Death Penalty as an Effective Method of Punishment An issue that has continually created tension in today's society is whether the death penalty serves as a justified and valid form of punishment. Whenever the word "death penalty" comes up, extremists from both sides start yelling out their arguments. One side says deterrence, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. Crime is an evident part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and action in which it should be dealt with. In several parts of …show more content…
To do this, the punishment for crime must be harsh enough to deter potential criminals. Under this mindset, the death penalty makes perfect sense. Here is a punishment that truly makes a criminal pay for his crime, stops the criminal from committing it again, and deters other criminals from committing the same crime. The punishment for murder is getting to be shorter and shorter. A judge could sentence a man to life in prison. That same man could be out of jail with 15 years. How has life in jail become known as ten to fifteen years? If the judge says life with no parole, then the criminal could stay in jail a bit longer, but that would mean the state and it's voters would have to take care of the prisoner for twenty to twenty five years. How can we trust the murderers and thieves of our country to a judicial system that will either let them out in ten years or have us take care of them for twenty years, and then let them go? The criminals do not fear the punishment anymore, because they know they will not die. Punishment is meant to give justice to the wrongdoer and to keep him from doing it again. I am not saying we execute all of the criminals in the world, but it has to remain an option for the courts to use and to scare the criminals of the country. Many criminals don't fear the judicial system. They know that they will get out in ten years if they murder someone. They
Ever since the dawn of man’s search for justice, the death penalty, has been a consequence for particularly heinous crimes. Over the years society has debated whether the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. People who oppose of the death penalty view supporters as gun-slinging "rednecks" who live in the backwoods of America. Likewise, supporters view those who oppose the death penalty as uptight "suits" who live in mansions and believes that every person, no matter their crime, deserves to live. Those who oppose the death penalty argue that life in prison is a preferable solution to the death penalty. The supporters of the death penalty argue that Hammurabi’s code, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life, is an
Then two decades later, in 1993, the capital punishment statutes had been reinstated and performing executions, once again striking the thing criminals fear most, death (Tucker). During the 1990s as more states began to reinstate capital punishment statutes, murder rates began to plummet. They went from 9.6 people per 100,000 in 1993 dropping to 7.7 in 1996 and as low as 6.4 in 1999, which was the lowest rate since 1966. In other words, as the author observed during his study of the forty year period, homicide rates have risen when the rate of execution went down and as the execution rates had risen, the rate of homicides had decreased (Tucker). Not only does the death penalty engender an aversion amongst criminals and people who are considering performing heinous actions, it additionally promotes a positive influence towards themselves and others around. The mandate of capital punishment establishes the attitude of abhorrence toward criminals, and causes people to think about what they are doing because of the possible consequences. With people believing that living the criminal life is not the best of decisions, they are deterred away from making the decision of performing the crime (Caldwell 598).
In the public eye today, the expression "Capital punishment" mixes up a great deal of discussion and feelings. At whatever point the word comes up, in-your-face extremist from both sides hollers out contentions to bolster their position. One side says "eye for an eye", the other side says there 's a capability of executing a pure man; one says equity, reprisal, and discipline; the other side says execution is homicide. Wrongdoing is a clear a portion of society, and everybody knows that something must be done about it. A great many people know the danger of
The death penalty is a controversial issue because it involves a dispute between sides which hold opposing views. Those who support the death penalty believe that it deters criminals and makes them think twice. Some supporters claim that it is morally right and gives victims justice. Furthermore, supporters of the death penalty think that it is the only way to fully protect society.According to “Solid Majority Continue to Support Death Penalty” ”About six in ten americans favor the use of death penalty for a person convicted of murder”(Solid 2016). On the other hand those who oppose death penalty think that the cost outweighs the benefits. They also argue that the death penalty can be faulty at times. Opponents argue that the death penalty
“Capital punishment is literally a life-and-death issue. Sometimes called the death penalty, it is the execution of people who have been found guilty of offenses considered to be capital crimes. In 2015, twenty-eight people (including one woman) were executed in the United States” (“Capital Punishment, Par. 1). During the 15th century in England, there were seven capitals crimes, the crimes included treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape, and arson. However, currently in the United States, murder is the only capital crime that Supreme Court punishes by death. (“Capital Punishment,” Encyclopedia). Capital punishment serves as a deterrent to those contemplating committing a capital crime because the consequence is so severe.
