Top Ten Pro And Con-Death Penalty

The death penalty has been implemented since ancient times and punishes criminals. Some people wonder if it deters violent crime in the states it is legal, but does it have a noticeable effect on violent crimes in these places? Is it even moral, and should it be abolished altogether?

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?

Many people who are supporters of the death penalty say that it’s a successful deterrent. But this isn’t true because the death penalty is administered very inconsistently and arbitrarily. “Only a small proportion of first-degree murders is sentenced to death, and even fewer are executed” (Bedau). There are also several states that have a lower criminal rate without using capital punishment. For example Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan all get along just fine without the use of the death penalty. Also “…all other Western industrial countries get along quite well without killing their citizens” (Ryan). There are many judges that are against the use of capital punishment as well.

In fact, the death penalty is considered immoral for it goes against the Constitution and ethnic code. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the use of “cruel and unusual punishment” is considered unconstitutional. However, majority of the capital punishments are filled with discrimination and injustice. The fact that the majority of prisoners who are sentenced with the death penalty are African Americans, reflect the cons of our society. Aside from racial discrimination, socio-economic discrimination also contribute to the flaws within our justice system. One of the top reasons why innocents are being executed or accused, allowing the guilty to get away with their crimes is that criminals who are exceptionally

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 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.

     Capital punishment should be viewed as the stripping away of humanity from a person. The death penalty itself should be "executed" because of racial inequities, the concept of murder, the possibility of error, lack of deterrence, the cost, and an overwhelmed legal system. "The goal of capital punishment is revenge" (Introduction 1). Capital punishment is simply an outlet for the bloodlust of the American people (Introduction 1).

The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated and talked about in the United States for many more years. The death penalty is a punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. In 1963 the United States abolished the death penalty, also called capital punishment. Through the 1960s, the Supreme Court battled many cases involving the death penalty and whether it should be allowed. The Supreme Court finally ruled a decision in 1976 that the death penalty can be enforced by the states that want it and not enforced by those who don't want it. To me not only is capital punishment unethical, useless and serves no purpose it is also biased and racist. Racial bias

Although the death penalty is legal in some parts of the United States, it has no place in our quest for justice and needs to be abolished. In particular, the death penalty is ineffective because of the time gone to waste from the salaried guardsmen being paid overtime, to the innocents being put on row. Due to the crucial time being lost, the United States is not spending money adequately, resulting in the downfall to debt. Not only is money being lost, but racial bias exhibited during trial is inadmissible and has a huge effect on how people in the society are portrayed, as well as treated. Abolishing the capital punishment will take the United States one step closer in recovering lost money and

Throughout time many mentally disabled and people who have been wrongfully accused of a crime have faced the death penalty, which is cruel and unconstitutional punishment; countless court cases such as Furman vs. Georgia and the O.J. Simpson murder trial have led to change within states to the outlawing of the death penalty.

“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” is how the phrase goes. Belonging to Hammurabi’s code, this ancient motto has become the basis of a great political debate over the past few decades - the death penalty (US History). The legal definition of the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is a sentence of execution for murder, treason, and other capital crimes, which are punishable by death (Legal Information Institute). This is an issue that has the United States quite divided. While there are many supporters of the death penalty, there is also a large amount of opposition. Currently, there are thirty-two states in which the death penalty is legal and there are eighteen states that have abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center).

In addition to being racially prejudiced, capital punishment places innocent lives at risk. Recently in Chicago, a black man was released from death row after nearly sixteen years in prison. This man, Anthony Porter, came within two days of receiving a lethal injection, until the courts finally agreed hearing on his mental capacity. Porter was very lucky to receive an excellent attorney who managed to prove that Porter was innocent and led the police to a prisoner in Milwaukee who confessed (Kile). This shows the importance of the appeal process found in the courts, which serve to protect the lives of innocent citizens of the United States of America. A writer for The Christian Century writes, "Porter's case brings to light the very real danger that overzealous prosecutors, sloppy legal work and poor legal defense teams will send people to their deaths for crimes they didn't commit," (Kile). If Porter had an equipped defense attorney from the start, he would never have been to prison and nearly killed. Ryan Cummings of The Economist observed that more crimes are punishable by execution, more states have adopted the death penalty and the appeals process has been shortened. The overall expansion of capital punishment endangers innocent lives. Cumulatively, there is now less time and fewer tools to save innocent men and women

Many people are arguing whether or not capital punishment is effective and should still be used in the American system. Proponents of the death penalty argue that the death penalty deters crime. In contrast, opponents of the death

Occasionally, we are faced with moral dilemmas that force us to decide whether our absolute laws should really be unquestioned. The death penalty is the law put into question for this situation. People who are deemed mentally deficient are still susceptible to the death penalty, but there is a question as to whether the death penalty should really be applied against such people. In the journal by Philip Fougerousse, mental retardation, or deficiency, is defined in three parts, “first is subaverage intellectual functioning; second is significant limitations in adaptive skills (e.g., communication, self-care, and self-direction); and third, [is that] the symptoms must have manifested before the age of 18 years” (2003). With this definition in mind, the habits and demeanor of those diagnosed as mentally retarded differ from everyday individuals. As such the question comes to mind as to whether the death penalty should be applied to the mentally retarded. If they commit a crime, in which the death penalty is the consequence, should they be completely held accountable, if their mental retardation causes them to not understand that they are doing wrong? You could compare this to a child not understanding what they did wrong, and being punished severely without ever learning. Consequently, someone judged to be mentally retarded, should not be punished with the death penalty due to their lack of understanding, but should face different consequences.

Prisons also cost a great deal of money to run and maintain and it is