Preview

Opinion Paper for the Death Penalty

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
711 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Opinion Paper for the Death Penalty
In society today there are murders committed everyday. And everyday the people who commit these crimes are found guilty in a court of law and sentenced to like in prison. Some even get chances for parole. What the courts should do is take every murderer, give every one of them the death penalty, and follow through with it. The death penalty should be legal in all 50 states and carried through when given out as a sentence. Gary Gilmore faced a firing squad at the Utah State Prison on January 17, 1977. There have been 55 murders in that state during 1976. During 1977, in wake of the Gilmore execution, there were 44 murders: a 20 percent decrease. As you can see, the execution had some effect on the murder rate in Utah. There are very few proven facts about capital punishment deterring crime at this time. This is so because capital punishment is not used enough to actually have an effect on people. It is a fact that of all murder sentences that 38 percent get the death penalty. If that 38 percent only 0.1 percent are executed. If we use the death penalty more often and actually carry through with it will have an effect on the crime rate in the country. People will see that finally we have justice in this country and if they do this, there is a large chance they are going to be caught and they are going to receive the death penalty. We also need the death penalty in this country because if we execute the murderer that person has no chance to ever kill or harm another person again. The person will never have a chance for parole and there will never be a risk of this person ever ruining another family's life. It is not fair for a murderer to get life in prison. The murderer still can have a life, not much of one, but they do have one. He or she can still communicate with their families. The victim of the murder cannot. The victim's family will never be able to see there loved one again. Another thing with life in prison is that the murderer may have a chance for parole.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    ACC/290 team paper

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The death penalty is set in place to punish individuals for the most violent crimes. Its purpose to keep the death penalty legal was to deter people from doing these horrible crimes. That attempt has failed terribly. According to a report conducted by the National Research Council, it was said that we could not depend on the death penalty to deter the effect of murder rates. “Claiming that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on murder rates are fundamentally flawed and should not be used when making policy decisions” (Radelet & Locock, 2012).…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Crime is a major problem in our world today. Some people in our country live in fear that they will be the next victim of a crime; they could be robbed, raped, or even murdered. There are so many theories on how to stop crime. One of the theories is the use of the death penalty as a deterrent. There are a lot of issues that surround that idea that make the use of the death penalty just as bad as the accused committing murder. It is very contradictive, inconsistent, and unethical. Although some people believe that the death penalty deters crime, there are many arguments against it. For example, the costs are extremely high, racism is involved, and there are innocent people on death row to list a few.…

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    pre ap reasearch paper

    • 1120 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “When someone commits a felony, it is a matter of free will. No one is compelled to commit armed robbery, murder, or rape. The average citizen does not have the mind or intentions to become a killer(Ornellas).” This statement by Lori Ornellas, a victim in the brutal murder of her nephew shows us that when someone commits a crime they do it on their own account. In the United States today more than six thousand murder investigations a year go cold or go unsolved(Rein). This means that there are so many murders that get away and are not held accountable for the crimes that they have committed. Today in our society capital punishment is a form of punishment that is implemented in our justice system. Capital punishment should stay implemented in our justice system because, the death penalty can serve as a deterrent for violent crimes, the death penalty is morally permissible in today’s society, and under our Constitution the death penalty legally permissible.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The death penalty has been an ongoing debate on whether it should be allowed or whether it violates our constitutional right. While most developed Western nations have stopped executing the United States continues to execute offenders (Zimring 2004). From 1977 through 2008 1,136 people have been executed, which consisted of people who committed murder (Procon 2010). Those who are in favor of the death penalty believe it is an important tool to help deter crime and it cost less than life imprisonment (Procon 2010). They believe retribution helps console the grieving family and it also ensures that the offender will never be able to commit another heinous crime (Procon 2010). According to Grant (2004) some people believe that some offenders should face the death penalty because of vengeance and retribution for violent crimes. During the…

