The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty In The United States?

The death penalty is still in use in the united states. The state with the most executions is in Texas with a total of 545 from 2017 to the year 1976 (Number of Executions, 2017). The death penalty is a very big debate. There are many reasons why and why people do and don’t like the death penalty.

The Death Penalty (DP), being also known as capital punishment, capital offence and corporal punishment, is a sentence of death imposed on a convicted criminal (1); this essay will use all the terms interchangeably. The DP breaches two fundamental human rights, namely the right to life and the right to live free from torture; both rights are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations in 1948, which contains a list of each human rights that everyone is entitled to (UDHR 1948). Nevertheless, in 2016 alone at least 1,032 people were executed in 23 countries; most executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan (Amnesty International 2017).

The question and the debate around the world continues, should the death penalty be legal? Should the government be able to execute the ultimate punishment if an individual commit acts and crimes as violent as they come, or should he/she be given a second chance at life? The death penalty is an issue that has the United States quite divided. While there are many supporters of it, there is also a large amount of opposition. Currently, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal and nineteen states that have abolished it. If carefully observed and looked at the lives at stake, the death penalty should be legal throughout the nation as it represents deterrence, retribution, and morality while opposing arguments do not hold up. All in all, death penalty should be issued because death is feared, it gives justice, and it gets rid of criminals in society to make it a better place for everyone.

The death penalty puts innocent lives in danger. Rarely, innocent people have been put on the death row for a homicide. Studies show that as of October 2015, the U.S. have executed over 1,414 individuals since 1976. 156 individuals have been exonerated from death row--that is, found to be innocent and released - since 1973 (Innocence Database). In other words, 1.1 in 10 prisoners in the death row are innocent. Some of them get reimbursed by suing the state government for putting their lives in danger, for wasting their time, and disrupt their families. Then again, if these people were executed before appeal, it is irreversible, and there is no way to reimburse their lives. For example, Carlos De Luna, a man found near a crime scene where a gas

Many people stand oppose side of the death sentence because they think human have no rights to play God-have control over human lives. However, even more, people agree with a death penalty. According to National Conference of State Legislatures, there are 32 states in America that utilize the death penalty. The number of the annual death penalty never surpass the hundred (Statistic Brain) and more than half of the people (65%) agree with this method of sentencing. Death penalty provides an effective form of punishment for crimes involving the conviction of one person for the intentional killing of another person, it should be agreeable punishment for reasons: to save the budget, to lecture and to warn the potential criminal, and to provide happiness for the majority, including the victim and her/his relatives (public vengeance).

Criminals are sadly a part of our society and have been since the beginning of time, and it is our job as members of society to make sure the criminals are punished for breaking the law. One way of punishing victims is sentencing them to death. This cruel punishment is known as the death penalty and it is defined as when the government takes the life of a person as punishment for the crime the individual has committed. For thousands of years, the death penalty was an acceptable form of punishment, but over the course of a hundred years, it has become less acceptable and for a good reason. The death penalty has been abolished in many countries including, Canada and England while it is still legal in the United States and China. Within the United States, each state has the right to decide whether or not they proceed with the death penalty and a majority of the states still have the death penalty in place. The death penalty has become a less acceptable form of punishment because it has many downfalls and it should be abolished in America.

Whether the death penalty should be kept legal or not is a widely controversial topic for many Americans. Some states have already started outlawing the death penalty, however, most of the United States still allows the death penalty. The death penalty is a punishment that is wrongly used and should be abolished because of potential innocent lives being at risk due to false convictions. Contrary to popular belief, the death penalty does not deter crime either. The policy of life without parole should be the most serious form of punishment for felony crimes.

The death penalty may seem like a good idea, but did you know it's only available in 31 states ? The killing of criminals is something allowed by the government and that is a good thing. An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth , the death penalty should not be banned because it brings closure to the victims families and justice is better served.

After viewing the National Geographic documentary titled “Death Row Texas”, I found myself grieving the loss of my father. Preceding my father’s death, he was an employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) working as a Correctional Officer at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, known as the “Walls Unit”. Over the years, some of the stories that my father shared with me regarding TDCJ unfair system has me struggling with this question, particularly since TDCJ designed the system to oppress people of color through the act of mass incarceration, life in prison, and the death sentence according to a news article published by the New Yorker titled, “The Caging of America”. In the United States of America, White Americans have been murdering innocent African-Americans for centuries without punishments for their crimes, and yet today this behavior continues throughout our criminal justice system. According to the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Texas alone has accounted for more than 30% of the executions in the United States, and over the past five years, people of color make up 80% of the death sentences in Texas with more than 60% of the death sentences imposed on African-Americans. In response to the question whether Willie Earl Pondexter Jr., Johnny Ray Johnson and David Martinez deserve the death penalty, I am still undecided on my position due to my uncertainty regarding the usefulness in imposing the death sentence. Furthermore,

Is the death penalty justified? And how long has it been around? In 1608 the first ever Capital punishment was recorded in the Jamestown colony of Virginia. One of the main countries that influenced the death penalty towards the US was Britain. They brought it over when they came to the “New World” which is now known as the US. If you think about it, is it really justified?

Is the death penalty the right way to go when trying to punish a “criminal” or civilian of their punishment. In June 1972 the death penalty was removed because of the Furman vs. Georgia case which resulted in the Supreme court ruling that the death penalty was indeed a form of cruel and unusual punishment, which goes against the eighth amendment. In 1976 the death penalty was reinstated due to the Gregg v. Georgia case the supreme court decided that execution of a person for a crime was no longer a form of cruel and unusual punishment. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since the reinstatement in 1976, there have been a number of 1,460 executions in the United States. The United States should not be using cruel and unusual punishment as a result of a crime.

Controversies surrounding death penalty have elucidated various reactions from different quarters for or against it. Those that support the death penalty argue that it has higher rewards compared to other methods of punishment for grand offenses like sexual assault, robbery with violence or even murder. The reason death penalty is an incredible alternative is because it is less costly, it is legal, provides justice for the family of victims and serves as a deterrent for other individuals who would be considering engaging in similar unlawful activities. This paper will offer a detailed explanation why the death penalty is a better alternative to punishing crime in the US.

The death penalty should be enforced because it is a deterrent for future criminals and a means for a victim’s family to obtain justice.

Resolved: The death penalty as a punishment is not appropriate and should be banned. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the meaning of the death penalty is death as a punishment given by a court of law for very serious crimes. The death penalty does not assuage the grief felt by families of victims, it is not a deterrent to violent crime, and it is not a wise use of taxpayers dollars.

The death penalty is the least effective punishment in our government today. If the death penalty is effective then we wouldn’t need a Criminal System at all.The physical mechanics involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve it, is beyond my own understanding. However, this act is sometimes necessary and it is our responsibility as a society to see that it is done. Opponents of capital punishment have basically four arguments.