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?

Death is something that a lot of people think about, but do people think about the Death Penalty? Having been given the death penalty means that someone is going to be put to death by a lethal injection or an electric chair; There are more ways, but the injection and the electric chair are the most used. There are many different opinions surrounding the idea of death penalties; which some people think the death penalty should be used more and some believe the complete opposite.

The death penalty is a costly way to punish criminals for their heinous crimes. In fact, according to the article “Death of the Death Penalty”, “capital punishment costs six times as much as a life sentence”. These costs could be used for other funding the state will use for their citizens. Instead, these citizens must pay higher taxes in order to execute these inmates. Over time, the amount needed to execute someone will rise and states may need to pull money from other causes and use it to punish criminals.

The problem with the death penalty is, there is a better alternative which is life without parole. The death penalty is unnecessary because the high cost of the death penalty, puts innocent lives at risk, capital punishment doesn’t deter crime, the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, and Deterrence value of the death penalty.

In Kellow Chesney's book The Victorian Underworld illustrates that the Victorians tried to use the death penalty as a means of controlling criminal elements in forms of hangings, lethal injection,Electrocution, and firing squads in order to prevent crime( the victorian underworld). in Victorian times, the death penalty was used as a means of controlling. There should be abolishment of this because of the countless innocent men and women being put to death for the stated purpose of preventing crime out of fear. So There should not be a death penalty because it violates human rights, it does not deter crime, and is a cruel and unusual punishment.

The death penalty is a punishment that lowers the crime rate. It is a controversial subject. Some people are for it and others are not. Some have seen it as deterrent, and some have seen it as state sanctioned murder and not civilized. It is a great thing because it keeps people from committing crimes as much. The death penalty is supported by thirty three states, but it is banned or abandoned in seventeen states. The societies which are against it have a crime rate increase so for the people that live there they have no peace or security because the people are not as afraid to commit a crime. Anytime someone commits murder they should be convicted with the death penalty in order to show the other criminals and set an example for them on what

During the year of 1608, the first recorded execution took place, killing Captain George Kendall. Since that moment, as the United States of America expanded, the death penalty became part of the law. Killing 1465 criminals since 1796, the death penalty has kept numerous crimes from happening. The death penalty is supported by the victim of the crime’s family, follows the “eye for an eye” rule, is a deterrent of crimes and should not be abolished.

The Death Penalty is the punishment of execution to someone who legally by court of law convicted a capital crime. In the United States of America this is mainly used for aggravated murder. Additionally this means that the murder has circumstances that are severe. For instance it was planned murder, intentionally killed below the age of 13, killed someone while serving term in prison, killed a law officer, and killed someone or illegally terminated a person’s pregnancy while in the process of committing, trying to commit or escaping after the act of rape, kidnapping, aggravated arson, arson, robbery, aggravated robbery, burglary, aggravated burglary, terrorism, or trespass. The death penalty is balanced between pros and cons, where it

"Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Every murder perpetrated by ... any … kind of willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing ... from a premeditated design unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of any human being other than him who is killed, is murder in the first degree." (Cornell) First-degree murder is very clear in its definition in US law. On the fateful night of November 14, 1959, Perry Edward Smith and Richard Eugene Hickock seemed to have completely disregarded that very law when they made the decision to murder the innocent Clutter family after a planned robbery attempt and murder for cover up. Herbert and Bonnie Clutter and two of their children, Nancy and Kenyon Clutter, were brutally slain that night only for a total gain of fifty dollars for the killers. For the brutal murders of the Clutter family, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock should undoubtedly be punished by receiving the death penalty.

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.)

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.

The death penalty has been a controversial issue in American society for decades. There are some who believe that the most villainous of criminals (i.e serial rapists, mass murders, serial killers etc.) should pay for their crimes with their life since they had the audacity to take the life of another. Others believe that taking away a life, no matter how immoral or treacherous the person or their crime may be, is wrong under any and all circumstances. In Stephen Nathanson’s book An Eye for an Eye, he follows the belief that the death penalty should never be an option when sentencing, and I agree wholeheartedly. There are many other ways to inflict punishment on someone without taking away the most sanctified part of them: their life.

The death penalty is very costly to not only the government, but also society. The death penalty has no benefits at all and should be

The death penalty is the ultimate punishment for some of the most heinous and brutal crimes. The majority of death penalty cases in the United States is almost exclusively for the crime of murder, including but not limited to murder related to smuggling of aliens, genocide, murder committed in the federal government facility, and murder committed during an offense against a local law-enforcement official or other person aiding in a federal investigation, just to name a few. (federal) New York City alone has an annual cost of $167,732 which is what it takes to feed, house, and guard each inmate. According to a study that the Vera Institute of Justice released in 2012 found that the aggregate cost of prisons in 2010 and 40 states that participated was $39 billion. (NewYorkTimes.com)

Criminals are sadly apart of our society and have been since the beginning of time, and it