...Europe can achieve – is this the way forward? * Do the various ages of consent need to be reviewed for the young people in this country? * How old is “too old” for parenthood? * Have improvements in contraception brought about liberation or a passport to promiscuity? * Has genetic engineering gone too far? * Cloning - a tremendous medical advance or an ominous development? * Should animal organs be used for human transplantation? * Should doctors have the right to refuse expensive treatment to patients who will not change their habits (eg lose weight, stop smoking, stop drinking)? * Should there be a minimum BMI for models? * Has cosmetic surgery become too readily available? * Should Britain bring back capital punishment? * Is marriage an outdated institution? * Social Networking sites should be controlled by the government. Discuss. * Should people be allowed to express their faith through the clothes they...
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...Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment Capital punishment is a topic that anyone can count on to stir emotional discussions with plenty of opinions. In the world today, people commit horrific crimes daily. There are many who feel that those who carry out these terrible crimes deserve one fate: death. Capital punishment is used in reference to the death penalty that is issued in a judicial manner to execute those found guilty of a capital or hard offense. This according to our text is called legal punishment. Legal punishment is defined as the state-authorized imposition of some form of deprivation-of liberty, resources, or even life-upon a person justly convicted of a violation of the criminal law. (Stohr, pg 3) In this review of the pros and cons of the death penalty we will examine some different aspects of the process and allow the reader to form their own opinion. History The death penalty can be traced back a long time throughout history. The first established death penalty laws date back to the Eighteenth Century B.C. In the code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which gave the death penalty for 25 different crimes. This code expressed the well-known concept of lex talionis (the law of equal retaliation), which is further enunciated in the Mosaic code, the ancient law of the Hebrews, as “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.” (Stohr, pg. 3) During the 18th century, many philosophers like Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham wrote influential writings on prison...
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...and her country to speak against capital punishment – the Death Penalty. On these talks, she discusses her experiences of being a spiritual advisor to inmates sentenced to death row, and explains what it really means to accompany men to their death, meeting the family of a man doomed to die by the state as well as the families of the victims. She’s a fervent critic of politicians and the legal system, discussing how and when the court system works and when it doesn’t. She also speaks on and of forgiveness. She also writes about her beliefs, latest is a book “the Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions” that came out in 2004. It is a book that delves into her experience of witnessing two men that she believes were wrongfully executed, revealing evidence that the juries did not see. It is the second book after her famous novel “Dead Man Walking”, that was adapted into a hit film by the same name, telling the story of Sister Prejean as she establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet, an inmate on death row. While each story might be of slightly different dynamics and different characters, the message remains that before you make up your mind about the death penalty, learn all that you can about it. She believes that many of the people who are for the death penalty may have never actually reflected on it. In this paper, I will analyze Sister Prejean’s argument against the death penalty as chronicled in her books and essays, and provide a personal...
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...The death penalty has been used as a punishment of execution throughout long periods of time. Through those periods, the penalty has now become a necessary part of the society and government system, as an imperative way to prevent dangerous crimes. Yet subsequently, society has become to question this deterrent, regarding humanistic ideas and its certainty. Much inquiry and debate arise from the thought of executing a person due to crime. This controversy created a worldwide dispute regarding the laws of this penalty. Nations like China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, and the US are still using this deterrent. Whereas nations like France, Germany, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand have completely abolished the death penalty. However, there are still many other nations with this legislation and thus; this essay will prove to show why this capital punishment should be abolished and no longer used....
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...Capital Punishment; Revenge or Desert? A Study of Capital Punishment And the Moral Dilemmas it Presents MODR 1760 Professor Dr. Jason C. Robinson March 31, 2014 Capital punishment is the legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state, as a means of punishment for having committed a capital crime. In this essay, I will discuss some of the main advantages and disadvantages of capital punishment and whether capital punishment is a morally and ethically viable approach to punishment. I hold a firmly retentionist position and believe that the most just and fitting punishment for one who has committed a capital offence would be the death penalty. I will support my position with statistics showing that capital punishment has successfully been used to deter people from committing capital crimes. As well, I will discuss various philosophies regarding the morals of execution and punishment in general. My goal in writing this paper is not to force abolitionist thinkers to change their position with regards to capital punishment, but rather to show abolitionist thinkers that there is another way to look at capital punishment. Two of the main principles that are used to support the retentionist philosophy are deterrence and retributivism. Deterrence is the theory that the death penalty is morally just because it will deter would-be murderers from committing capital crimes, which carry a sentence of execution. Retributivism is the idea that criminals should be punished...
