The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

Capital punishment has been a controversial issue that still exists in America today. Capital punishment is a law passed by the government to punish any individual that has been convicted of committed a heinous crime. The death penalty has been a method used throughout history as punishment for criminals. The punishment also known as the death penalty is a scheduled execution, which would be done with lethal injection. The reason why this punishment is chosen is because when crimes are committed that shock the conscience, the immediate emotional reaction is to retaliate with severe punishment (Schnurbush 2016). The death penalty is debated when it is brought up, opinions vary from one group of people to another, one side says the execution is murder, and the other saying that it is justice being done. Each side presents valid arguments to why people should be for it or against it; people’s opinions are formed by personal beliefs.

This paper will briefly cover the world history of the use of the death penalty as well as its current use in the United States of America. The paper will discuss the statistics of how often the death penalty is utilized as a sentence for capital crimes as well as the time a convicted person spends awaiting the death penalty to be imposed. This paper will utilize research from published sources. This paper will also review current death penalty issues are the occurring in our court systems today.

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 laws of the land are to protect the innocent and the weak, if we don’t have a consequence for people who commit crimes than what type of world would this be? I believe that the death penalty is morally acceptable. The definition of morality is the principles of right and wrong. To me, this means as humans we can be praised for honorable deeds and should be punished for bad ones. Forfeiting someone’s freedom isn’t the same as forfeiting someone’s life and if someone murders someone, they deserve to forfeit their own life. Morally, incarceration isn’t enough punishment for taking someone’s life, their future and taking them away from their friends and family. I believe capital punishment is an ethically correct deterrent of future murders and acceptable form of punishment for such behavior.

People also say that “serving in lifetime jail” (ProCon) is more “severe” than being held to the death sentence. Another reason people gainsay the death sentence is that “a lot of people with mental disabilities could be condemned” (Editorial Board). Many other people believe that “some people being executed are doing the same thing as people getting away from it” (Editorial Board). Also, people are fighting to stop the death penalty by saying that “the people being executed don’t have enough money to pay for a good attorney” (ProCon). Finally, Justice Breyer, a supreme court associate, has said the “death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment” (Editorial Board) and he has called for the court to question if the death penalty is constitutional at all; furthermore, Breyer believes it's time to send the practice of the death penalty to its “oblivion.”

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,

The jurisdiction of the death penalty in the United States for decades the death penalty has been an emotional and almost unmentionable controversial  issue that has affected people in a many of different ways. This Essay addresses head-on most of the common arguments that are used in favor of the death penalty and some that are opposed.

The death penalty remains one of the most controversial topics in the study of criminal justice. Hundreds of convicted criminals have seen their fate by the hands of capital punishment in the course of United States history. Hundreds of others are still awaiting the day their sentence will be carried out. However, even though many of Americans still believe the principal role of capital punishment is deterring future crimes, thousands of others condemn the United States criminal justice system for its errors and fallacies, which result in erroneous capital punishment decisions and legalized violence against innocent people.

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.)

What is the death penalty? The death penalty is a punishment of execution. There are many methods of executions, such as lethal injection, beheading, hanging, electrocution, or shooting in the back of the head, either by one person or a firing squad. Many people have different opinions on the death penalty, whether it should be legal or not. The death penalty argument in the US has left the country divided for a long time. There are thirty-three states where the death penalty is legal and seventeen states have abolished it. In my opinion, the death penalty shouldn’t be legal throughout the entire country. It breaches basic human rights: the right to life and the right to live free from torture. There are multiple reasons why the death penalty shouldn’t be legalized, including, arbitrary, fallibility, high cost, and deterrence.

Have you ever thought of someone murdering a family member? If so would you want them to be on death row? Putting someone on death row creates another murderer which is why the death penalty should NOT be allowed.

In a perfect world, there might not be any “victims” of the death penalty, but a simple, accidental house fire was all it took for one man’s life to take a tragic turn onto death row. There he was, bound to a metal chair, sitting lifelessly with both arms hanging down his sides, a victim of the death penalty. He pleaded his innocence throughout the entire case. For many months, he had pleaded to everyone including prosecutors, jury, and lawyers, to see that it must have been an accident, but no one believed him. He was found guilty for spreading flammable liquids through the house and setting the house on fire, murdering all three of his children, and was sentenced to death. Years later, when the same researchers studied the fire more thoroughly,

The death penalty has been a debatable subject for many years. Violence is only getting worse

Since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the death penalty in 1976, there have been 1,434 executions in the United States (Death Penalty Information Center). Today, a debate quickly erupts when discussing the death penalty as a form of punishment in America’s Criminal Justice system. Some perceive the Death Penalty as an act of justice, while others believe it is unconstitutional. There are currently 31 death penalty states and 19 non-death penalty states in the U.S. Although opponents view this type of punishment to be immoral, unconstitutional and ineffective, the death penalty has proven to be ethically correct, cost effective, and deterrent to murder.

The death penalty has always been an issue or debate in the United States, typically being asked if it should be illegal or not. As of right now there are thirty-one states, including Ohio in which I live, that still use the death penalty as it is illegal in the rest. There are many supporters of it, there is also a huge amount of opposition. There are things included in both sides that can make the argument harder to be one-sided but I believe that the death penalty should be legal throughout the entire nation. Not only does it create deterrence, it also creates morality and retribution.