Analyzing Adam Smith's Views On The Death Penalty
Honors English 2
Research Paper
Death Penalty
“We Need Capital Punishment” “Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.” These words were spoken by Adam Smith and talk about his view on the death penalty. Although some believe that it violates that eighth amendment, the death penalty is valuable in today’s society because it preserves law and order as well as deters crime and is cost efficient. The death penalty is a valuable tool in our society also because it is retribution or “an eye for an eye” for the victim’s family. It helps honor the victim as well as helps console the grieving family of the victim. It also ensures that the perpetrators of these terrible crimes never have another opportunity to cause more death and tragedy …show more content…
(Death Penalty). To use a formal definition, capital punishment is used only for aggravated murders committed by mentally competent adults (Capital Punishment in the US). As of April 1, 2008, the death penalty was authorized by 37 States, the Federal Government and the US Military. The states that do not have the death penalty include Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (The Death Penalty in the US). In 2012, 43 inmates were executed in the United States and 3,146 were on death row. The methods of execution are different and vary depending on jurisdiction. Lethal injection is the main method used in all 37 states with the death penalty and the use of lethal injection has become the standard method for executions. Other methods include electrocution, firing squads, lethal gas, and hanging. Some states allow prisoners to choose which method they would prefer. In all executions, an hour or two before, the prisoner is offered religious services and a last meal. All executions are carried out in private with only a few invited people allowed to view. The legal process of the death penalty is a very lengthy and complex process. This is to ensure that only the serious and most evil guilty criminals receive the death penalty. The legal process typically involves four steps: 1) sentencing 2) direct review 3) state collateral review 4) federal habeas corpus. After the accused is tried and sentenced, he or she has to go through direct review. This is a typical legal appeal and results in one of three outcomes. They can either affirm the judgment, which means the sentence will be carried out, they can reverse the judgment or nullify the sentence, or they can order the next highest punishment for that crime. After the direct review, it can go through the state collateral review to be overturned. However, only about six percent of the death sentences are overturned on state collateral review. In 2010, 53 death sentences were overturned during this stage of the process. Finally, after the sentence is affirmed in the state collateral review, the prisoner may file for Federal habeas corpus. This is a unique type of lawsuit which is brought to the federal courts. About 21 percent of death penalty cases are reversed through Federal habeas corpus (Capital Punishment in the US). Only after that whole process is may the prisoner officially on death row. Some people who are against the death penalty argue that it does not deter violent crimes.
And some argue that states with the death penalty have a higher crime rates than states that don’t have the death penalty. However, every state is different in that each state has differences in population, number of cities and crime rates. For example, urbanized states are more likely to have higher crime rates. Also, states that have the death penalty are obliged to have it because of their higher crime rates and not the other way around. Let’s look at some facts. In fact, in 1960, there were 56 executions and 9,140 murders. In 1964, fifteen executions and 9,250 and in 1969 there were no executions. There was a temporary suspension on capital punishment from 1972 to 1976. During this time there were no executions and 20,510 murders. In 1980 there were 23,040 murders with only two executions since 1976. Between 1965 and 1980 the annual murders was from 9,960 to 23,040, which is a 131 percent increase. This is strong evidence that execution is a deterrent of murder. Furthermore, in the state of Texas, has the highest execution rate of any other state. Specifically, the murder rate in 1991 was 15.3 per 100,000 people. By 1999, the rate had fallen to 6.1, a 60 percent drop. In Harris County, Texas, which has the most aggressive death penalty prosecutions, as a result of the resumption of executions in 1982, the murders per year dropped from 701 to 241. That’s a 72 …show more content…
percent drop. Additionally, there has been as series of academic studies within six years that shows that the death penalty does in fact act as a deterrent murder. Analysts have concluded that three to eighteen lives would be saved by the execution of each convicted murderer. Naci Mocun, an economics professor at the University of Colorado, co-authored a 2003 study and re-examined a 2006 study that found that with each execution there are five fewer murders. There has also been dozens of paper written about the deterrent effect since 2001. Each one of them examine executions and murders by year and by state or county in order to conclude the impact of the death penalty on murders. They do this by accounting for other factors such as unemployment data and per capita income, the probabilities of arrest and convictions. This data arrives at the same conclusions. In fact, a nationwide study in 2003 by professors at Emory University states that each execution deters an average of eighteen murders. Also, an Illinois moratorium on executions in 2000 led to 150 additional murders over four years, says a study