The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

Is Dick and Perry are equally responsible for the murder of the Clutter family, or is one more responsible for the murders than the other? When two people plan a crime together, they’re equally guilty regardless of who does more. The story is about two men who are name Dick and Perry who murdered the Clutter family from a book called In Cold Blood written by Truman Capote. It was a big deal because this was the most brutal murder everyone had ever done. The murder started at a small town of Holcomb, Kansas on November 15, 1959. The main conflict is that both men committed a murder by killing the Clutter family who they thought had a safe full of $10,000 cash inside. But truthfully the Clutter did not have a safe in their house. It made them

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?

In Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, the Clutter family’s murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, are exposed like never before. The novel allows the reader to experience an intimate understanding of the murderer’s pasts, thoughts, and feelings. It goes into great detail of Smith and Hickock’s pasts which helps to explain the path of life they were walking leading up to the murder’s, as well as the thought’s that were running through their minds after the killings.

This was a planned out crime committed with no remorse. The murderers knew which house they were going to rob and planned to kill ahead of time and came prepared with a gun, rope, and all the supplies they would need. They also discussed how they were going to restrain and kill them before hand. "Next thing I knew, Dick was talking about killing Mr. Clutter. Said him and Perry was gonna go out there and rob the place, and they was gonna kill all witnesses - the Clutters, and anybody else that happened to be around. He described to me a dozen times how he was gonna do it, how him and Perry was gonna tie them people up and gun them down." (Capote, In Cold Blood, Answer, Page 99) The murders planned out their crime and they chose to go through with the plan rather than recognize what they were doing was wrong.

Perry admitted to killing the clutters, so why should anyone question that it wasn't his fault. People heard Perry’s story of his childhood and began to feel bad for him. the didn't think that he was a victim of his circumstances, they just wanted a happy ending to his messed up life. They were blinded by the fact that he brutally murdered a entire family with the help of Dick Hickock. Perry also admitted to thinking about killing Dick also, just because he didn't want any “witnesses”. If Smith was truly a victim of his circumstances, wouldn’t you think that he would want to keep the only person actually helped him do

Smith’s parents had attended his trial after his arrest. Green told the jury the evidence showed Hickock master minded the crime. Dick said in his statement he just wanted to rob the Clutters, not kill them. "I knew what the verdict would be before

“Dick was carrying his shotgun, and how he described how Smitty took my shotgun and just blew that man's head off,' And he says, 'Dad, I ought to have grabbed back the gun and shot Smitty dead. Killed him 'fore he killed the rest of that family. If I'd done it I'd be better off than I am now” (164). I am using this quote to explain how Perry just suddenly snapped or blacked out and killed the entire Clutter family. This quote proves that they are in fact guilty of brutally killing the entire Clutter family and that they are mentally

In, In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences, Truman Capote, includes the effects of Perry and Dick’s childhood to show the true possible reasonings behind their killings. Truman Capote talks about the murder of the Clutter family which took place in Holcomb, Kansas in the year of 1959. The Clutter family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Clutter and their four children. He thoroughly describes the personality of each and proves how the family was completely innocent at the time of their murder. However, due to Perry Smith’s nurture and Dick Hickock’s nature, the innocent Clutter family was murdered on their farm in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas.

) Moreover, the pattern of this kind of murderer, the killer, is almost by definition a person who takes his chances like the soldier of fortune he thinks he is. (37) Most killers do not engage in anything like a cost-benefit analysis. They are impulsive, and they kill impulsively. If capital punishment does deter criminals, it can do so only indirectly. Potential murderers must have some standard of right and wrong. They must acknowledge morals issues. They must be without mental illness and they know and have the capacity to think about what they are doing. This conception of general deterrence seems deeply flawed because it rests upon a doubtful conception of how this murderous population internalizes social norms. Although the perpetrator

When the two went the Clutter’s home and Ransacked the home they discovered there was no safe and no money. It was after the money was not found the killings began. Perry would say Dick had killed the two women yet, he would not sign his confession. The reason for this was that Perry had felt some sort of greiff for Dick’s Mother who he described as “a real sweet person.” However Perry would later say “I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken” about Mr. Clutter (Perry, pg. 244). These statements show Perry was not a bad person nor a psychopath for he felt remorse and was also trying to protect a man he thought was his friend.

Though it was clear that Richard Hickock’s motive was to take the rumored money the Clutters kept in their home, Perry Smith did not have a certain motive. During the trial the father of Perry Smith noted that he had seen a personality change in his son that concerned him. He stated, “He just didn’t act like the same boy”(Capote pg.292). This raised suspicion about Smith’s mental state. Therefore they had a psychiatric specialist, Dr. W. Mitchell Jones, evaluate both of them. The determined that Hickock knew exactly what he was doing and that his brain was able to tell right from wrong. Dr. Jones found something different with Perry Smith. He concluded that Perry did not know what he was doing during the murders explaining why he did it with no trace of emotion. Dr. Jones stated, “ Perry Smith shows definite signs of severe mental illness”(Capote pg.296). He concluded that this was because Smith had grown up without any direction, love, or a sense of moral values. Smith also showed signs of paranoid orientation, meaning that he felt that no could understand him and people discriminate against him. The doctor also confided in the fact that Perry Smith had uncontrolled acts of severe rage. Dr. Jones concluded that these were caused by, “...feeling of being tricked, slighted, or labeled inferior by others”(Capote pg.297). In conclusion Perry Smith had a mental abnormality meaning that he should have been prosecuted

This quote from Perry’s confession shows the reader an insight on his thoughts for his actions. It’s a key evidence to the crime when it comes down to Perry being insane. It is even ironic because people don't usually murder others who they find nice. It reveals how outside of their zone they were that night. The Clutter’s did nothing wrong to be killed. They were killed because of what they represented to Perry. Mr. Clutter was the father Perry never had and the scapegoat. Perry wanted a happy family he could count on and out of frustration he took it out on them. It goes to show that he committed the murder out of pure envy and jealousy. He genuinely did not want to hurt the family only to get rid of what he never had. His confession proves

Breaking news today in the Clutter case that we have been tracking here at Justice News. Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, alleged perpetrators of the murder of the Clutter family, were given the death penalty. Hickock and Smith were accused of killing the Clutter, family of 4, on November 15, 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas, before robbing them of a couple of dollars and household goods, then fleeing to Mexico. The men were arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 30.

Dick hickock’s involvement in the clutter murders began when he solicited Perry’s help in planning the crimes, so he is the mastermind of this heinous crime and is just as guilty, if

Perry Smith and Dick Hikock make it appear as if they only intended to steal from the Clutters. How multiple someones could 'accidentally' murder an entire family should be impossible, but alas, we find this unfortunate duo. After finding nothing, the best option would seem to be just leave the clutter family be and face possible charges for attempted robbery instead of manslaughter, and with those mindsets and actions, who is to say Perry won't kill again? According to Perry on page 156, ".... we could hear the lunatic roaming around below, looking for the safe. Looking behind pictures. Tapping the walls. Tap tap tap. Like some nutty woodpecker. When he came back, just to be a real bastard I asked had he found it. Course he hadn't, but he said he'd come across another purse in the kitchen. With seven dollars.". Perry also states on pages 156-157, "I wasn't kidding him. I didn't want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the