The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

Various religions also have varied responses to capital punishment. Even a particular denomination or religious group may not have a unified stand regarding capital punishment. Religious sentiments do play a significant part in the views of people regarding capital punishment. The Bible is replete with various passages that may seem to support or condemn capital punishment. The Old Testament, particularly, is based upon a morality of “teeth against teeth” and “life for life.” The books of laws of the Old Testament actually prescribe stoning to death the persons who commit serious crimes against God and against the community. A number of biblical scholars have considered the part of the Ten Commandments that say “You shall not kill” as a prohibition against individual cases of murder (The Ryrie Study Bible, Exodus 20:13). In the first place, the Christian faith believes that humans are created in the image of God. As such, a serious crime against another person is also a crime against God. In the Old Testament, premeditated murder was sufficient reason for the death penalty (Numbers 35:31, 33). Moreover, in Genesis 9:6, it can be read that “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed”. St. Thomas Aquinas also published his thoughts regarding capital

I, myself, don’t support the death penalty and I believe it’s unethical. There has have been many cases where someone has been sentenced to death row and then after they had already been executed, officials found out that they had the wrong person in custody, and once this is done it can’t be undone. Run on sentence, but it is an important point to make. Add an article citation here that has an example of this. There is also the fighting fire with fire argument, that killing someone for killing someone else doesn’t solve anything or make it justified. It doesn’t seem to make sense to say that “Because you killed someone, we’re going to get back at you by killing you.” This is called “retributive justice” Also, if the death penalty wasn’t enacted, these criminals could end up spending the rest of their lives in prison with the guilt and this could be a more harshharsher punishment than just being put to death. In some of the cases, it is family members or friends that

The system works that the criminal does the crime, the criminal gets caught, tried and convicted, and it is understood that the punishment will be severe. The person the criminal has killed no longer has a part to play in this. Unfortunately the murderer has deprived their family and friends of a loved one. Their grief begins with the murder. “It may not end with the murderer’s execution, but the execution does engender a feeling of relief at no longer having to think about the ordeal- a feeling which often fails to arise while the murder still lives on” (The Facts). the system in place currently is there for the purpose of granting justice, cannot do so for the surviving victims, unless the murderer himself is put to death (The Facts).

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?

Many criminals take the lives of or hurt many people around them. They are later released after doing time in prisons to go on the streets again where they will do the same things over again. "[W]e reserve the death penalty in the United States for the most heinous murders and the most brutal and conscienceless murderers. To sentence killers like those described above to less than death would fail to do justice because the penalty – presumably a long period in prison – would be grossly disproportionate to the heinousness of the crime. Prosecutors, jurors, and the loved ones of murder victims understand this essential point…” Death penalty does the justice right for seriously violent criminals instead of having them do time in prisons to be released.

The death penalty has been debated for centuries. Within just America, it dates back all the way to 1608. In an article entitled “History of the Death Penalty” from the website Death Penalty Information Center, it states, “The first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain.” So, it is safe to say that the death penalty has been around for a long time, and has been debated by many for just as long. Most people will claim that they are against the death penalty with no reason other than they believe it is immoral and wrong. Those people simply do not know the facts of how the death penalty actually helps the American Justice System. The death penalty prevents overcrowding in prisons, reoffenders, and is cheaper to the taxpayers.

Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from committing crime. Although the bible has support in the death penalty almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral.Capital punishment goes against almost every religion Although isolated passages of the Bible have been quoted in support of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral.

The verse Exodus 21:12 says, “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.” Since the Catholic church believes the Bible to be the word of God, this is considered God’s opinion on the death penalty. Also, some argue that the Bible gives governments the authority to use death penalty based on the verses Romans 13:1-7 which state that all authority is placed there under God’s will and should therefore be

Some Christians don’t support the use of capital punishment because the 6th commandment forbids murder. The 10 commandments are very important and every christian has to adhere them therefore, they believe that it is wrong to use capital punishment because you are taking someone’s life/murdering them and you are not allowed to do that because all life is holy and belongs to God therefore,he should be the one to give or take life.Also, Jesus through out his life gave people a chance to reform themselves but capital punishment doesn’t give the offender a chance to learn from his/her mistake and christians should be following in Jesus’s footsteps. So, basically, capital punishment goes against christian beliefs.

