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 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?

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.

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.

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

National government forcing the death sentence in all states can possibly be used as a means to persuade criminals not to become criminals in the first place. In “Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime?,” it was stated that “The modern refereed studies have consistently shown that capital punishment has a strong deterrent effect, with each execution deterring between 3 and 18 murders.” Not only is execution a form of crime deterrent it also allows justice to be better served. An author once stated that “the most fundamental principle of justice is that the punishment should fit the crime. When someone plans and brutally

"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.

Should killers live to take another life? If we let the felons live, what will stop them from getting that rush or thrill of murder again? It is important that we take murderers off this planet for the safety of future generations to come. This is where the death penalty comes into place. What type of feelings would you encounter knowing your children were in danger on a daily basis? We are capable of putting certain people away for our safety. The death penalty may be expensive, but it should stand nationwide on the grounds that it lowers crime rates and it is justified.

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.

The death penalty is quite a controversial subject, and for good reason, with news headlines such as “5 of 6 candidates for California governor oppose death penalty”, this one being from the San Francisco Chronicle, coming up everywhere. There is more to it than just political candidates making a stance on the subject to help appeal to voters. Out of the fifty states, thirty-one support the death penalty, while four have a governor-imposed moratorium, which suspends the death penalty until events warrant the need for it to be imposed again. With capital punishment being such a hot topic, many people are either for it or against it. Those who are against it may consider it unconstitutional and error prone. Well, that is not necessarily the case because the death penalty has many pros. In fact, the death penalty helps deter future criminals, has a lower cost compared to life without parole (LWOP) for criminals, and executions are humane.

I feel that the death penalty was and is a very effective form of punishment. The death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. I also feel that the death penalty should be practiced in all fifty states and be the punishment for more crimes.Since 1976 there has been over fourteen hundred deaths caused by the death penalty. I also feel that if we see the ability to get the punishment at lower standards such as for rappings or for harder drug cases, then we will see that the crime rate will drop. I feel that this would be worth it even though each death penalty case cost about three million dollars a piece.

The issue of the death penalty is widely disputed. So disputed that maybe I shouldn’t have picked this topic. But nevertheless, the death penalty is an issue that needs to be addressed. Should the death penalty be abolished from our criminal justice system? Well, that depends on whom you ask. If you ask me… no. I personally don’t see anything wrong with the death penalty because there are a lot of criminals that are just too dangerous to society and death is the only punishment they deserve.

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