in 2006 by professors at the University of Huston (Pro Death Penalty). Further, research conducted by Paul H. Rubin and two of his colleagues at Emory University used mathematical probability equations to come up with answers and used county-level data instead of state in order to find more exact results. In the end, they came up with six equations measuring the deterrent effect. In all six, they found that each execution had a significant reduction and an average of eighteen fewer murders (Kukathas). An argument by people who oppose the death penalty states it violates the Eighth Amendment, which is about “cruel and unusual punishment.” However, “cruel and unusual punishment” was never defined by our founding fathers. However, the Justices of the Supreme Court have held that the death penalty is not cruel and unusual. In fact, during the Furman v. Georgia case, the court said “the punishment of death is not cruel, within the meaning of that word as used in the Constitution. It implies there is something more inhuman extinguishment of life.” Also, former Justice Marshall McComb wrote in 1972, “It is my opinion that the death penalty is constitutional, as determined… in numerable cases.” Another argument that people make against the death penalty is the cost. They say that the death penalty costs more that life without parole. But, the Justice For All, estimates that life without parole cases cost about $1.2 million to $3.6 million more than the equivalent death penalty cases. Life without parole prisoners face, on average, thirty to forty years in prison and the annual cost for that one person is about $40,000 to $50,000 a year and could be more. To put it into perspective, life without parole prisoners cost about $1 million per person for fifty years. While the death penalty may cost $2 million per case, if you add up the total money for a life without parole prisoner, the death penalty is much cheaper. In addition, the death penalty also saves in trial costs. In states with the death penalty, a larger number of defendants are willing to plea guilty and receive a life sentence. An additional argument that is used against the death penalty is the morality of it. However, how can murder be taken seriously, if the penalty for your actions is not as serious? Edward Koch once said, “It is by exacting the highest penalty for the taking of human life that we affirm the highest value of human life.” Professor Donald Atwell Zoll from Arizona State University said, “Capital punishment ought not to be abolished solely because it is…repulsive, if infinitely less repulsive then the acts which make it… (Pro Death Penalty)” A final argument that there is against the death penalty is that people say that life without parole is the better option. However life imprisonment tends to deteriorate over time. For example, in 1962, James Moore raped and strangled fourteen year old Pamela Moss. The parents of the victim decided to take mercy on her murder and Moore got life without parole. But thanks to the change on sentencing law in 1982, Moore is eligible for parole every two years. According the US Department of Justice, the average sentence for murder is five years and eleven months. Meaning that convicted murders could get out and possibly kill again. Also life without parole doesn 't prevent the murders committed within the prison when they kill the prison guards or prison inmates and even innocent citizens upon escape. For example, Dawud Mu’Min, in 1973 he was put in prison for murdering a cab driver, but somehow escaped and stabbed a storekeeper to death in 1988 after attempting to rob the store. Fortunately, he was executed in 1997, in the state of Virginia. Had he been executed the first time, a life would have been saved. The problem with life without parole is that laws change and so do people. Like with Kenneth McDuff. McDuff was convicted in 1966 for shooting two boys and rape-strangled their sixteen years old female companion. His jury decided that he be executed, however he was sentenced to life without parole in 1972 after the US Supreme Court struck down the death penalty. In 1989, the Texas prisons were overflowing, so McDuff was quietly turned loose on an unsuspecting citizenry. He was then put in jail again in 1989 after beating a strangling a women. He was out again in 1990. Within two years, McDuff captured, raped and killed five more women, one of them pregnant with her third child. He was arrest on May 4 in Kansas City and executed on November 7, 1998 in Texas. If he had been executed as scheduled the first time, nine lives would have been saved (Pro Death Penalty). In conclusion, the death penalty is the better choice for a variety of different reasons.
Not only is more cost efficient then life without parole, but it also as a deterrent effect on murder. And there is statistical proof that backs that theory. The death penalty does not violate the eighth amendment as its not cruel or unusual punishment. The death penalty is a better choice than life without parole because it prevents violent murderers from killing again. It also prevents parole boards and criminal rights activists from giving them the chance to repeat their murders. And if that’s not enough proof, let’s look at it in more simple terms. No executed murderer has ever killed
again.
Worked Cited Page
"Death Penalty." Death Penalty ProCon.org. 2013. 13 May 2013 .
"The Death Penalty in the United States." The Death Penalty in the United States. 2013. 10 May 2013. .
Kukathas, Uma. Death penalty. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven P, 2008.
"Pro Death Penalty." Pro Death Penalty Webpage. 2011. 18 May 2013 .
"Capital punishment in the United States." Wikipedia. 23 May 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 13 May 2013 .
Research Paper
Death Penalty
“We Need Capital Punishment” “Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.” These words were spoken by Adam Smith and talk about his view on the death penalty. Although some believe that it violates that eighth amendment, the death penalty is valuable in today’s society because it preserves law and order as well as deters crime and is cost efficient. The death penalty is a valuable tool in our society also because it is retribution or “an eye for an eye” for the victim’s family. It helps honor the victim as well as helps console the grieving family of the victim. It also ensures that the perpetrators of these terrible crimes never have another opportunity to cause more death and tragedy …show more content…
(Death Penalty). To use a formal definition, capital punishment is used only for aggravated murders committed by mentally competent adults (Capital Punishment in the US). As of April 1, 2008, the death penalty was authorized by 37 States, the Federal Government and the US Military. The states that do not have the death penalty include Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (The Death Penalty in the US). In 2012, 43 inmates were executed in the United States and 3,146 were on death row. The methods of execution are different and vary depending on jurisdiction. Lethal injection is the main method used in all 37 states with the death penalty and the use of lethal injection has become the standard method for executions. Other methods include electrocution, firing squads, lethal gas, and hanging. Some states allow prisoners to choose which method they would prefer. In all executions, an hour or two before, the prisoner is offered religious services and a last meal. All executions are carried out in private with only a few invited people allowed to view. The legal process of the death penalty is a very lengthy and complex process. This is to ensure that only the serious and most evil guilty criminals receive the death penalty. The legal process typically involves four steps: 1) sentencing 2) direct review 3) state collateral review 4) federal habeas corpus. After the accused is tried and sentenced, he or she has to go through direct review. This is a typical legal appeal and results in one of three outcomes. They can either affirm the judgment, which means the sentence will be carried out, they can reverse the judgment or nullify the sentence, or they can order the next highest punishment for that crime. After the direct review, it can go through the state collateral review to be overturned. However, only about six percent of the death sentences are overturned on state collateral review. In 2010, 53 death sentences were overturned during this stage of the process. Finally, after the sentence is affirmed in the state collateral review, the prisoner may file for Federal habeas corpus. This is a unique type of lawsuit which is brought to the federal courts. About 21 percent of death penalty cases are reversed through Federal habeas corpus (Capital Punishment in the US). Only after that whole process is may the prisoner officially on death row. Some people who are against the death penalty argue that it does not deter violent crimes.
And some argue that states with the death penalty have a higher crime rates than states that don’t have the death penalty. However, every state is different in that each state has differences in population, number of cities and crime rates. For example, urbanized states are more likely to have higher crime rates. Also, states that have the death penalty are obliged to have it because of their higher crime rates and not the other way around. Let’s look at some facts. In fact, in 1960, there were 56 executions and 9,140 murders. In 1964, fifteen executions and 9,250 and in 1969 there were no executions. There was a temporary suspension on capital punishment from 1972 to 1976. During this time there were no executions and 20,510 murders. In 1980 there were 23,040 murders with only two executions since 1976. Between 1965 and 1980 the annual murders was from 9,960 to 23,040, which is a 131 percent increase. This is strong evidence that execution is a deterrent of murder. Furthermore, in the state of Texas, has the highest execution rate of any other state. Specifically, the murder rate in 1991 was 15.3 per 100,000 people. By 1999, the rate had fallen to 6.1, a 60 percent drop. In Harris County, Texas, which has the most aggressive death penalty prosecutions, as a result of the resumption of executions in 1982, the murders per year dropped from 701 to 241. That’s a 72 …show more content…
percent drop. Additionally, there has been as series of academic studies within six years that shows that the death penalty does in fact act as a deterrent murder. Analysts have concluded that three to eighteen lives would be saved by the execution of each convicted murderer. Naci Mocun, an economics professor at the University of Colorado, co-authored a 2003 study and re-examined a 2006 study that found that with each execution there are five fewer murders. There has also been dozens of paper written about the deterrent effect since 2001. Each one of them examine executions and murders by year and by state or county in order to conclude the impact of the death penalty on murders. They do this by accounting for other factors such as unemployment data and per capita income, the probabilities of arrest and convictions. This data arrives at the same conclusions. In fact, a nationwide study in 2003 by professors at Emory University states that each execution deters an average of eighteen murders. Also, an Illinois moratorium on executions in 2000 led to 150 additional murders over four years, says a study in 2006 by professors at the