Why the Death Penalty is Ineffective

Is 21st century United States still in the dark ages when lawbreakers sentenced to death were executed? The United States still practices capital punishment, even though most western industrialized countries have abolished the death penalty. In 1972, the U.S Supreme Court abolished the death penalty in the United States. However, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), as of July 1, 2015, the death penalty is legal in 31 states, with Texas leading in the number of executions. Which raises the question: has the death penalty really served its purpose? The death penalty has not only proven to be a financial burden on taxpayers, it has also been confirmed to be ineffective

The legitimacy of the use of capital punishment has been tarnished by its widespread misuse , which has clouded our judgment regarding the justifiability of the death penalty as a punitive measure. However, the problems with capital punishment, such as the “potential error, irreversibility, arbitrariness and racial skew" , are not a basis for its abolition, as the world of homicide suffer from these problems more acutely. To tackle this question, one must disregard the currently blemished universal status quo and purely assess the advantages and disadvantages of the death penalty as a punitive measure. Through unprejudiced examination of the death penalty and its consequential impacts, it is evident that it is a punishment that effectively serves its retributive, denunciatory, deterrent, and incapacitative goals.

Why is the death penalty used as a means of punishment for crime? Is this just a way to solve the nations growing problem of overcrowded prisons, or is justice really being served? Why do some view the taking of a life morally correct? These questions are discussed and debated upon in every state and national legislature throughout the country. Advantages and disadvantages for the death penalty exist, and many members of the United States, and individual State governments, have differing opinions. Yet it seems that the stronger arguments, and evidence such as cost effectiveness, should lead the common citizen to the opposition of Capital Punishment.

The debate on whether or not the death penalty should be abolished has been ongoing for quite a long period of time. While there are those who believe that the death penalty does not serve its intended purpose, proponents of the same are convinced that the relevance of the same cannot be overstated and hence it should not be abolished. In this text, I examine the arguments for and against the death penalty.

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 the United States, the use of the death penalty continues to be a controversial issue. Every election year, politicians, wishing to appeal to the moral sentiments of voters, routinely compete with each other as to who will be toughest in extending the death penalty to those persons who have been convicted of first-degree murder. Both proponents and opponents of capital punishment present compelling arguments to support their claims. Often their arguments are made on different interpretations of what is moral in a just society. In this essay, I intend to present major arguments of those who support the death penalty and those who are opposed to state sanctioned executions application . However, I do intend to fairly and accurately

More than two centuries ago, the death penalty was commonplace in the United States, but today it is becoming increasingly rare. In the article “Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?”, Diann Rust-Tierney argues that it should be abolished, and Joshua Marquis argues that it should not be abolished. Although the death penalty is prone to error and discrimination, the death penalty should not be abolished because several studies show that the death penalty has a clear deterrent effect, and we need capital punishment for those certain cases in which a killer is beyond redemption.

The death penalty is the ultimate punishment. There is no harsher punishment than death itself. This nation, the United States of America, is currently one of fifty-eight nations that practice the death penalty, if one commits first-degree murder as of 2012. People that believe in the death penalty also believe that it will deter murders. In this paper I will argue that the death penalty does not deter criminals and that this nation should outlaw the practice.

This paper will discuss the Death Penalty. It analyzes the effectiveness of the death penalty. It covers the history of the death penalty as our nation shifts through various eras in its history, as well as the historical background of the death penalty in New York. It considers all factors such as crime rates, deterrence, the rights of the people, and consequences of the death penalty. Analogies were made of areas all over the country as to what degree the death penalty effects crime all around. It concludes this paper by reflecting on the information provided of the death penalty and provide an alternative to it.

Many people question the need for the death penalty, the execution of those who have committed certain crimes, as a capital punishment. For instance, the author of “Against the American System of Capital Punishment”, Jack Greenburg, who is a Professor of Law at Columbia University, argues that the death penalty does not benefit society and is not necessary. Likewise, Kevin Johnson, writer of “Study Finds No Evidence Death Penalty Deters Crime”, also argues against the use of the death penalty by pointing out the flaws in the common research of deterrence. On the other hand, some may also argue for the many aids the death penalty offers. Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy at Fordham University, Ernest Van den Haag, with his “The Ultimate Punishment: a Defense”, and authors James M. Reams and Charles T. Putnam, with their article, “Making a Case for the Deterrence Effect of Capital Punishment”, both give arguments for the grander justice the death penalty offers. While each of these articles give very well thought out claims for the necessity of the death penalty, using arguments including racism, and deterrence, Van den Haag’s claim gives the clearest and best arguments.

Against the Death Penalty: An Annotated Bibliography While the Death Penalty has been historically used as a deterrent of crime, it is barbarity, is economically costly, and racially bias in the United States of America. With this research paper, I will explain how the death penalty should be abolish from our judicial system. Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org./ This is a website that gives lots of information about the death penalty from the history, current inmates and trials that could lead to death row.

Capital punishment has been a controversial topic in association to ethics all of its existence. Issues pertaining to the execution methods, reasonability in the relationship of punishment to the crime, who receives the death penalty, and innocence have been discussed and researched in great lengths. Capital punishment is still an active form of “deterrence” in the United States for crimes considered the worst of the worst. In this paper I will discuss the history of the death penalty. I will also disclose information on the dynamics of race, method, and court cases valid to the death penalty.

Throughout time, the death penalty has been the ultimate price for crime in many cultures. In the United States and for the purposes of this paper, we will discuss it in relation to capital murder. In this paper, we will examine the current death penalty policy in the United States and its sometimes inconsistent and brutal application. We will also examine whether the death penalty is effective in providing deterrence, as well as a policy recommendations.

Is killing people that kill others effective? The death penalty continues to be an issue throughout the United States and always will be. The death penalty throughout the United States has mostly been abolished. Several countries throughout the United States have put an end to the death penalty. Society should not kill the violent criminals for what they have done because the criminals can always change. Killing prisoners for the sake of killing is wrong. With the death penalty still in the United States, taxpayers would have to pay more money. Even though the criminals have made mistakes in the past they cannot change that they had done. Also, every family that has a loved one on death row are feeling stressed and hurt knowing that they are

Edgar Hoover’s statement also stands controversial in its conclusion. In addition to these experience-based evidences, the author also presents the 1975 L.A.P.D. study that showed “that 4 out of 5 convicts did not carry a gun when engaged in a criminal activity for fear of the death penalty.” Despite the studies’ statistical support, specific details and variables are not addressed for the study nor is the time frame completely relevant to the current society.