Porter's Argument Against The Death Penalty
Death penalty, also called capital punishment, is when a government or state executes (kills) someone, usually because he or she has done a serious crime, such as murder.
The death penalty is a disputed and controversial topic.
Supporters of the death penalty: Some people think it is right for governments to kill criminals. They say that this punishes the criminal for their crime, or that it will stop other people from committing serious crimes.
People who are against the death penalty: Other people think that it is wrong for governments to kill people. There is the danger that an innocent person will be killed. Also, poor people and minorities are more likely to be executed in countries with the death penalty. People who are against the death penalty may protest outside prisons where criminals are being executed. There is an example of an innocent person named Anthony Porter. Anthony …show more content…
was made to wait for sixteen years in prison waiting for his death. After sixteen years, people found out that Anthony Porter was innocent.[1]
About one third of the countries in the world have laws that allow the death penalty.[2] The United States, The People's Republic of China, Japan and Iran are examples of countries that have a death penalty. Canada, Australia, Mexico and all members of Council of Europe are examples of countries that have abolished the death penalty.
Over half the countries in the world have gotten rid of the death penalty in law and practice: 75 countries have gotten rid of the capital punishment for all crimes and another 20 can be considered abolitionist in practice. The latter retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more.
Most of the countries that have a death penalty use it on murderers, and for other serious crimes such as rape or terrorism. Other countries especially ones with Authoritarian or Totalitarian governments, however, also use it for smaller crimes like theft, or for saying bad things about the government.
Contents [hide]
1 Which countries execute the most people?
2 Common reasons for execution
3 Who may not be executed
4 Controversy
5 Forms of execution
6 Gallery
7 References
[change]Which countries execute the most people?
A study done in 2005 found that the following countries did the most executions:[source?]
China (At least 1,770 executions)
Iran (At least 94)
Saudi Arabia (At least 86)
United States (60)
Pakistan (31)
Yemen (24)
Vietnam (21)
Jordan (11)
[change]Common reasons for execution
It is common to have people executed for crimes like murder, but there are also other crimes that carry the death penalty. Some of these are:
Bank robbery (Saudi Arabia)
Kidnapping
Trafficking with human beings (this is like slavery) (China)
General robbery if at least one person dies (America)
Rape (China, Saudi Arabia)
Trafficking or possessing certain illegal drugs in a certain quantity (Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and others)
Bribery and Corruption (China)
Adultery (Saudi-Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan)
Homosexuality (Iran, Saudi-Arabia, Yemen, Sudan and Mauritania)
Prostitution (both prostituting oneself and forcing others to do the same) (Iraq until 2003, Saudi Arabia)
Apostasy in Islam (Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi-Arabia, Somalia and Sudan)
Witchcraft (Saudi Arabia)
During war time, the following crimes are often punished by death:
Treason
Espionage
Sabotage
Desertion
[change]Who may not be executed
According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that became valid in 1976, people that were not at least eighteen years old at the time they committed the crime may not be executed. According to the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically its 13th amendment (2002), no one must be executed.
[change]Controversy
Some people think the death penalty is a good thing, and others think it is a bad thing.
Many people on both sides of the argument have very strong feelings. One side says the death penalty is good because it scares people away from doing things that could get them killed, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says that execution is murder. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and action that should be used to deal with it. Throughout human history, governments and rulers have used many death penalty methods to execute people, such as crucifixion, flaying, and hanging. Some methods like crucifixion and flaying are no longer used by governments, because people think that these methods of killing are too cruel. The gas chamber was found unconstitutional in the United States (that is: against the US constitution not allowing "cruel and unusual punishments") and is no longer used.It can also be used in certain states for varying
offenses.
The Council of Europe has abolished all death penalty by 13th amendment of the European Convention on Human Rights. Amnesty International oppose all death penalty on ground of the right to life and prohibition of all tortures or any cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment insisted by Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
[change]Forms of execution
A mannequin is placed in a garrote to demonstrate the position of a human in the device
The following forms of execution are in use today:
Electric chair: The prisoner is killed by a strong source of electricity attached to their head and leg.
Lethal injection: The prisoner is poisoned with a mix of chemicals that are put into their body. Some countries use chemicals that cause controversy.
Firing squad: Some people shoot the prisoner with rifles. Firing squads are often used as the death penalty for soldiers during wars. One or more of those firing may have false ammunition that does not kill to make sure that nobody can brag with a decisive shot. Firing squad is traditional military execution, and often deserters, traitors and spies are shot.
Hanging: The prisoner has a rope tied around their neck. They are then dropped from a height. They die because their neck is broken or through choking (asphyxiation), if the drop is too small or knot was badly made. If the drop is too long or the prisoner too heavy, the result may be their head being torn off.
