The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

In 1989, Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted and executed for the deaths of his three daughters in a 1991 house fire near Corsicana, Texas. In 2009, the Texas Forensic Science Commission received an arson expert’s report that the investigation leading to his conviction was so flawed, that it’s finding could not be supported. Scientific experts — who debunked the arson evidence used against Willingham at his 1992 trial — convinced District Court Judge Charlie Baird in 2010 that the state of Texas wrongfully convicted him. However, Baird’s intended order never came to light because the court of appeals criticized his handling of the case and prevented him from working on it before he left the bench at the end of 2010 after choosing not to seek re-election. This case is a perfect example of why capital punishment should be abolished. Capital punishment, which is commonly known as the “death penalty,” is the lawful infliction of death as a punishment in response to a crime. Its motive is not found as morally correct but rather found as getting revenge against those who have committed an atrocious crime. Like the Willingham case, the justice system contains mistakes or flaws, which evolves into the killing of the innocent who are imprisoned. Consequently, it is imperative the focus is centered on the awareness that killing a human is absolutely wrong under all circumstances. Capital punishment is cruel, inhumane, and degrading; therefore, regardless of who is accused, the crime

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been a part of the American Justice System since the begging, but for years it raised much controversy over its social issues, questioning its validity and fairness. The death penalty is the sentence of execution given to someone convicted of a capital crime such as murder or treason. Many civilizations and early societies used the death penalty before in history. Common explanations to be sentenced include war crimes, treason, murder, and espionage. Formerly, capital punishment was accompanied by torture and performed publically. It was often believed to be unprejudiced because it is retribution towards criminals who committed heinous acts. In contrast, it is currently a controversial debate whether or not the death penalty is socially acceptable as many see it is inhumane. The United States currently has five forms of execution include: hanging, beheading, chair electrocution, lethal injection, lethal gas, and firing squad (Gray). Each of them is cruel in their own way. Punishing a person with death is outdated, barbarous, and many nations evolved so they reprimanded this penalty years ago. Government sanctioned capital punishment is wrong and it should be abolished because it could potentially kill the innocent, denies people of rehabilitation, denies a citizen’s right to live, and overall does not benefit society.

Capital punishment has been used in order to execute criminals who have committed some of the most heinous crimes throughout United States history.  Although the crime rate is considerably lower than in years past, the death penalty is still in effect in many states. More than two-thirds of the states in the U.S. still use capital punishment as the ultimate penalty for criminals. Supporters of the death penalty claim that there is a line that cannot be crossed without receiving the ultimate punishment. However, there are many opponents of the continued use of capital punishment because of moral and economic reasons. Due to the fact that the death penalty is immoral, affects the families of the victims, is racially discriminatory, and economically unsound, opposers believe capital punishment should be outlawed in all states.

Capital punishment is defined in the dictionary as, “the practice of killing people as punishment for serious crimes” (“capital punishment”). Murder is defined in the dictionary as, “the crime of unlawfully killing a person, especially with a malice aforethought” (“murder”). If murder is wrong, what does that make of capital punishment? The only difference between these two is that one is a legal form of murder and the other is not. There are currently 31 states that use the death penalty that should abolish it on the grounds of: accidentally executing an innocent, the high-cost of carrying out an execution, trauma to families and executioners, and for the simplest reason of all, “to end the perpetual cycle of violence…it is wrong to teach killing is wrong by killing” (Fisanick 29)

The death penalty is a humane method of giving punishment to people who are savage killers. Capital punishment is lawful, dissuades ferocious wrongdoings, and is a fair punishment in the enormous majority of death row circumstances. Furthermore, capital punishment was reinstated by the U.S Supreme Court in 1976, and since then, more than 1,420 prisoners have been executed. In addition, lethal injection is the most common form of execution in the United States, which is a series of injections of three drugs that cause an overdose that is fatal to the prisoner. Although rarely used, other methods of execution are electrocution, death by firing squad, and hanging. However, there are some who believe that there are too many people who are punished for crimes that they did not commit; and that capital punishment is unconstitutional, inhumane, and is not effective at preventing crime. Furthermore, lethal injection is one of the most humane and common methods of execution in the United States.

In the United States more than 1,423 people have been put to death since 1976, when the Supreme Court alleviated the moratorium on capital punishment (McKeown). Capital punishment is act of killing inmates performed by state for serious crimes. The death penalty is applied unfairly towards people. Also, it goes against the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment to individuals. Capital punishment ought to be abolished due to the state killing in discriminatory ways. The opposition claims that the death penalty is effective for deterring crime and not imposed enough. However, there are other alternatives for punishment, such as life without parole.

The death penalty is put into place when a person of some sort commits murder or rape or something to an extreme extent, is lethally injected and put to death because of the crime.