     Murder is not the only thing that the Bible allows death as a punishment for. According to an outline called ‘The Bible and Capital Punishment,” the old Testament gives twenty-one ‘crimes’ in which the death penalty is an okay form of punishment. There are only three out of the twenty-one listed offenses that we would categorize as crimes by today’s standards. Six of the listed are for religious offenses, including proselytizing (trying to convert an Israelite to a different religion, Deuteronomy 13:1-10) and for practicing black magic (Exodus 22:18). There are ten crimes listed which are now classified as moral issues, including working on Sunday (Exodus 35:2), abusing parents (Exodus 20:15), and blasphemy (uttering the name of Jehovah while cursing, Leviticus 24:16). Two of these listed are in relation to ceremonial practices, including communicating with the dead (Leviticus 20:27). But only three of the twenty-one offenses are categorized as capital crimes by the standards of today’s justice system (‘The Bible and Capital Punishment’). For this reason, many people think that the Bible is an out-of-date way to govern our lives,

The death penalty continues to be a huge problem in the United States. Anyone who has or used to live in the United States of America understands about the death penalty. The death penalty is described as when the justice court of a state is allowed to execute of that person who was convicted of a crime and is sentenced to the execution. The death penalty only happens depending on crimes that are in to the criteria for the execution. The execution has been used since the very early times in some, but not all throughout the United States.

The Bible states the government is God’s servant working for our good and it has the right to punish those who do wrong, which includes administering the death penalty. Romans 13:3-5 (GW) “The government is God’s servant working for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid. The government has the right to carry out the death sentence. It is God’s servant, an avenger to execute God’s anger on anyone who does what is wrong,” and Genesis 9:6 (NIV) “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” According to the Old Testament, the death penalty is morally ok; the Old Testament specifies 36 capital offences including crimes such as murder, blasphemy, magic and idolatry. However, the biblical stance on this is highly contested with the opponents of capital

The definition of a Murder is the killing of an innocent victim and for those who are given the death penalty for murder are neither innocent nor victims. There’s nothing moral about how a criminal murders an innocent victim. These kinds of individuals should be removed from society permanently. The death penalty is the only good enough punishment for taking a human life unlawfully and is the only moral action (Van den Haag 1983). Our laws based ultimately on ancient Jewish laws which is the basis of all western morality and is in which the death penalty was practiced. The death penalty doesn’t contradict Christian scripture. There is no misunderstanding of the words an eye for an eye, it’s clearly outlined in the Old Testament; the meaning an eye for an eye is that only the guilty are to be punished. And the New Testament declares that the role is delegated to magistrates by God Himself. In the book of Peter; “whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right” (Budziszewski 2004). The book of Romans; “for rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute His wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s

Since 1976 until now, 1,460 people have been executed by the death penalty. The death penalty ended many people’s lives. People question whether it is all worth it. But the real question is, is the death penalty constitutional? Many over the years have asked this question and been debated and still is debated today, in everyday conversation and in courts. Though, when the Constitution is analyzed one can understand that the death penalty is constitutional.

The death penalty has been around for ages, but criticism about the death penalty is new. The has been criticism has soared to a new high because some people believe it is inhuman. In recent years debate about death penalty has risen to a new height. The pros and cons of the death penalty are being weighed in court rooms across America because of court cases killing innocent people. While the cons have noble intentions behind them for saving a human life. The pros far outweigh the cons because certain situations, the only true justice is through the death penalty. The death penalty is beneficial to America due to the cost of keeping prisoners in prison, and it is the only moral way to punish some crimes while also keeping some crimes from happening.