“The use of the death penalty in the United States has been rapidly declining since the end of the 1990s” (Dieter, 2015). This is contrast to the believes of the Founding Fathers where “the death penalty was widely accepted at the time the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights were ratified” (Gardner & Anderson, 2014). While the crimes have not changed, aspects of capital punishment which were once viewed as constitutional, today are deemed cruel and unusual. The prevailing liberal view sees the death penalty as morally unjustified and a vengeful form retribution. “It is the most brutal form of state power, requires massive state administrations and it costs significantly more than life imprisonment which is both more humane and equally effective” (Davidson, 2015). They point to the lack of deterrence it provides and highlight the racial and gender biases of the criminal justice system and the potential for the execution of the innocent by the State. In contrast, those in favor of capital punishment see it as a valid, moral and constitutional punishment as punishments should be imposed in proportion to the crime. The death penalty is reserved for the most violent of crimes in society and without it, justice is not achieved for victims and their families. The death penalty must be viewed again as a valid, moral and legal
Many criminals take the lives of or hurt many people around them. They are later released after doing time in prisons to go on the streets again where they will do the same things over again. "[W]e reserve the death penalty in the United States for the most heinous murders and the most brutal and conscienceless murderers. To sentence killers like those described above to less than death would fail to do justice because the penalty – presumably a long period in prison – would be grossly disproportionate to the heinousness of the crime. Prosecutors, jurors, and the loved ones of murder victims understand this essential point…” Death penalty does the justice right for seriously violent criminals instead of having them do time in prisons to be released.
For the past decades capital punishment has been one of the most hotly contested political issues in America, but this debate is definitely a complicated one. Capital punishment is a legal, practical, philosophical, social, political, but also a moral question. The notion of deterrence has been at the very center of the practical debate over the question of capital punishment. Most of us assume that we execute murderers primarily because we
“We have killers walking among us. We have killers living in our neighborhoods,” explained Howard Morton, executive director of families of homicide victims and missing persons. With the disappearance of the death penalty, violent crimes are more likely to occur. Frightened for their lives, murders would wonder what repercussions they will face. Legalizing executions would make America safer, criminals would think before committing crimes, and they do not learn from their mistakes in prison, making the re-commit crime rate higher.
Violent crimes such a murder, rape, sexual assault, and robbery are perpetrated by criminals once every few minutes in this country. Lawmakers spend countless hours enacting laws to prevent these crimes. The introduction of the death penalty is an effort to deter criminals from committing heinous crimes. What exactly does the death penalty accomplish? The best description of the term death penalty is the legal execution of criminals as punishment for committing a violent crime. Opponents of the death penalty want to outlaw its use and consider the action a form of judicial murder. Advocates continue to support the use of capital punishment as a way to deter
The death penalty has been in practice for a very long time, but murders and other capital crimes have not been stopped, and neither have the perpetrators been deterred from the act. Every year several people are murdered with almost the same frequency and brutality as ever. No proof exists that the death penalty is a better deterrence than life imprisonment. Why not settle for a punishment that is effectively deterrent yet humane enough (Michigan State University,
The death penalty has been around since the creation of justice systems. Today, 58 countries worldwide still enact it, the U.S. being one of them (Smith). In our country, the majority of the states still perform the death penalty at an astounding number of 32 (32 “States with the…”). It seems that the majority of the country believes that the death penalty is necessary, despite the other common belief that it is barbaric, outdated, and unconstitutional. With so much controversy over its use as a deterrent, it only gets more heated with people’s beliefs that either the entire world should use the death penalty, or nobody should use it at all. This leads to the question, “Should the death penalty be abolished throughout the entire U.S.?” While
The death penalty remains one of the most controversial topics in the study of criminal justice. Hundreds of convicted criminals have seen their fate by the hands of capital punishment in the course of United States history. Hundreds of others are still awaiting the day their sentence will be carried out. However, even though many of Americans still believe the principal role of capital punishment is deterring future crimes, thousands of others condemn the United States criminal justice system for its errors and fallacies, which result in erroneous capital punishment decisions and legalized violence against innocent people.
In poll after poll, more than seventy percent say they support the death penalty, a figure that has remained consistent for at least the past decade (Brownlee; Foster). While the percentages have not changed much, the nature of the discussion has. Not long ago, it was framed in terms of practicality: Was the death penalty effective in deterring crime? Was permanently incapacitating an offender the best way to protect society? Was capital punishment fairly and evenly administered (Foster)?
One of the most controversial topics to date is the argument surrounding whether or not the death penalty should be utilized. When majority of the people, think about problems surrounding capital punishment, they automatically jump right to it being legal or illegal. When in reality the problems are so much larger. They're issues involved with Capital Punishment, including racism, sexism and financial status to name a few, when it comes to who is being put to death. Recently, one of the most well known issues has become sexism. Gender inequality has been an issue in the United States and around the world for centuries. Although many people may not ask this question, it has always been wondered why more men are on death row and