Preview

Death Penalty

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
461 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Death Penalty
DEATH PENALTY

The death penalty is an ongoing controversy in the United States. There are people that are for it and those that oppose it. I am for it, but only for the horrendous crimes that are committed today in our society. In my personal opinion, I think priests that molest or "take advantage" of little boys deserve the death penalty. In today's society, this is one of the most controversial debates whether capital punishment should be outlawed. Capital punishment has two basic arguments within the debate to make: First is the question of whether capital punishment is moral, or simply put is it justified. The second is the question of whether capital punishment is constitutional. According to the constitution, everyone has a right to freedom, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There are some disadvantages of capital punishment. Opponents have four basic arguments to make. The first is that there is a possibility of error, meaning that the person accused is not the real criminal. Although there is a slight chance of error, this is separate from the issue of the death penalty being justified. They would say that capital punishment should not be used when one is not one-hundred percent positive of the criminal's guilt. Second argument they make is the execution process. One may be given "the chair," lethal injection or gas. Third argument is a debate with the supporters that capital punishment may lower crime rates, but no studies show that it has any affect with capital punishment. Last argument an opponent would make is the time spent on death row.

There is a problem with the death penalty. It is high-priced because a prisoner can be sent to death row, but he or she can have an appeal, awaiting a retrial due to new evidence, all which can be a slow, costly and lengthy process. A prisoner convicted of a horrendous crime can get parole, which is unjust to the victim and/or the victim's family. What makes the parole board think the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hockey bruh

    • 482 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Introduction: In this lab you will conduct a flame test of 3 unknown solutions. You will ... Before completing Parts 2-4, you MUST complete the pre-lab so you are.…

    • 482 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Phil 1112 Death Penalty

    • 1930 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “An eye for an eye,” right? As fair as America tries to be, sometimes we also have to remember that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Many people rave about how the death penalty is an unjust punishment and that we can do without it; the idea of killing someone so that the punishment fits the crime is what shows how our world and societies are just as cruel as the criminals in it. The death penalty debate is a dispute that is learning to become more immoral and becoming a less used tactic when penalizing criminals. This problem has decreased significantly over the last couple decades but the controversy is still up in the air nearly everywhere. Additionally, much of the controversy has a heavy influence on biomedical research due to the fact that lethal injection is highly used for execution purposes. Currently many professionals are looking for other forms of punishment, yet there are still many people who believe that this is a fair and equal punishment. Regardless of which side one is on, both perspectives offer good reasoning to why or why not the death penalty should continue to stay in effect. Althought I do not agree with the death many and it’s many consequences, I understand the reason for it being so controversial.…

    • 1930 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kennedy Vs Louisiana

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    These are the three main points to support my opinion of capital punishment. First, innocent people go to jail or get assassinated over things they didn’t do. Second, when criminals are put into jail, they get out in a certain amount of years, then go back to the crime they did before. Lastly, racial discrimination is everywhere, even in court. Proving a deeper perspective, I will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that capital punishment does not deter crime.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mkt 421 Week 1

    • 2664 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Participation (2 points per week, ½ point per qualifying day - 2 substantive posts = qualifying day)…

    • 2664 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Society demands that punishment should fix the harm it has done. By sentencing a person to death no harm has been fixed. As long as capital punishment exists in our society it will continue to spark the injustice, which it has failed to curb. The death penalty is morally and socially unethical, should be construed as cruel and unusual punishment, has no proof of acting as deterrent, and risks the appalling and unacceptable injustice of executing innocent people. It does not matter who does the killing as long as a life is taken by another, it should always be considered…

    • 1955 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Concealed Carrt

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Some of the senators claim they can be used for self-defense. But the truth is that Concealed handguns are not an effective form of self-defense. A Nov. 2009 peer-reviewed study published in the American Journal of Public Health by Charles Branas, PhD, found that someone carrying a gun for self-defense was 4.5 times more likely to be shot during an assault than an assault victim without a gun. Attackers often surprise victims, making it difficult to use a concealed handgun. Easy weapons to control like mace and tazers would be discharched quicker both because of their simplicity and also because they are less harmful to the assailant. The victim is slower to discharge a weapon that they know will be more harmfull, giving the assailant more time to shot their victim.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The death penalty has been a criminal sentence imposed in America for hundreds of years, but it have been extremely controversial as Evan Mandery illustrates in “A Wild Justice: The Death and Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America.” Today, the death sentence is strictly used in murder cases and in thirty-two out of the fifty states in America. In these states, it is completely legal to use the ultimate punishment of death to incapacitate a criminal from committing any further harm to society. Throughout American history, many individuals have supported the death penalty because they believe it is an effective way to deter crime and is a form of retribution. Others have strongly advocated against capital punishment because it is not morally correct and it not applied fairly. Also, some argue that it is unconstitutional to use the death penalty because it violates the cruel and unusual punishment provision of the Eight Amendment written in the United States Constitution.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Meme