    • 1847 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some may say that the death penalty is helpful to society because it intimidates criminals into committing less crimes, particularly murders, when in reality, studies like one done by Benjamin S. Tyree of the University of Richmond show that there is no correlation between the use of the death penalty and lower murder rates, and if anything, states that do not use the death penalty, have lower murder rates than those that do (Deter, Tyree). If that is the case, then it is obvious that the death penalty does not benefit our country.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Historically there is no clear evidence that the death penalty has decreased the murder rate or acted as an effective deterrent to murder. Capital punishment is a violation of natural rights. This is wrong for everyone who is involved: The prosecuted innocent, the criminals, the victim’s family and our nation. The death penalty does not guarantee safety for the innocent. Nothing good comes out of hate, and nothing good can ever come from capital punishment.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The death penalty has many benefits. One is that it can help stop evil people from hurting others again in the future. A study in Texas, a state where re-arrests are common, showed that only 20% of prisoners served all their time (Dieter). If the death penalty had played a bigger role in Texas prisons, fewer prisoners would have been released early, and re-arrests would become less common. It has been shown that for every inmate put to death 3 to 18 murders are prevented (Muhlhausen).…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good 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

    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

    Dying is a horrifying topic, and death is a scary issue. None of us want our love ones dead, but what happens if they are murdered or run over by a reckless drunk driver? Should all these killers pay the price for what they did by going to prison? Or should their live be terminated as a consequence for their actions? This is a hot issue of whether we should keep the capital punishment or abandon it. When serial killers are committing a crime they never think of themselves as being the victim of death someday. Capital punishment is one of the many ways to teach murderers that for every action there is a consequence. Everyone has the right to live. No one has the right to take another human's life just because he feels like doing so. These murderers should be punished, with the penalty of death, because the death penalty not only values people's life but also shows justice under democracy.…

    • 596 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Pojman Death Penalty

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages

    I agree that the people who kill should be punished severely and depending on the case sometimes be put to death. I also agree that it is possible that the death penalty may deter people from killing because of their fear of death, but I don’t think it would deter as many people as Pojman may think it will. I am confident enough to believe that while someone is committing a cold-blooded crime like killing someone what is going through his or her head is not the possible consequence. They are usually acting out of passion or out of fear, not thinking about how this may put them in the electric chair. You can also look at the situation of criminals that get out of jail but when they get out they keep committing crimes because they are so into what they are doing they forget that they are going to be punished. That is the main argument against the idea of deterrence, along with the fact that here is absolutely no evidence in the states with the death penalty that there are fewer murders. Actually many states in the south have the death penalty and at the same time have higher murder rates than states in the northeast without the death…

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capital punishment has not been proven to deter crime and it opens the possibility of executing innocent people. That is why the United States of America should abolish the death penalty.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capital punishment is a cruel and barbaric way to stop crime. Most kids have heard the expression “do not fight fire with fire.” Using the death penalty is doing just that. Punishing criminals for murder by doing exactly what landed them in jail in the first place seems counterproductive. Instead, making felons live in prison, reflecting on their actions, gives them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. No one would be able to live with themselves if they were involved with an innocent man being wrongfully executed. Eliminating capital punishment would make that fear…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mass serial killers such as Charles Manson, Gary Ridgeway, and Dennis Radar are still serving their life sentences for their crimes they committed many years ago. These three men are a known as a few of the most notorious killers to walk this earth. They’re responsible for hundreds of deaths of innocent people. However, criminals that commit horrendous acts of crime continue to live alone in a maximum security prison cell away from other inmates to ensure their safety. Without the use of the death penalty, these criminals never feel the pain they deserve to feel. Serial killers roam the streets of the U.S, killing victims each day all the while knowing their punishment for this crime won’t result in the loss of their own life. Unfortunately, life in prison allows horrible people to live their life out in good living conditions, perhaps even better than how they were living as a member of society. While some citizens are against the death penalty, I believe it gives families closure for the loss of their loved ones. If someone takes the life of an innocent person, it is only right they receive the same punishment their victims endured.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death Penalty In America

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I along with many people in America today still believe that the death penalty is very important in that we use it as a tool in fighting violent pre-meditated murder. One big downside to the death penalty is the possibility that innocent men and women will be put to death. Also financial cost to tax payers of capital punishment is several times that of housing the perpetrator in prison. The punishment relating to this crime is quite fair, although I believe there are many cases in that a person has committed murder but has not received the death penalty for their actions. Of the 22,000 homicides committed every year approximately 150 people are sentenced to death (Death Penalty Facts, California, Death Penalty Focus, 3/31/2009). The only real problem I still see relevant to the punishment regarding any crimes that lead to the death penalty, is that there are still innocent people being put to death and obviously once this is done there is no reversing this action. Generally speaking I would say the death penalty as a punishment is fair and that we are being too lenient in that people who should receive the death penalty are given a life sentence in prison as an…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays