Pros And Cons Of Keeping The Death Penalty

The moral of the death penalty is that when someone commits a heinous crime, they should be prosecuted in a way that is equal to their crime. Robert Blecker, JD said that "We have the responsibility to punish those who deserve it, but only to the degree they deserve it...." This states that people should get what they deserve. If they go out and commit homicide or murder for fun they should get the same treatment. Losing someone can be tragic, but losing someone because a criminal killed them is even worse.

Capital Punishment also known as the death penalty is a controversial topic. A lot of people think that the death penalty is against human rights; however, what right does a criminal have to take a life or to do grotesques crimes? Others say the death penalty say that the consequences of the death penalty are irreversible. But, wasn’t the criminal taking someone else’s life also irreversible? Criminals don’t think to value theirs or the other people’s lives.

As of July 2017, there were 2,817 Death Row inmates (Death Penalty Information Center, 2018). These individuals have been convicted of a crime so heinous that the sentence was death. Confined to a small cell for 23 hours of a day, they wait for execution (McCray, 2017). However, for 40% of these individuals the wait has been over 20 years (McCray, 2017). This means that the families of the victims are also waiting over 20 years for closure.

However, this type of punishment just allows criminals to kill again. According to studies done in recent years, if each killer was to receive the death penalty it would save between 3 and 18 lives per convict (Evans, “Capital Punishment” 1). Life without parole is just providing more and more opportunities for murder. Along with this, life imprisonment has an effect on the prisoners. ”Once entering the penitentiary the individual feels in a greater or smaller measure, depending on the age, on his psychological structure, social maturity and level of culture, the effect of liberty deprivation and react in a personal manner to this situation”( Rus 2).

10% of defendants sentenced to death volunteer for execution, but what about the people to sentence to die in prison. The death penalty should be a voluntary choice for all inmates/ defendants sentenced to life imprisonment, since sentencing a person to life without parole is civil death, rehabilitation is not an option for them, and many inmates prefer death over life sentences. Morality is the biggest decision maker when deciding whether to take another person’s life and will depend on the person you ask. The dilemma created from the death penalty would be utilized to assist an “inmate’s last wish”. Giving sentenced defendants the option to die counter the thought of it being a murder and closer towards assisted suicide.

Execution by legal order, otherwise known as the death penalty, is an unconstitutional punishment. Since 1976, there have been 1,425 executions in the United States (“Death Penalty Info”). Although the death rate for these capital punishments has gone down since 1999, however the United States is ranked 5th in the world for most executed by legal order “(Von Drehle)”. Many of these convicts are not given a second chance or given any other option of punishment. Retrials are important because some of these felons aren’t entirely guilty.

In the U.S., the rates of innocent people who are wrongly imprisoned and put on death row are increasing. According to The National Coalition in US from 1976 to 2015, “1,414 people has been executed, of that 156 of them have been exonerated from death row that found innocent and released since 1973” (Innocence). Unfortunately, the statistics above show that our justice system is not always perfect. We lose our innocent people every time when the law makers do not investigate the death penalty cases accurately. The death penalty should be removed state by state because it puts the lives of innocent people at risk.

With the ruling in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the Supreme Court held that capital punishment for certain offenses did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, thus deeming the death penalty constitutionally acceptable (Harr, Hess, Orthmann, and Kingsbury; 2015). Over the years, the Court placed limitations on the sentence. Beginning in 1986, the Court banned the execution of mentally ill individuals, and three years later rendered mentally retarded individuals ineligible as well. In 2005, the Roper v. Simmons decision excluded juveniles under the age of eighteen from receiving the death penalty on the grounds of cruel and unusual punishment (Harr et al., 2015). The courts limited the number of individuals and crimes warranting the death

The article which title reads “Will more states abolish capital punishment?” is based most of it on facts. When an essay is based on facts, I believe gives a great amount of credibility considering the arguments that exist in the article. In addition, it shares valuable information about the criminal justice system in the United States. This video is based on a true story; it is about a lawyer that needs to defend a young-adult boy since he has committed a murder.

Dr. Phil: As of November 2016, the death penalty is a legal form of punishment in 31 states (Death Penalty Information Center, 2017c). Of those states, 27 states actively administer the death penalty, while four states are currently under gubernatorial moratoria (Death Penalty Information Center, 2017c). The remaining 19 states do not have the death penalty as a form of punishment (Death Penalty Information Center, 2017c). There is a total of five approved methods of execution in the United States; however, lethal injection is thought to be the most humane method of execution and is the primary method used (Death Penalty Information Center, 2017b).

Another reason why capital punishment is not justified is that it harms the government’s economy. Capital punishment actually causes the trials to become more expensive. Capital punishment cost have increased over the years. This can be due to several different factors. According to Maurice Chammah there are six main reasons why the cost of capital punishment has increased over the years.

The idea of killing someone in punishment of a crime seems just to many, but others are against it. In fact, the death penalty is wrong and should be made illegal in America. Studies show that the death penalty is not deterrent to crime. Despite this, many feel that capital punishment is a good idea. It’s obvious that mistakes are made and innocent people have been sentenced to death.

Have you ever thought about the people you love being murdered? If so, what would you want to happen to the murderer? You would most likely want them to receive equal punishment. What about terrorists? What about treason?

In the United States, thirty-one states still have the death penalty as a sentence, and nineteen states have abolished it or overturned it as a sentence (States, 2017). As of this year, twenty-one inmates have been executed (Execution, 2017). The death penalty, which is also referred to as capital punishment, is given to individuals who have been convicted of capital crimes such as murder or treason (Staff, 2007). Despite being able to sentence those individuals convicted of murder and other capital crimes in states that sanction it, there is a debate among individuals about the death penalty with regard to whether if it deters crime, whether there is a chance innocent individuals have (or will be executed if wrongly convicted), whether factors

Rape, murder, corruption. Those are crimes that need serious and effective punishments, that is why death penalty is the best option, not it is only effective but also deterrent. People will think twice to kill knowing that they could get killed too. Regrettably rate crimes are constantly growing and most governments can 't handle the situation. Except for the ones that have successively applied death sentence.