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...A Catharsis for All Henry Louis Mencken’s essay, entitled "The Penalty of Death," is a persuasive essay about the death penalty. The author does not attempt to alter the reader’s opinion as to the merits of the death penalty. He attempts to answer two questions most commonly heard in his day. First, executing a person is a terrible business and it “degrades” (Mencken) those whom-ever choose to administer this style of justice as a profession. He addresses this first question by simply agreeing with it. Most people would agree that the prospect of being the hangman is a vocation that would be most unpleasant. He points out that although it may be unpleasant, it is still necessary for society to support such a profession. The second question he addresses is to those that view capital punishment as a useless deterrent to crime. The author contends that those who wish to abolish the death sentence are in error if their assumption is founded solely upon the mistaken belief that the “whole purpose” of punishing a criminal is to deter some potential future crime. Mencken believes that they are “confusing [a] part with the whole” (Mencken). The future deterrent is only a part of the “whole purpose” of punishing a criminal. There are many more reasons to list: like revenge, justice, or relief just to name a few. Mencken's primary purpose is to identify the motive for this type of punishment. He identifies this motive as a catharsis, and he describes it as a "healthy letting out of...
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...Conflicting Viewpoints Essay Andrea Counts Professor Lincoln Schreiber Critical Thinking May 3, 2015 Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the punishment for a crime by death ("legal definition of capital punishment," n.d.). It is usually administered via the use of lethal injection for heinous crimes such as murder and other serial offenses. I am a defendant of capital punishment for several different reasons, which are detailed in this assignment. One of the main premises that support my position as a defendant of the death penalty is the separation of church and state ("Should the death penalty be allowed?" n.d.). Many opponents of the death penalty contend that it is an immoral act, as it essentially murder and that murder is inherently wrong. This viewpoint is flawed due to the fact that the United States is a country that believes in separation of church and state. Murder is a sin in many religions, but religion cannot play a role in how punishment for crime is carried out, nor is there anything in the constitution asserting that the death penalty as a form of punishment is against any civil liberties afforded to the citizens of this country. The death penalty is reserved for and carried out on the worst of the worst ("Should the death penalty be allowed?" n.d.). I agree with this premise and it goes back to my original statement in which I said the death penalty is used as punishment for those who have committed heinous crimes. There are those who...
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...Essay about Gustav Dorés picture US’ sentences and capital punishments The picture is called ‘Exercise Yard’, and is made by Gustav Doré in 1872. The picture illustrates a flock of prisoners walking around in a circle at Newgate Prison in London. In the time the picture was made, London also had capital punishment and rough prison sentences. In the US some states still have capital punishment - for example California, Texas, Tennessee and Florida etc. Many states have abolished it, but it still exists, especially in the US. Capital punishment is in debate and discussion all over the world, and it has always been a taboo as everyone knows they are going to die someday, but apart from that we do not know anything about death, and many people fear it. Capital punishment was repealed in 1972 because of an innocent man who were charged with death penalty for a murder he did not commit. Four years later in 1976 capital punishment got re-established and today in year 2016 the US still has it. As I said before there are many different opinions and arguments for and against capital punishment – so it is basically impossible to define whether it is wrong or right. Some people believe that death penalty is a good punishment to have in society. These people believe that if you do something horrible, for example kills a significant or major person, you are not suitable for the society and you have to “kick the bucket” and evaporate from the surrounding world. It is not only political...
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...Argument for Capital Punishment Since the 1970's, almost all capital sentences in the United States have been imposed for homicide. There has been intense debate among Americans regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment. Critics charge that executions are violations of the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the Eighth Amendment; while supporters of the death penalty counter that this clause was not intended to prohibit legal executions. In the 1972 court case of Furman vs. Georgia , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was no longer legal. However, in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the court allowed capital punishments to resume in certain states, and shortly thereafter, Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in Utah. Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States,a separate penalty trial has been required for some capital cases, at which time the jury reviews circumstances that suggest the need for capital punishment. In 1982, Texas became the first state to execute a prisoner using lethal injection; other common methods of execution used in the United States include lethal gas and electrocution. In recent years, the Supreme Court has made it more difficult for death row prisoners to file appeals. Nearly 3 of 4 americans support the death sentence as a form of punishment. The other third has condemned it and their list of claims against it is long. Opponents challenge proponents on issues of deterrence, economics, fallibility...
