false persecutions each day which can be easily avoided. Many people are occupying prisons all over the world, for felonies they did not execute. More than 200 people have been exonerated through DNA testing nationwide. But why do these wrongful convictions keep happening?

Death Penalty should be allowed under circumstances also known as capital punishment, where congress or any state legislature recommend the death penalty for murder and other capital crimes. Majority of the states are favor in death penalty, roughly around 32 states are favor and 18 states are against death penalty. In most cases, many argue that death penalty has violated the 8th amendment, where it bans cruel and unusual punishment. Therefore, they would go against death penalty. However, without the sentence to death, the chances of prisoner escaping prison are really high. If they are able to escape prison and get away with it, then they can continue committing crimes. Although some may argue that death penalty is harsh because if you kill someone; and then you take another person’s life, then why should yours be freed? I personally do not agree with death penalty because taking away another person’s life is not going to regain the victim’s life back. However, the victim’s family would want the person to be sentence to death, so the victim can rest in peace. I think that death penalty should be only allowed under circumstances, but then how can you really determined if the case should be ruled with death penalty? And how would the justice system know that they have made the correct decision? Did the decision of sentence to death turn out to be wrong, where the person is later found innocent? There are multiple of questions that people will be more concern about. The

In the article "The Case Against the Death Penalty," which shows up in Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints, Eric Freedman contends that capital punishment does not discourage fierce crime as well as conflicts with decreasing the crime rate. This essay will analyse Freedman 's article from the perspectives of a working man, a needy individual, and a government official.

In Jonah Goldberg’s article, Why Death Penalty Opponents Can’t Win, he dwells on how opponents of capital punishment may seem selective with the cases they bring up to challenge the death penalty. In his article, Goldberg expresses how he believes that abolitionists base their opinions of capital punishment, more or less, off of the fact that there is no way to be absolutely certain of a person’s guilt. He then goes on to state that these opponents cannot win because the cases they make public are more sympathetic in nature (12). While he calls this a good strategy (12), Goldberg goes on to express how he and many advocates believes that one wrongly accused person’s execution does not invalidate the need to lawfully execute the men and women who

Each year approximately about 10,000 innocent people in the United States get convicted of serious crimes that they did not commit. And at least four percent of them receive the death penalty being completely innocent. Scenarios like this happen all the time because there are more and more false persecutions each day which can be easily avoided. Many people are occupying prisons all over the world, for felonies they did not execute. More than 200 people have been exonerated through DNA testing nationwide. But why do these wrongful convictions keep happening?

The death penalty, as we know it today, didn’t exist in the United States until 1976. However, the American penal system has incorporated capital punishment since the earliest settlements were founded in the early 1600’s. The first recorded execution in the United States occurred in 1608 in Jamestown, Virginia when Captain George Kendall was executed just one year after the Jamestown settlement had been established after he had been convicted of being a spy for Spain (Part I: History of the Death Penalty). Over the next 250 years, several states moved toward abolishing capital punishment altogether. While there has been serious push towards ending capital punishment, more than half of state governments within the United States cling onto their right to execute criminals who perform truly heinous crimes.

Since the 1970 's, almost all capital sentences in the United States have been imposed for homicide. There have been intense debates among Americans regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment. Critics charge that executions are violations of the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the Eighth Amendment; while supporters of the death penalty counter that this clause was not intended to prohibit legal executions. In the 1972 court case of Furman vs. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was no longer legal. However, in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the court allowed capital punishments to resume in certain states, and shortly thereafter, Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in Utah. Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States, a separate penalty trial has been required for some capital cases, at which time the jury reviews circumstances that suggest the need for capital punishment. In 1982, Texas became the first state to execute a prisoner using lethal injection; other common methods of execution used in the United States include lethal gas and electrocution.

Bright, Stephen B.: "The death penalty as the answer to crime: costly, counterproductive and corrupting"; 35 Santa Clara Law Review 1211 (1995)

Capital Punishment was adopted by America when the state of Virginia carried out the colonies’ first execution in 1608 (“History of the Death Penalty”). Since then, usage of the death penalty has been instituted by 36 states, making execution the ultimate form of punishment. Although in theory the death penalty seems like a viable method of punishment, in practice, it has serious flaws that damage the integrity of the state. Capital Punishment has been falsely idolized as a deterrent, applied unfairly for generations, used as a vehicle for revenge, and made people blind to the fact that life in prison without parole is an equally acceptable form of punishment. The death penalty is an

Throughout the history of man there has always existed a sort of rule pertaining to retribution for just and unjust acts. For the just came rewards, and for the unjust came punishments. This has been a law as old as time. One philosophy about the treatment of the unjust is most controversial in modern time and throughout our history; which is is the ethical decision of a death penalty. This controversial issue of punishment by death has been going on for centuries. It dates back to as early as 399 B.C.E., to when Socrates was forced to drink hemlock for his “corruption of the youth” and “impiety”.

The issue of capital punishment is a difficult one and the opinions are as diverse as the people giving them. The death penalty exists in 38 states and those that have it spend enormous amounts of tax payer dollars to engage the justice system in what is a long and drawn out series of court dates and appeals that are lasting years. In addition, the trials and appeals of those on Death Row will have attorneys, prosecutors, experts and judges with more experience creating a major strain on the budget and manpower of the state. Nationally there is no study identifying the cost associated with the Death Penalty, but each state uses their state laws and pay scales in determining the cost of the Death Penalty. Prior to the Death Penalty being abolished New York has spent millions of dollars on Death Penalty cases and the result was there were no executions. Those in favor of the death penalty believe that the cost associated with incarcerating an individual for life will far outweigh those associated with the Death Penalty, due to old age, medical issues, food and other essentials needed to keep one alive. This would be true if the Death Penalty was a swift method of justice. The monies spent on Death Penalty cases could be far better spent on local budgets and programs that are evidenced based and proven to provide needed services, such as law enforcement, drug treatment and youth programs.

The idea of capital punishment deterring crime is difficult to determine; some could rationalize that the death penalty should in theory stop potential murders from committing crimes. However, this rationalization has never been concretely proven. The research into capital punishment’s effect on deterrence is immense; however, the majority of research on this issue has differential findings. Although some research suggests conclusively that capital punishment deters crime, others found that it fails to do this. Understanding deterrence, the death penalty, and the results of

Death penalty is a constant source of controversy and divided opinion depending on who you ask. The punishment of death is given to criminals who commit severe crimes. The severity of crimes that attract the death penalty is debatable due to the severity of the crime. The justice system is based upon punishment for crimes committed by emphasizing the punishment fitting the crime committed. Countries such as China and Singapore, and United States, issue the death penalty to punish murderers or rapist, therefore fueling the already going debate on how to befit the punishment is in such cases. All the death penalty aims to achieve is the punishment to those who break the rules. The death penalty has well documented weaknesses as well as strengths. Not least of is brutality and finality, some of these frailties lead to the calls for its abolishment. The death penalty is inhumane. Wrongly applied as well as completely unjustifiable sometimes killing innocent people irrespective of the crime. Life sentence of imprisonment without parole or pardon achieves all that the death penalty seeks to achieve without costing the society its moral standing and families losing those they love.

The debate on whether or not the death penalty should be abolished has been ongoing for quite a long period of time. While there are those who believe that the death penalty does not serve its intended purpose, proponents of the same are convinced that the relevance of the same cannot be overstated and hence it should not be abolished. In this text, I examine the arguments for and against the death penalty.