University of Huston (Pro Death Penalty). Further, research conducted by Paul H. Rubin and two of his colleagues at Emory University used mathematical probability equations to come up with answers and used county-level data instead of state in order to find more exact results. In the end, they came up with six equations measuring the deterrent effect. In all six, they found that each execution had a significant reduction and an average of eighteen fewer murders (Kukathas). An argument by people who oppose the death penalty states it violates the Eighth Amendment, which is about “cruel and unusual punishment.” However, “cruel and unusual punishment” was never defined by our founding fathers. However, the Justices of the Supreme Court have held that the death penalty is not cruel and unusual. In fact, during the Furman v. Georgia case, the court said “the punishment of death is not cruel, within the meaning of that word as used in the Constitution. It implies there is something more inhuman extinguishment of life.” Also, former Justice Marshall McComb wrote in 1972, “It is my opinion that the death penalty is constitutional, as determined… in numerable cases.” Another argument that people make against the death penalty is the cost. They say that the death penalty costs more that life without parole. But, the Justice For All, estimates that life without parole cases cost about $1.2 million to $3.6 million more than the equivalent death penalty cases. Life without parole prisoners face, on average, thirty to forty years in prison and the annual cost for that one person is about $40,000 to $50,000 a year and could be more. To put it into perspective, life without parole prisoners cost about $1 million per person for fifty years. While the death penalty may cost $2 million per case, if you add up the total money for a life without parole prisoner, the death penalty is much cheaper. In addition, the death penalty also saves in trial costs. In states with the death penalty, a larger number of defendants are willing to plea guilty and receive a life sentence. An additional argument that is used against the death penalty is the morality of it. However, how can murder be taken seriously, if the penalty for your actions is not as serious? Edward Koch once said, “It is by exacting the highest penalty for the taking of human life that we affirm the highest value of human life.” Professor Donald Atwell Zoll from Arizona State University said, “Capital punishment ought not to be abolished solely because it is…repulsive, if infinitely less repulsive then the acts which make it… (Pro Death Penalty)” A final argument that there is against the death penalty is that people say that life without parole is the better option. However life imprisonment tends to deteriorate over time. For example, in 1962, James Moore raped and strangled fourteen year old Pamela Moss. The parents of the victim decided to take mercy on her murder and Moore got life without parole. But thanks to the change on sentencing law in 1982, Moore is eligible for parole every two years. According the US Department of Justice, the average sentence for murder is five years and eleven months. Meaning that convicted murders could get out and possibly kill again. Also life without parole doesn 't prevent the murders committed within the prison when they kill the prison guards or prison inmates and even innocent citizens upon escape. For example, Dawud Mu’Min, in 1973 he was put in prison for murdering a cab driver, but somehow escaped and stabbed a storekeeper to death in 1988 after attempting to rob the store. Fortunately, he was executed in 1997, in the state of Virginia. Had he been executed the first time, a life would have been saved. The problem with life without parole is that laws change and so do people. Like with Kenneth McDuff. McDuff was convicted in 1966 for shooting two boys and rape-strangled their sixteen years old female companion. His jury decided that he be executed, however he was sentenced to life without parole in 1972 after the US Supreme Court struck down the death penalty. In 1989, the Texas prisons were overflowing, so McDuff was quietly turned loose on an unsuspecting citizenry. He was then put in jail again in 1989 after beating a strangling a women. He was out again in 1990. Within two years, McDuff captured, raped and killed five more women, one of them pregnant with her third child. He was arrest on May 4 in Kansas City and executed on November 7, 1998 in Texas. If he had been executed as scheduled the first time, nine lives would have been saved (Pro Death Penalty). In conclusion, the death penalty is the better choice for a variety of different reasons.
Not only is more cost efficient then life without parole, but it also as a deterrent effect on murder. And there is statistical proof that backs that theory. The death penalty does not violate the eighth amendment as its not cruel or unusual punishment. The death penalty is a better choice than life without parole because it prevents violent murderers from killing again. It also prevents parole boards and criminal rights activists from giving them the chance to repeat their murders. And if that’s not enough proof, let’s look at it in more simple terms. No executed murderer has ever killed
again.
Worked Cited Page
"Death Penalty." Death Penalty ProCon.org. 2013. 13 May 2013 .
"The Death Penalty in the United States." The Death Penalty in the United States. 2013. 10 May 2013. .
Kukathas, Uma. Death penalty. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven P, 2008.
"Pro Death Penalty." Pro Death Penalty Webpage. 2011. 18 May 2013 .
"Capital punishment in the United States." Wikipedia. 23 May 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 13 May 2013 .