Over half the world’s countries have abolished the death penalty, the United States of America is one of the countries who haven’t. Out of the 50 states, 28 of the states don’t practice the death penalty, meaning 32 states still practice Capital punishment. Capital punishment is one of the most debated topics in America. Every argument brought up by one side of the debate is immediately challenged by the opposing side. Everyone appears to have a stance in this ongoing dispute. Although some opponents support capital punishment, it should be abolished and an alternate found in its place because it doesn’t give the victim’s family closure, the inhumane conditions during death row, and the fact it doesn’t work as a deterrent. Capital punishment is one of the most debated topics in America. Every argument brought up by one side of the debate is immediately challenged by the opposing side. Everyone appears to have a stance in this ongoing dispute. Although some opponents support capital punishment, it should be abolished and an alternate found in its place because it doesn’t give the victim’s family closure, the inhumane conditions during death row, and the fact it doesn’t work as a deterrent.

The death penalty is still a valid form of punishment in the United States and the debate of whether or not this is a just act has been of popular discussion. The controversy surrounding capital punishment and its morality has been an argument since the formation of the anti-death penalty movement. Many abolitionist argue the morality and constitutionality argument of capital punishment stating that “it [is] morally wrong, and even unconstitutional (Sween).” This is because anti-death penalty organizations like ones in Maryland claim that not only is it unjust to kill a person, but that “capital sentencing… is prone to racial bias and fails to deter crime (McLaughlin).” In addition, the death penalty could be construed as cruel and unusual punishment and would be therefore unconstitutional. While people who are pro death penalty argue that a twisted form of justice should be served. Although the abolitionist movement has been around for centuries, little headway has been made in the name of ending capital punishment in America. That is until the argument of economics within the death penalty was popularized in the nineties (McLaughlin). This argument of finances is structured around the inefficiencies of the economics of administering the death penalty along with the process of the death penalty. In addition, there are many flaws within the system of capital punishment. “Columbia University published a report on capital punishment in 2000, which found that 68%

Capital punishment has been a sentence for many years, but it dates back to Eighteenth Century B.C. During this time there was 25 crimes that could be committed that would result in the death penalty. The most common forms of the Capital Punishment were hanging, beheading, stoning, and other vicious forms of death(https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-penalty). Eventually Capital Punishment was reinstated, which only sentenced criminals to death in the case of “ aircraft hijacking… a drug-related drive-by shooting, murder during a kidnapping, murder for hire, and genocide”(https://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004927). There is of course plenty of other capital offenses that will result in the death penalty, but these are the most common. With this sentence comes quite a few drawbacks when it comes to the political side of it. To understand what the most significant issues political leaders face when it comes to Capital punishment, first it’s crucial to know what Capital punishment is. Capital punishment, also known as the Death Penalty, is a terminal punishment given by the state, and is sentenced to someone who has been convicted of an intensely cruel criminal offense. Capital Punishment is an intricate issue, but the main questions imposed are what is the problem, how does it directly affect the political process, and why its more significant than other worldly issues?

According to former president Jimmy Carter, “There has never been any evidence that the death penalty reduces capital crimes or that crimes increased when executions stopped. Tragic mistakes are prevalent...It is clear that there are overwhelming ethical, financial, and religious reasons to abolish the death penalty.”

For hundreds of years, capital punishment has been the solution to crimes committed by the people of the United States and many other countries which leads to an endless debate on whether the death penalty should exist or should be abolished. Many people may support the death penalty because the convicted will get what they deserve. On the contrary, those who oppose the death penalty bring up the reasoning of the wrongly convicted. The clash of these debates has created a large amount of controversy.

Capital punishment is a failed and outdated government practice. The death penalty denies citizens of civil liberties and is in direct conflict with the values of the democratic system. American citizens have fallen victim to the penalty of execution and it is time we demand action. For centuries capital punishment has been the subject for criticism; according to Deathpenalty.procon.org, back in the late seventeen hundreds an Italian Jurist name Beccaria, "The first prominent European to call for an end to the death penalty, Beccaria is considered the founder of the modern abolition movement. He published a prolific article about Crimes and Punishments; it was the first key study of the criminal justice system as it functioned in eighteenth-century Europe; it was also the first to call for the abolishment of capital punishment. It still stands as the greatest significant attack on the death penalty ever published. With that being said, today we are still going through this continuous battle to abolish capital punishment.

Imagine, one day you start your day off like normal when suddenly a tragedy strikes, your parents or loved ones were brutally murdered during a home invasion, luckily the suspects were caught. The amount of rage and emotion that would fill you would be immense but you would be left thinking, whats next? What is going to happen to those that chose to inflict such harm on you and your family. The answer, capital punishment, a form of punishment that is often times under heavy fire for being a form of cruel and unusual punishment. In my eyes, capital punishment is not at all wrong and in most cases where it is enforced it’s justified.

The death penalty is a very controversial topic. Although there is a lot of evidence supporting both sides, over half of Americans are for capital punishment in some shape or form, but what causes someone to be sentenced to death? According to the article, “Against the American System of Capital Punishment” by Jack Greenberg, the worst crime is “a putative killer of one’s parent or child” (Greenberg). What makes this so much worse than any other crime? And, of the few executions, how many of these people are getting executed for the worst crime? Some people say the death penalty should continue and there should be more executions, but personally, I think it should be banned in all states. Through the history of my brother in law to what the law actually states the death penalty should no longer be in place.