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...Abstract The essay outlines the arguments for abolishing the death penalty, also including any counter arguments that can be used for a use of the death penalty. The arguments made in this essay for death-penalty abolition are its devaluation of human life, eliminating of the possibility for revenge, its violation of human rights, as well as including the view of religious groups. This essay argues that all of these arguments address that human life cannot be taken away from a person, even if the person is a murder, simply because then the society is not being better than the murder him- or herself. I have investigated many research and scientific studies in order to back up my arguments as best as possible. Furthermore I have also investigated into the methods of death penalty, such as lethal injection. This essay views practice of capital punishment as an expression of anxiety about safety, in particular it counteracts the argument that death penalty would deter any future crime, and terrorist attacks. I also looked up numbers in order to show how costly death penalty is, in order to emphasize that there are more cheaper and less inhumane methods to sentence a murder. I also draw attention to countries that use death penalty as a way to eliminate any enemies, using it as a political weapon to silence any troublesome individuals. I suggest that every life is valuable, and that death penalty does not consider the risk of killing an innocent person, but rather emphasize that...
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...systems out of our desire for deterrence or retribution? This essay intends to examine both sides of the debate and take a stand in this debate. Arguments Against: The death penalty inculcates nothing in the condemned. They are taught precisely nothing because they are no longer living to learn from their wrongs. The penalty does not dissuade. Research has revealed that capital punishment does not dissuade other people from committing murder. People still murder other people in spite of courts still pronouncing executions. In 2012, for instance, the rate of murder in the United States was 4.8 victims in every 100,000 people. This means that approximately 15,000 people were victims of murder that year. Capital punishment, therefore, does not seem to be serving its purpose. The penalty is hypocritical. It is outlandish that a country that deplores the practice of murder commits the same act. Moreover, it is religiously wrong to intentionally kill another person. The Bible and other religious books condemn this killing and urge us to protect life instead. This is because life is sacred and precious. God alone should make the decision to take away the life of a person, even if that person has taken away the life of another. Furthermore, the Holy Books urge us to left vengeance to God. Subjecting the condemned to the death penalty could amount to subjecting them to torture, cruelty, inhuman, or degrading punishment. This would be a violation of the Constitution of the US as...
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...systems out of our desire for deterrence or retribution? This essay intends to examine both sides of the debate and take a stand in this debate. Arguments Against: The death penalty inculcates nothing in the condemned. They are taught precisely nothing because they are no longer living to learn from their wrongs. The penalty does not dissuade. Research has revealed that capital punishment does not dissuade other people from committing murder. People still murder other people in spite of courts still pronouncing executions. In 2012, for instance, the rate of murder in the United States was 4.8 victims in every 100,000 people. This means that approximately 15,000 people were victims of murder that year. Capital punishment, therefore, does not seem to be serving its purpose. The penalty is hypocritical. It is outlandish that a country that deplores the practice of murder commits the same act. Moreover, it is religiously wrong to intentionally kill another person. The Bible and other religious books condemn this killing and urge us to protect life instead. This is because life is sacred and precious. God alone should make the decision to take away the life of a person, even if that person has taken away the life of another. Furthermore, the Holy Books urge us to left vengeance to God. Subjecting the condemned to the death penalty could amount to subjecting them to torture, cruelty, inhuman, or degrading punishment. This would be a violation of the Constitution of the US as...
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...highlighted by countless historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Greek philosopher Aristotle, torture is almost always pointless because most people, if put in sufficient pain, will say absolutely anything to stop it (Scott, 1995). Therefore this essay sets out to argue that torture...
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...Captain George Kendall was executed in Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608 for being a Spanish spy. 4. Once the moratorium was lifted, when and where was the first execution in the US? Once the moratorium was lifted, Utah would be the first to execute Gary Gilmore in 1977. 5. How many states currently have the death penalty? 31 states currently have the death penalty. 6. What was decided regarding capital punishment in Atkins v. Virginia? Atkins v. Virginia is a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that executing people with intellectual disabilities violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments. However, intellectual disability was left to...
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...For decades the death penalty has been an emotional and almost unmentionable issue that has affected people in many different ways. 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 person; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. Regardless of people’s philosophic points of view, it is important to be aware of the facts. This is exactly what I would like to talk about in this essay: the facts regarding this controversial issue. I do not have the answer to this question; I believe both viewpoints have good arguments. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion in this or any other matter, but no one is entitled to his own facts. What is the death penalty? Congress or any state legislature may prescribe the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, for murder and other capital crimes. (Death Penalty: An Overview, 2010) As far back as the Ancient Laws of China, the death penalty has been established as a punishment for crimes. In the 18th Century BC, the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon established the death penalty for twenty five different crimes, although murder was not one of them. The first death sentence historically recorded occurred in 16th Century BC Egypt where the wrongdoer, a member of nobility, was accused of magic, and ordered to take his own life. During this...
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