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The main problem with the death penalty is that those that are wrgonly accused can still be executed. On estimate, one death row inmate is wrongly executed out of every seven! ("Update: Death Penalty") "The 100-Plus innocent people exonerated from death row represent further proof that the death penalty should be abolished." (Update: Death Penalty") This means that if the accused's verdict is incorrect and they are sent to death before they realize that he was wrongly accused, that's one innocent life wasted that could have been saved if this punishment was not used. A way that this could happen could be caused due to bad lawyers. "Perhaps the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the death penalty is the quality of the representation he or she is provided. Almost all defendants in capital cases cannot afford their own attorneys. In many cases, the appointed attorneys are overworked, underpaid, or lacking the trial experience required for death penalty cases. There have even been instances in which lawyers appointed to a death case were so inexperienced that they were completely unprepared for the sentencing phase of the trial. Other appointed attorneys have slept through parts of the trial, or arrived at the court under the influence of alcohol." (Facts & Figures of the Death Penalty) This goes to show on how biased and unfair this punishment is. If the defendant's lawyer isn't as…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Death Penalty

    • 4048 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Title: Point: Capital Punishment Should Be Abolished. By: Ballaro, Beverly, Cushman, C. Ames, Points of View: Death Penalty, 2009 Database: Points of View Reference Center…

    • 4048 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death Penalty

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages

    After analyzing Ernest Van Den Haag’s case study ‘In Defense of the Death Penalty’, and Hugo A. Bedau’s ‘The Case Against the Death Penalty’, I have conflicting feelings contradict my own analysis. Ernest Van Den Haag breaks down the pros and cons of the death penalty and uses retributivism to justify death penalty and capital punishment, while Hugo A. Bedau’s article is about the inconsistency in capital punishment and in particular on the abolition of practice. Each article states key positions that make my feelings conflicted between both sides, Bedau backs up that the majority of people persecuted fight through several trails after a long period incarcerated with life sentenced to death end up guilty. (Bedau, 243) Van Den Haag key positions reflect in the retributivist statement, “eye for an eye”. (Van Den Haag, 231) I believe in both sides, and in my own opinion there is no solution for middle ground.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Legislature passes sentencing Laws; this specifies the terms of indeterminate sentencing. An Indeterminate term of incarceration is in which a judge determines the minimum and maximum terms of imprisonment. Only a jury can hand down the decision of the death penalty. When the minimum term is reached the prisoner becomes eligible to be paroled. Then there is determinate sentencing, this is a period of incarceration that is fixed by a sentencing authority and cannot be reduced by judges or other corrections officials. A factor that can change incarceration time is that of “good time”, this is when a reduction in time served by a prisoner is based on good behavior and other positive actions. This is said to promote discipline and reduce overcrowding. However, in murder convictions and other serious crimes an inmate must complete at least 85% of his or her sentence and no time is taken off for good behavior. This is called, truth in sentencing. Generally on an average a prisoner receives a reduction of one day for every one day of “good time”. The last step is an Executive; they set the dates of release for inmates. If for example a criminal is sentenced to 3-5 years in prison, once the inmate reaches year three, the prisoner becomes eligible for parole. Parole is a condition of early release from a correctional facility however is not freed from legal custody and supervision of the…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The death penalty has always been a controversial topic in the United States. It is outlawed in 16 states, but it should be abolished in all fifty states. The act of the death penalty is irrational, costly, inhumane, and religiously immoral. Taking an individual’s life, because he/she murdered someone is senseless and is not a good representation of the United States.…

    • 1980 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Death Penalty

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages

    (1) Capital Punishment, or execution, the sentence of death upon a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense committed.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are few policies that produce as much debate, controversy and emotion in this country as the death penalty. Capital punishment has been around in this country since colonial times when people were killed for practicing witchcraft and today the death penalty is legal in 31 states. Since 1976, 1414 people have been executed in the U.S. (deathpenaltyinfo.org). People who favor capital punishment believe that if someone brutally take's another person's life then they should lose their own right to life. However, in taking a closer look at the death penalty, there are many problems associated with it such as that is is morally wrong, the botching of executions, the execution of innocent people, and the fact that it is a flawed system…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The death penalty is a major topic for debate Shannon Rafferty defends in her portfolio published by Penn State entitled “Death Penalty Persuasive Essay.” She believes the penalty should be allowed because it functions as a deterrent, it provides society retribution and it is morally just. Olivia H. disagrees with use of the death penalty in her essay “Capital Punishment Is Dead wrong.” She tells about the risk of punishing the innocent, and how the states are doing irreversible acts of crime. As the authors disagree about whether the death penalty should be allowed, they have some common ground when it comes to admitting the potential for human error and in both disagreeing to the use of barbaric punishments by the government.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics