Why The Death Penalty Should Stay Legal

Holly Near once said, “Why do we kill people, who kill people, to show that killing people is wrong?” The contradiction of the purpose for having the death penalty is superb. If the government believes that killing people is wrong, why do the government kill people who perform the act they are against? The death penalty is a punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. Capital crime can be classified as first degree murder, murder with special circumstances, rape with bodily harm or federal treason. The death penalty in America was influenced by the British. When British settlers came to America they bought the practice of capital punishment to each colony. Laws regarding the death

Capital Punishment, also known as the Death Penalty, has been a part of the United State’s justice system for the majority of the country’s existence. Today, 31 out of the 50 states still recognize the death penalty as a viable option when dealing with high profile crimes, most notably murder and sexual assault. While many people argue that the death penalty should be made illegal, there is also widespread support in favor of keeping the death penalty, leaving the nation divided on the issue. Both sides of the argument possess valid evidence that supports their claims, but in the end, the arguments in favor of the death penalty are noticeably stronger. The death penalty is an appropriate sentence that should continue to be allowed in the

Think about it, in some situations, we are people killing people because they killed people. Confusing, I know, but it makes sense. There is also the fact that the death penalty violates what the U.S. was built upon, the Constitution. According to the eight amendment, “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” and last time I checked, capital punishment is a cruel and unusual punishment that resulted in the death of so many people. It proves that the death penalty is unconstitutional and is an inhumane punishment that is forced upon many. Also, the fact that some states in the United States allow capital punishment is duplicitous. Our government allows it in certain places, yet based on one of our amendments; it should not be allowed whatsoever because it really is a “cruel and unusual

The death penalty was established as a form of punishment as far back as the 1600's. There are many controversial issue's in our world today whether it goes against our civil rights or not. As of today there are thirty-two states who still allow the death penalty and seven states who have completely abolished it ( Norton,W.W.& Company, Inc 115.) Even though the use of the execution has gradually decreased, there have still been many cases in the past years that states have still used it. At one point there was a time the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional, but after a couple years the court allowed states to bring back the death penalty. The courts have struck down many laws where states have tried making it mandatory in

Death penalty, or also known as capital punishment, today is still used. Many oppose many support it. In the case Furman v. Georgia, the death penalty was abolished. But not fully, because it is still used today. In 1991 more than 2,600 people awaited execution but only fourteen were executed. Capital punishment should be legal, and should be used more often.

Imagine that you are arrested and going to be tried for a crime that you did, or did not, commit. What if you cannot afford the cost of a lawyer? Will you be able to handle the physical and mental toll that all of the appeals have on a person? The death penalty, or capital punishment, is one of the most debated topics in America. It has been used for centuries, but many claim it to be barbaric, and want the practice to end all together. The death penalty should only be used in cases where there is absolute evidence that the criminal is guilty, because life in prison can be an alternative, there are many flaws in the justice system, and it can be a cruel and unusual punishment.

In 1976 a law was passed by the state of Missouri and 25 other states. This was called the Death Penalty. Since then we have put 62 total people to death using the Death Penalty. Some states have only used this penalty 1 or 2 times, others states like Missouri, Texas, and Virginia, have used this penalty more than 5 times. Texas is even up to 11 since its legalization. The Death Penalty should not be allowed because, it violates the 8th amendment, what if someone gets falsely accused, and it violates a physician's oath to protect.

The death penalty has been around since the time of Jesus Christ. Executions have been recorded from the 1600s to present times. From about 1620, the executions by year increased in the US. It has been a steady increase up until the 1930s; later the death penalty dropped to zero in the 1970s and then again rose steadily. US citizens said that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was believed that it was "cruel and unusual" punishment (Kurtis 67). In the 1970s, the executions by year dropped between zero and one then started to rise again in the 1980s. In the year 2000, there were nearly one hundred executions in the US (Biskupic 34). On June 29, 1972, the death penalty was suspended because the existing laws were no longer convincing. However, four years after this occurred, several cases came about in Georgia, Florida, and Texas where lawyers wanted the death penalty. This set new laws in these states and later the Supreme Court decided that the death penalty was constitutional under the Eighth Amendment (Biskupic 34).

