The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

In this paper I will be discussing everything you need to know about the death penalty such as its pros and cons. While the innocent can be killed, the death penalty has its pros because it prevents them from killing again if they are released or have escaped from prison, it helps overpopulated prisons, and it can help victims’ families get justice and closure. Not only can the innocent be killed, but in the past the death penalty was very inhumane. To some its feels right but to others they feel like 2 wrongs don’t make a right. Most people think that the defendant deserves the death penalty, but what does the defendants’ family think?

The death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime (law.cornell.edu, 2015). The first Congress of the United States authorized the federal death penalty on June 25, 1790 (deathpenalty.org, 2011). The death penalty can also be referred to as capital punishment, however capital punishment also includes a sentence to life in prison, as opposed to strictly executions. A convict can be sentenced to death by various methods including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging. After the death penalty was established, many debates have arisen arguing that these methods violate several of the United States’ Amendments. Select cases have been accused of violating the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. It is important to note that the judiciary goes through a series of processes prior to deciding a sentence for a capital crime. Many factors influencing the verdict include proportional analysis, individualized sentencing, method of execution, and classes of people not eligible of the death penalty. This paper will discuss brief descriptions of the methods used for executions, economical issues, the Supreme Court’s opinion regarding the death penalty, as well as important factors that make up the proportional analysis, individual sentencing process, method used, and determining classes of people who are not eligible for the death penalty.

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

The eighth amendment claims that there would be no cruel and unusual punishment. Furthermore, Williams writes, “In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court suspended the death penalty on the grounds it violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment (2011, 2)”. Supporters of this do not believe that it is fair to kill someone for a crime. The most common forms of executions in the United States are lethal injection, electrocution, and lethal gas. People believe that these ways of execution are in humane, and according to Williams article -- The Cost of Punishment -- “has no place in society”. Also, people who argue the death penalty say that it is a costly alternative to life sentencing in prison. ( quoted material from argues side cost of punishment.) It also says that on average it only takes twenty thousand dollars to keep an inmate in jail for a year, While the death punishment requires much more money to carry out. Whether it be because of the violation of the eighth amendment, or the cost to carry out, the death penalty is not in agreement with all of the American

) Moreover, the pattern of this kind of murderer, the killer, is almost by definition a person who takes his chances like the soldier of fortune he thinks he is. (37) Most killers do not engage in anything like a cost-benefit analysis. They are impulsive, and they kill impulsively. If capital punishment does deter criminals, it can do so only indirectly. Potential murderers must have some standard of right and wrong. They must acknowledge morals issues. They must be without mental illness and they know and have the capacity to think about what they are doing. This conception of general deterrence seems deeply flawed because it rests upon a doubtful conception of how this murderous population internalizes social norms. Although the perpetrator

The courts positions of the death penalty has changed over the years. For centuries societies have used death as the ultimate penalty for crime. In the 1960's, the court ruled against the death penalty as a "cruel and unusual punishment", which was forbidden by the eighth amendment of the Constitution. By the 1990's the death penalty was again in wide use supported by the court and Congress, which continually expanded by legislation the crimes for which death would be an acceptable penalty.

The death penalty has been battered backwards and forwards by the questions of abolishment and replacement, with mixed results. There seems to a jagged line in the sand on where people stand, and due to the continuous use today (albeit at a slower clip than in the past), it is still very much a prevalent topic of punishment. Those who argue for it believe that taking it away will take away a great deterrent, that families find peace, and that those who commit egregious crimes deserve only death. Anything less “would fail to do justice because the penalty – presumably a long period in prison – would be grossly disproportionate to the heinousness of the crime” (“Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments,” 2016). Those who don’t believe in this punishment as a modern-day, useful tool of deterrence and punishment for crime, continuously counter these arguments, as well as any others, daily at every turn. Though many states have made it illegal, others placing moratoriums or refusals to use it, the death penalty can still be found active today. But why can’t it be replaced with life without parole, and it if can why should it?

