The Death Penalty: Pro By killing felons, the death penalty removes the burden of housing them within the penitentiary system. Prison overcrowding and overstretched resources are key issues in prisons in many countries. Due to the severity of prisoners’ crimes on death row, it costs much more to feed, house, and seclude these often dangerous inmates than if they were simply put to death. And if they were paroled, there is always the chance they could re-offend, which is completely eliminated with the death penalty. The concept of retribution, that the perpetrator is punished in a manner fitting to the crime, is also used to support the death penalty. Misconduct in institutional systems can also lead to incorrect sentencing. While this is bad enough for non-death sentencing, these constitute a heinous breach of justice if the death penalty is involved. A psychological argument that may become prominent in the future is the concept of self-control and free will. Do we have free will or not? If not, this could bring into question not just the death penalty but all forms of sentencing whether it is capital punishment or not. New neurological research can now predict the likelihood of someone becoming violent and may help with future awareness on these issues. executions were public and brutal. Some criminals were even crushed to death slowly under heavy weight. Crime was more common at that time than it is now. Evidence shows execution does not act as a deterrent to capital punishment. Fear of Death Does not Reduce Crime. Death Penalty Saves Lives empirical evidence supporting or refuting this view. Threat of Death Penalty Rate of Homicide Decreases Conviction of the Innocent Occurs Hugo Bedau (1982) claims: I heard on the news last month, February 2000, where a 62 year-old grandmother, Betty Beets, was pleading for her life because she was on death row and was going to be executed. At first, I felt very sorry for her, but after doing research on her, I learned she had five husbands. She had already killed the fourth one, and served a prison sentence for murder, and she got out of prison early. She murdered the fifth husband-she shot him, and buried him in her back yard. Betty Beets was imprisoned a second time, and now was pleading for her life? It has been proven these killers do it again and again. The rate of recidivism is high for people who commit murder and crimes. I feel murderers should be executed the first time because chances are they will come out of prison and kill another innocent person again. We need stricter laws and swift death penalty. the cold calculus that precedes the decision to act such as those who act in passion, for whom the threat of Deterrent in 27 States It is noted that we need extreme penalty as a deterrent to crime. This could be a strong argument if it could be proved that the death penalty discourages murderers and kidnappers. There is strong evidence that the death penalty does not discourage crime at all (McClellan, G. 1961). In arguments of the death penalty, there are two lives to think about. Too much emphasis is placed on the convicted murderer, the one being executed, and the victim is all forgotten. medicine, manufacturing, automobile, and air traffic, sports, Some criminologist claim they have statistically proven that when an execution is publicized, more murders occur in the day and weeks that follow. A good example is in the Linberg kidnapping. A number of states adopted the death penalty for crime like this, but figures showed kidnapping increased. Publicity may encourage crime instead of preventing it (McClellan, G. 1961). When the word death penalty is used, it makes yelling and screaming from both sides of extremist. One side may say deterrence, while the other side may say, but you may execute an innocent man. An Eye for an Eye The purpose of this paper is to look at both sides of the arguments of the death penalty-the pros and cons, and how our criminal justice system makes legislatures, courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court chose to resolve issues. Interesting issues are brought up like the fear of the death penalty samples of essay for university admission, bible quotes, how life is sacred, and the execution of the innocent. You will note too much emphasis is placed on the convicted murderer and not on the victim. The murderers get out of prison early and murder again. There are evidence to both sides of the argument in whether the death penalty is a deterrent or not. In question of the death penalty, I ask you to weigh both sides of the argument carefully and make your decision based on the action that will serve the best humanitarian purpose of criminal law. My research on issues on the death penalty is one of the most debatable in the criminal justice system. Today, there are many pros and cons to this death penalty issues. However, if people weigh the arguments properly, and have empathy for the victims, they will be more inclined to favor capital punishment. As a matter of fact good essay writing companies, most people in the U.S. today are in favor of it. But we need more states to enforce the death penalty. Opponents say the State is like a murder himself. The argument here is, if execution is murder, than killing someone in war is murder. Our country should stop fighting wars. On the contrary, is it necessary to protect the rights of a group of people. Hence, the death penalty is vital to protect a person’s right to live! Is arresting someone same as kidnapping someone? In the same, executing someone is not murder, it is punishment by society for a deserving criminal. Thirteen states do not have the death penalty: Alaska the best topics for essays, District of Colombia, Hawaii, Iowa, Main, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. ACLU and Murderers Penniless When the assailant is apprehended and charged, he has the power of the judicial process who protects his constitutional rights. What about the victim? The assailant may have compassion from investigating officers, families and friends. Furthermore, the criminal may have organized campaigns of propaganda to build sympathy for him as if he is the one who has been sinned against. These false claims are publicized, for no reason, hence, protecting the criminal (Isenberg, I. 1977). All religions believe having life is sacred. If we deprive someone else life, he only suffers minor inconvenience; hence, we cheapen human life—this is where we are at today. In 1958 the10 states that had the fewest murders –fewer punishment, and yet, the victims never have a chance to do that? Are crime victims in the United States today the forgotten people of our time? Do they receive full measure of justice (as cited in Isenberg, 1977, p. 129)? Studies were made by Professor Isaac Erlich between the period of 1933 and 1969. He concluded “An additional execution per year may have resulted in fewer murders (Bedau, 1982, p. 323)”. these 10 states had abolished the death penalty. Death Penalty Fails to Rehabilitate In my opinion, I am in favor of the death penalty, because we can save innocent lives. Life to me is scared as Professor Haag stated. My innocent nephew, Sean Burgado, who was brutally murdered by a shot gun to the chest, did not have a choice to make a last statement or make a will before he died. The people on death row can watch T.V. and enjoy their lives for another 20 years before they are executed. They can prepare their death by making a will and a last statement. Sean’s murder is still unsolved, and the killer is enjoying his life somewhere. The murderer(s) will probably murder another person some day. Huggo A. Bedau (1982) states one popular objection to Capital punishment is that it gratifies the desire for revenge regarding as unworthy. The bible quotes the Lord declaring “Vengeance is mine” (Romans 12:19). He thus legitimized vengeance and reserved it to Himself. However, the Bible also enjoins proposal argument essay topics, “The murderer shall surely be put In a foot note Bedau (1982) cites, “Actually being dead is no different from not being born, a (non) experience we all had before being born. But death is not realized. The process of dying which is a different matter is usually confused with it. In turn, dying is feared because death is expected, even though death is feared because it is confused with dying (p. 338)”. Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Grant McClellan (1961) claims: Death is one penalty which makes error irreversible and the chance of error is inescapable when based on human judgment. On the contrary, sometimes defendants insist on execution. They feel it is an act of kindness to them. The argument here is - Is life imprisonment a crueler fate?” Is there evidence supporting the usefulness of the death penalty securing the life of the citizens (McClellan, G. 1961)? Frank Carrington (1978) states- is there any way one can tell whether the death penalty deters murders from killing? There is no way one can tell whether the death penalty deters murderers from killing. The argument goes on that proponents of capital punishments should not have to bear the burden of proving deterrence by a reasonable doubt. Nor should the abolitionist have to prove deterrence by a reasonable doubt -neither side would be able to anyway. FOR THE DEATH PENALTY (PROS) The fear of the death penalty has never reduced crime. Through most of history Death is an experience that cannot be experienced and ends all experience. Because it is unknown as it is certain, death is universally feared. “The life of a man should be sacred to each other (Bedau, H. 1982, p. 330)”. Rhode Island, Utah, North Dakota and Washington. Four of The death penalty also carries out retribution justly. “Deserved punishment protects society morally by restoring this just order, making the wrongdoer pay a price equivalent to the harm he has done.” (Budziszewski). When someone commits a crime it disturbs the order of society; these crimes take away lives, peace, and liberties from society. Giving the death penalty as a punishment simply restores order to society and adequately punishes the criminal for his wrongdoing. Retribution also serves justice for murder victims and their families. Some may see this as revenge, but this retribution is not motivated by malice, rather it is motivated by the need for justice and the principle of lex talionis (“an eye for an eye”) (Green). This lack of malice is proven in the simple definition of retribution: “retribution is a state sponsored, rational