Many states don’t allow the death penalty anymore and I believe it’s because they think its inhumane and a morally wrong thing to do. I don’t believe all criminals should be sentenced to death, just criminals who will spend the rest of their lives in prison. There is just no reason to pay for a criminal to live their entire lives in jail, for committing a horrible crime, just because it is a morally wrong thing to sentence a person to death. Criminals who murder have already committed an inhumane crime by murdering innocent people. We are doing the humane thing by removing them from our society, because they will and cannot do anything positive for our society anymore.

Since 2000, there have been over 200 exonerations from death row. More than half of these exonerations are because of DNA evidence that is found which proves a defendant innocent. The reason for these exonerations is that people make mistakes, there is no way to be fully positive of somebody else’s guilt. In some cases, evidence found against a defendant could just come down to bad timing. People may agree or disagree with capital punishment because it can become a very controversial topic. The main argument against the death penalty is that it is no longer morally correct and goes against certain beliefs. The death penalty should remain illegal in Canada because it costs more for taxpayers than life without the possibility of parole, it

Capital punishment is the punishment of a heinous crime like murder. It is being used now in some states and has also been used in the ancient times. Thirteen states right now don’t have the death penalty: Alaska, District of Colombia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. But all states should ban it because the American Civil Liberties Union believes the death penalty inherently violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment and the guarantees of due process of law and of equal protection under the law. Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic

The late George Carlin joked: “In prisons, before they give you a lethal injection, they swab your arm with alcohol! […] Well, they don’t want you to get an infection” (Carlin). Ironically, prisoners are treated more humanely when they are on Death Row than if they were standard prisoners. The current process allows for the prisoner to be killed, but is an attempt to prevent degradation of human life. Although the current regulations on the death penalty adhere to the Eighth Amendment (a ban on cruel and unusual punishment), many are upset with the manner in which the execution is carried out(Salgo). Robert Blecker argues that the death penalty should remain lawful and has faith in the government to find a constitutional way to do so,

As a person I have learned how look at both sides of an argument and the death penalty is no exception; while both sides in the argument have their marit, my personal view on the subject matter is that this penalty is wrong. There are three major reasons why. The first reason just the sheer amount of tax money it takes to put someone through the death penalty. One person takes thousands of dollars more then to keep them alive and in prison. The next reason is that people can change. In reality, many people will not, but I know for a fact some do. My aunt worked in a prison for 40 years and had become friends with some of the inmates; one of her inmate friends has been in the prison for almost as long as she has worked there due to being

Since the foundation of our nation the Death Penalty has been a way to punish prisoners that have committed heinous crimes, however since the turn of the 20th century the practice of Capital Punishment has been questioned on its usage in America and the world as a whole. The Death Penalty is used in America to punish criminals who have committed murders, or taken the life of an innocent person, and while the death penalty seems like it is doing justice to those who have killed others it is actually being used improperly in most situations, while also hindering our economy and is a means of ending more lives than necessary. The Death Penalty can be a valid source of punishment for criminals in the US however due to the misuse of this power by the government it is a huge detriment to our nation and the people that inhabit it. Because of the fact that Capital Punishment is used unfairly, and ineffectively in our nation it is an obsolete form of punishment and should have no place in the United States justice department.

I don’t support the death penalty because it shows just how savage humans can be with each other. However, many Americans support the death penalty for a number of reasons. After someone’s loved one is murdered, the family immediately has thoughts about killing the offender. They feel like it’s the right thing to do after their loved one has been taken away from them and that the person that committed the crime should suffer as their loved one had to. They feel like justice has been served and that they can continue on with their daily lives. What they all fail to realize is that by killing the offender, their loved one is not going to come and knock on their doors and everything return to normal.