The death penalty is a disputed and controversial topic.
Supporters of the death penalty: Some people think it is right for governments to kill criminals. They say that this punishes the criminal for their crime, or that it will stop other people from committing serious crimes.
People who are against the death penalty: Other people think that it is wrong for governments to kill people. There is the danger that an innocent person will be killed. Also, poor people and minorities are more likely to be executed in countries with the death penalty. People who are against the death penalty may protest outside prisons where criminals are being executed. There is an example of an innocent person named Anthony Porter. Anthony …show more content…
was made to wait for sixteen years in prison waiting for his death. After sixteen years, people found out that Anthony Porter was innocent.[1]
About one third of the countries in the world have laws that allow the death penalty.[2] The United States, The People's Republic of China, Japan and Iran are examples of countries that have a death penalty. Canada, Australia, Mexico and all members of Council of Europe are examples of countries that have abolished the death penalty.
Over half the countries in the world have gotten rid of the death penalty in law and practice: 75 countries have gotten rid of the capital punishment for all crimes and another 20 can be considered abolitionist in practice. The latter retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more.
Most of the countries that have a death penalty use it on murderers, and for other serious crimes such as rape or terrorism. Other countries especially ones with Authoritarian or Totalitarian governments, however, also use it for smaller crimes like theft, or for saying bad things about the government.
Contents [hide]
1 Which countries execute the most people?
2 Common reasons for execution
3 Who may not be executed
4 Controversy
5 Forms of execution
6 Gallery
7 References
[change]Which countries execute the most people?
A study done in 2005 found that the following countries did the most executions:[source?]
China (At least 1,770 executions)
Iran (At least 94)
Saudi Arabia (At least 86)
United States (60)
Pakistan (31)
Yemen (24)
Vietnam (21)
Jordan (11)
[change]Common reasons for execution
It is common to have people executed for crimes like murder, but there are also other crimes that carry the death penalty. Some of these are:
Bank robbery (Saudi Arabia)
Kidnapping
Trafficking with human beings (this is like slavery) (China)
General robbery if at least one person dies (America)
Rape (China, Saudi Arabia)
Trafficking or possessing certain illegal drugs in a certain quantity (Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and others)
Bribery and Corruption (China)
Adultery (Saudi-Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan)
Homosexuality (Iran, Saudi-Arabia, Yemen, Sudan and Mauritania)
Prostitution (both prostituting oneself and forcing others to do the same) (Iraq until 2003, Saudi Arabia)
Apostasy in Islam (Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi-Arabia, Somalia and Sudan)
Witchcraft (Saudi Arabia)
During war time, the following crimes are often punished by death:
Treason
Espionage
Sabotage
Desertion
[change]Who may not be executed
According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that became valid in 1976, people that were not at least eighteen years old at the time they committed the crime may not be executed. According to the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically its 13th amendment (2002), no one must be executed.
[change]Controversy
Some people think the death penalty is a good thing, and others think it is a bad thing.
Many people on both sides of the argument have very strong feelings. One side says the death penalty is good because it scares people away from doing things that could get them killed, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says that execution is murder. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and action that should be used to deal with it. Throughout human history, governments and rulers have used many death penalty methods to execute people, such as crucifixion, flaying, and hanging. Some methods like crucifixion and flaying are no longer used by governments, because people think that these methods of killing are too cruel. The gas chamber was found unconstitutional in the United States (that is: against the US constitution not allowing "cruel and unusual punishments") and is no longer used.It can also be used in certain states for varying
offenses.
The Council of Europe has abolished all death penalty by 13th amendment of the European Convention on Human Rights. Amnesty International oppose all death penalty on ground of the right to life and prohibition of all tortures or any cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment insisted by Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
[change]Forms of execution
A mannequin is placed in a garrote to demonstrate the position of a human in the device
The following forms of execution are in use today:
Electric chair: The prisoner is killed by a strong source of electricity attached to their head and leg.
Lethal injection: The prisoner is poisoned with a mix of chemicals that are put into their body. Some countries use chemicals that cause controversy.
Firing squad: Some people shoot the prisoner with rifles. Firing squads are often used as the death penalty for soldiers during wars. One or more of those firing may have false ammunition that does not kill to make sure that nobody can brag with a decisive shot. Firing squad is traditional military execution, and often deserters, traitors and spies are shot.
Hanging: The prisoner has a rope tied around their neck. They are then dropped from a height. They die because their neck is broken or through choking (asphyxiation), if the drop is too small or knot was badly made. If the drop is too long or the prisoner too heavy, the result may be their head being torn off.