The death penalty in the United States can be traced all the way to early American history when it was under the colonial rule of Britain. Though in early history the death penalty was used for even menial crimes such as burglary, capital punishment in the United States is currently used for only the most heinous crimes, such as first degree murder, rape, treason, or espionage. Because the nation was unified under similar Christian beliefs, there was no question of how death could be the worst punishment for the worst crimes. However, through diversified religions and a growing sensitivity to criminal rights, the death penalty is increasingly under more scrutiny in regards to the 8th amendment, which bans the implementation of cruel and unusual punishments. In Furman v. Georgia, three inmates challenged the legality of their sentences, bringing light to the questionable relationship between capital punishment and the Eighth Amendment. In order to appease this realization that the death penalty was too gruesome, many states have changed their execution methods from hangings and electrocution to lethal injections that create a more seemingly peaceful death. “In fact, death penalty opponents often argue against the use of lethal injections on the grounds that this method makes executions more palatable to the public by creating the appearance that the inmate is simply being put to sleep” (Radelet, Borg 54). However, though lethal injections are far less violent compared to

Capital Punishment has historically divided the United States and its meaning has changed depending on the time period. Capital Punishment, the “punishment by death for a crime,” has existed in societies throughout history. In the United States, the constitutionality of Capital Punishment is a debated topic; but the morality behind the death penalty is an often passionate and intense argument. At the birth of the United States and creation of the Constitution, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments have been interpreted to permit the death penalty. While the Fifth Amendment states, “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law;” the Fourteenth Amendment restricts “cruel and unusual punishment.” Bruce Nelson,

Capital punishment in the United States is becoming more and more of a topic of conversation and controversy; eighteen states have outlawed the death penalty and the governors of three other states declaring a moratorium, meaning they will not sign executions during their time in office (Lovett). The national trend of banning the death penalty should definitely continue. Many criminals on death row are exonerated, making it an unreliable system of punishment. Also, capital punishment is not used equally in cases. The death penalty can also be considered cruel and unusual punishment, which is against the 8th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The death penalty should be abolished because it is not the right way to deal with

Capital punishment is useless as a deterrent morally indefensible , discriminatory in practice , and prone to errors that may have led to the execution of wrongfully convicted people . its continuing legality in the united states is critically undermining American moral stature around the world . The supreme court should bring the united states in line with the rest of the civilized world and hold that death is a punishment prohibited by the eighth amendment.

Capital punishment is a form of taking someone 's life in order to repay for the crime that they have committed. Almost all capital punishment sentences in the United States of America have been imposed for homicide since the 1970 's. Ever since the reinstatement after 38 years of being banned, there has been intense debate among Americans regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment. Critics say that executions are violations of the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the Eighth Amendment (cite?). Some capital punishment cases require a separate penalty trial to be made, at which time the jury reviews if there is the need for capital punishment. In 1982, the first lethal injection execution was performed in Texas. Some other common methods of execution used are electrocution, a firing squad, and lethal gas. In recent years, the US Supreme Court has made it more difficult for death row prisoners to file appeals. Nearly 75 percent of Americans support the death sentence as an acceptable form of punishment. The other fourth have condemned it. Some major disagreements between supporters and non-supporters include issues of deterrence, economics, fallibility, and rehabilitation. Their indifference to capital punishment is founded on moral grounds and the constitution. In society’s best interest and for the safety of individuals, capital punishment is a respectable form of vengeance for a crime that was committed.

Since the late 1970s, roughly 1500 prisoners were executed in the United States. A capital punishment, also known as death penalty, refers to the execution of a perpetrator convicted of any capital offense, such as murder or treason. Ratified in 1791, the Eighth Amendment, which was originally concerned with the criminal on death row rather than the process of execution, constitutionally bans cruel and unusual punishments. Yet, like any other amendment or constitution, the interpretation of the cruel and unusual punishment clause today differs immensely from the interpretation during the early 1790s, due to the changing standards of society, hence the increase in questions about the moral and ethical issues of death penalty, and what constitutes

Why is the death penalty so ineffective and expensive? There are multiple reasons to both questions, ranging from the trial cost and appeals or to the 153 people that have been exonerated. Theres also the declining popularity of capital punishment with only 60% of americans saying that they support it, as of 2013. Also a 2014 poll by the Washington Post and ABC News found that a majority of Americans (52%) prefer life without parole as punishment for murder, with just 42% preferring the death penalty.(“Public Opinion About the Death Penalty.” Public Opinion About the Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center, Deathpenaltyinfo.org, deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-about-death-penalty.)

An Impassioned Debate: An overview of the death penalty in America depicts the facts about the eighth amendment. The eighth amendment is the prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments (Masci 1). There are two significant cases that have inflamed the debate over the capital punishment, The Baze v. Reese case, and the Kennedy v. Louisiana case. The first case reveals the strong debate that the execution by lethal injection is inhuman and in violation of the eight amendment. The second case inflamed the