response to criminality that is justified given that the state is the victim when a crime occurs” (“Justifications for Capital Punishment). The death penalty puts the scales of justice back in balance after they were unfairly tipped towards the criminal. The eighth amendment to the United States Constitution prevents cruel and unusual punishment. Many opponents of capital punishment say that execution is cruel and unusual punishment and therefore violates the Constitution. As was stated earlier swimming essays, the recipient of the death penalty is treated humanely and is not tortured in any way, shape, or form. After the anesthetic is administered the person feels no pain; the only part of the process that could be considered painful is when the IV is inserted, but that is done in hospitals on a daily basis and no one is calling it unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the death penalty as constitutional in cases they have presided over. In the case of Furman v. Georgia the court stated, “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 and barbarous, than the mere extinguishment of life” (Lowe). The Supreme Court has not found capital punishment to be unconstitutional, and therefore this argument for abolition is invalid. “Justifications for Capital Punishment.” Justiceblind.com. Web. 30 March 2013. <http://www.justiceblind.com/death/dpsupport.html> ProCon.org. ProCon.org. Web. 28 March 2013. <procon.org> “Punishments are imposed on persons, not on…economic groups. Guilt is personal. The only relevant question is: does the person to be executed deserve the punishment? Whether or not others deserved the same punishment, whatever the economic or racial group, have avoided execution is irrelevant.” (ProCon.org) The death penalty is an issue that has the United States quite divided. While there are many supporters of it, there is also a large amount of opposition. Currently, there are thirty-three states in which the death penalty is legal and seventeen states that have abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). I believe the death penalty should be legal throughout the nation. There are many reasons as to why I believe the death penalty should be legalized in all states, including deterrence, retribution, and morality; and because opposing arguments do not hold up, I will refute the ideas that the death penalty is unconstitutional, irrevocable mistakes are made, and that there is a disproportionality of race and income level. Another argument put forth by death penalty abolitionists is the possibility of executing an innocent person. Many people that argue this overestimate how often this happens, it is an extremely rare occurrence and has not happened since the death penalty was reintroduced in 1976. Steven D. Stewart, the Prosecuting Attorney for Clark County Indiana, very effectively refutes this argument: Stewart points out that death penalty cases are held to a much higher standard. Due process in these cases takes much longer so that the court can be absolutely sure that the person is guilty before sentencing him to execution. This helps to eliminate any errors that could lead to executing the wrong person. He also points out that although there is a small possibility for mistakes to be made, this does not mean capital punishment should be abolished. If everything that had the potential for harmful mistakes were outlawed, society would be extremely crippled. Both sides of the argument will be addressed here, so that conclusions can be drawn from the information presented that will hopefully shed some light on the debate and determine which side is correct. There is, however, seemingly much more information available that is against the death penalty than for it. It is also possible that a determination will not be able to be made due to the fact that there are so many issues and beliefs that surround each side, and statistics can be made to show many things, depending on who is utilizing them and how the numbers are manipulated. It is for this reason that statistics will not play a large role in the scope of this paper, as numbers often vary. It is believed that the criminal element that is aware of the death penalty will spend more time considering whether the act they are thinking of committing is worth the price that they might ultimately have to pay (Delfino & Day, 2008). The opinion is that many criminals will feel that risking their life for the violent act is not worth the price, and they will refrain from committing these kinds of crimes. Few people, even criminals, have a death wish, and it is believed that this lack of desire for their own death will keep them from causing the deaths of others (Delfino & Day, 2008). Despite opposition from those that believe the death penalty should be stopped, some statistics do show that the number of murders does rise when the death penalty is not in force, and this number falls when the death penalty is reinstated (Johansen, 1998). There are other arguments, but the most effective argument against the death penalty as a deterrent for violent crime appears to be the fact that crime has not gone down simply because the death penalty is out there (Death, 2000). States that have it do not have lower crime rates on average than states that do not have it, and that would indicate that the death penalty in and of itself is not stopping people from committing violent acts (Ikramullah, 2003). Instead, they end up spending their life in prison, where they get hot meals every day, are allowed to exercise, and have a bed to sleep in every night. They watch TV and read books, and this is more than many of the hungry and homeless in today's society get. Criminals are treated better than many of these people. The criminals have lost their freedom, but they get a lot of things in return for that, and society is required to pay for them through taxes and other avenues that fund the prisons. It is possible, however, that the death penalty would be a deterrent if it were used more swiftly and more often. Many people who are sentenced to death spend years in prison appealing their conviction and appealing their sentence, and this is a large waste of taxpayer money, as well as a huge burden on the court system. Those that are guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt often wait a long time for their sentence to be carried out. Even when DNA evidence shows that they were the guilty party, the execution is still not swiftly carried out, and this allows many criminals to find some way to avoid it. those contemplating criminal activities do not rationally weigh the benefits and costs of their actions, Since society will never be free of crime, dealing with that crime and controlling it has become the focus of law enforcement. If the death penalty can be improved and made to work, it should remain. If it cannot be changed so that it actually deters violent crimes, than perhaps it should be done away with in favor of a system that will actually lower the crime rate and work to prevent violent crimes in the future. Capital punishment, which some also call the death penalty, has been around in society for hundreds of years. Ever since it began, there have been discussions as to whether it is morally right, and as to whether it actually deters criminals. Some believe that the prospect of being put to death often stops criminals from committing violent acts. Others believe exactly the opposite, stating that those that commit violent crimes are driven to do so for various reasons, and whether they have the chance of being put to death or not will not stop them from doing what they feel they must do. Another point of this argument is that the death penalty brings closure for the victims of the families that have lost loved ones. There is apparently a satisfaction, at least for some, upon seeing these people give up their life at the hands of the government. The chapter of their lives that dealt with that person has come to an end, and they can finally feel that they can move on with their lives (Radelet & Akers, 1996). This is somewhat related to violent crime free essays on indian culture, in that there is always the possibility that survivors who have lost loved ones would consider taking their vengeance out on others because of their pain and sorrow, and this could lead to even more violent crimes. Violent criminals that are paroled also run the risk of being killed by those that know what they did and believe that they should have died. This creates more violent acts in society and more problems with how to punish these individuals. Having the death penalty for violent crimes often prevents this. There are many different arguments against the death penalty, and some of these come from law enforcement. Recent polls of police chiefs in various areas of the country indicate that a large majority of them believe that the death penalty is no deterrent to violent crime. It ranks last on their lists of how they should go about reducing violent crime, and studies have shown that it is no better at reducing crime than the possibility of life in prison without any chance of parole (Cook, 1999). This is interesting, in the face of the argument that the death penalty reduces the amount of violent crimes that are committed. Studies have also shown that, contrary to the popular opinion that the death penalty brings closure, most people do not feel that watching someone else die helps them to move on in any way (Cassell & Bedau, 2005). Sometimes it seems to profane the name of the lost loved one by associating yet another death with it. The death of the loved one is painful enough without adding to it (Cook, 1999). The Death Penalty in the US: A Review The actual innocents were all freed. (5) "MOST CATHOLICS OPPOSE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?", KARL KEATING'S E-LETTER, Catholic Answers, March 2, 2004 (9) "The Death Penalty", by Solange Strong Hertz at Christianity and the death penalty Another one is that Death Penalty shows justice. There will be justice when we punish the guilty. It show equality. On t.v. I have seen people being interviewed because one or some of their relatives died. They are crying for help and wanting justice for the death of their loved ones. I know for sure that justice can only be the solution for them to be relieved. A serious crime must have serious penalty and that is death. Justice can dignify a person. Deterrence Issues Class issues
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