...Running Head: Capital Punishment Capital Punishment: Is It Cruel and Unusual Punishment? Jennifer N. Orrill Sullivan University CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: IS IT CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT? Capital punishment is a very controversial issue in America. Americans who are against capital punishment might say that innocent people get sentenced to death, because some people are wrongly convicted of murder. Some Americans would also argue that some forms of capital punishment such as the electric chair, firing squad, gas chamber, and hanging are cruel and unusual punishment. Other Americans who agree with capital punishment would argue that murderers have relinquished their rights by their actions and should be punished accordingly. To reduce the number of murders each year in the United States, this country’s judicial system needs to use the death penalty more often. More frequent death penalty sentences would reduce murders in America. In Detroit, hurt by the auto industry's woes, there were 163 murders reported in the first six months of 2009 (Berman, 2009). This country needs to lead by example. If a person is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt guilty of murder then they should automatically get a death sentence. Offenders should not get weaker sentencing for testifying against another, or for petty technicalities. If firm death penalty consequences were known before the criminal committed the murder, they may think twice about committing the crime. In recent years, DNA profiling...
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...Capital Punishment, a very contradictive topic, has significantly received increase support to abolish it. Society considers it to be unethical and barbaric; the attitude portrayed by the abolishers is impractical. Capital Punishment is not meant to for cruelty, it's meant for true justice for the murderers. In an online article, Ten Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty, one of the ten reasons was that even the guilty have a right to life (Americamagazine.org). When you let a guilty man or woman live while their victim(s) are dead is an injustice for society. When someone takes another person's life there's an unbalance in justice. If we do not fix the balance between good and bad, society will be overcome by the bad, which is the inequality of letting someone who willingly kills someone live. An ethics guide points that the retribution is just a "sanitized from of vengeance" (BBC- Ethics Guide). To this argument I would like to turn the attention to a famous quote, "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." This quote means that getting revenge on someone can cause everyone to end up harmed, and that at the end revenge could only lead to negative effects. The rebuttal would have made a good point if capital punishment was meant for revenge, it is meant to punish those who did unforgivable acts. The criminal is getting punished for his actions like everyone else in society does when the law is broken. Of course there must be proportionality between criminal and...
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...Outline the moral arguments against capital punishment. 1. The death penalty has been distributed in a discriminatory manner because African American or poorer defendants are more likely to be executed than equally guilty others, especially when the victim is white (Russell 1998: 134). 2. Miscarriages of justice occur and the innocent are executed. The American Bar Association (ABA) has urged the appointment of experienced, competent, and adequately compensated trial counsel for death penalty cases and has lobbied for the adoption of its Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases. Clearly, the ABA believes that standard professional qualifications are insufficient for capital cases. 3. The death penalty expresses a desire for vengeance—a motive too volatile and indifferent to the concept of justice to be maintained in a civilized society. The notion that revenge can stand as a motive for official policy on punishment is entirely inconsistent with a rational system of justice conducted by the state on behalf of society (Bedau 1999: 50). 4. Capital punishment is considered to be degrading to human dignity and inconsistent with the principle of the sanctity of life. The argument is that human life, having infinite value, should be respected and protected and that even murderers’...
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...INTRODUCTION: As far back as the ancient law of China, the code of king Hammurabi of Babylon, and the Draconian code of Athens, the death penalty has been established as a punishment for crimes. If we scheme these historical aspects, a feeling of devastation arises in us regarding the horror that associates the idea of using the worst methods of death for punishing people. Capital punishment has long been a topic of controversy attracting both opposers and supporters. However, the modern state of today`s world reflecting topics of humans` rights and justice assuredly push us towards refuting capital punishment. “The first question shouldn’t be 'Why not use the death penalty?' but 'Why use it?' There’s no good reason. First, we’ve already protected ourselves. This individual has been separated from society; he’s not able to hurt us again. If we execute this young man, it will not protect us against a future tragedy. The things that keep us safe are preventative, that address the root causes of crime — making sure people have mental health services, an education, helping families that are at risk ( Diann ,2004). The International law and the analysis based on human rights are useful means to address the death penalty in the U.S. Although the U.S. uses other terms in protecting basic rights, and has...
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...Societies have often looked at government for guidance on opinion, and to only suppress the public from reaching equality is to continue to discriminate at capital punishment level forbids the public from furthering. The officials that carry on with the death penalty are “generally responsive [for] public opinion” on colored people and now they are presented into society (Barkan, Cohn). The lack of information that the public knows about “wrongful convictions in capital cases” from the colored society is because there’s only selectively so much the courts comment on (Barkan, Cohn). Making it difficult and almost preventing development on ridding racial discrimination all...
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...The death penalty is not carried out enough. Until America gets the message death penalty should be carried out within six months after the first appeal. This gives the convicted time to get right with their god. In most case victim was not afforded the privilege of mercy. The right to a speedy trial is expressed in the U.S. Constitution on federal and state level. The Six amendment guarantee, among other things, that in all criminal prosecution cases, the accused may be allowed the right to a speed …trial. The death penalty was only used in most cases instituted at the federal level, it has since been incorporated on the state level via the fourteenth amendment. These amendments addressed the prolonged time for punishment. Punishment and executions varied from state to state based on appeals and the governor’s orders. Many states have lobby groups that never want to see speed execution have changed people opinions to...
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...‘A Hanging’ is a non fiction essay written by George Orwell in 1931 in which he recounts a personal experience in Burma as police officer where he observes a ‘criminal’ being hanged. The essay presents the reader with the subject of capital punishment in a structure to challenge the reader’s views and stipulate a response from the readers as it is a subject that creates a great controversy. Orwell chooses not to use facts such as statistics and figures that simply asks and creates a black and white answer; instead he arouses the readers emotions through imagery, setting and narrative structure as he explores the themes and the message. The essay starts with a pessimistic description of the setting instantly creating a depressing mood as the rain is ‘sodden’ which creates a negative depiction. Orwell’s use of pathetic fallacy is evident as the rain symbolises sadness and tragedy. The reader is made aware of the prisoner’s unhealthy living conditions through Orwell’s wordchoice: “a sickly light, like yellow tinfoil.” The simile suggests that the light appears unnatural. The word ‘sickly’ implies the sense of illness and wrongness as ‘yellow tinfoil’ further the feeling of death, decay and unnaturalness of the prisoners being left to rot. The feelings of unnaturalness is continued throughout the essay as his point is that killing a life, whilst in full flow is unnatural and appears to strengthen Orwell’s feeling of being against capital punishment. The reader’s sympathy is aroused...
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...times most governments have punished a wide variety of crimes by death and have conducted executions as a routine part of the administration of criminal law. The Age of Enlightenment was the first significant movement to abolish the death penalty. Britain was very influential in America’s use of the death penalty. The European settlers that came to the new world are the one’s that brought the practice of capital punishment, death penalty. The first execution was recorded in the Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1608. The Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws were enacted in 1612 by the Governor of Virginia, Sir Thomas Dale. The death penalty was established for minor offenses such as killing chickens, stealing grapes, and trading with Indians. It was Cesare Beccaria’s 1767 essay, On Crimes and Punishment that caused policy makers to have a different view of the death penalty. Becarria theorized that there wasn’t any justification for the state’s to take the life of a human being. The essay led to Tuscany and Austria abolishing their policy of the death penalty as a punishment for the crimes that were committed. It also gave an authoritative voice and renewed...
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...Persuasive Essay Capital Punishment, Appropriate or Cruel and Unusual? The roots of Capital Punishment date back as far as the Eighteenth Century B.C in the code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. During this time period there were 25 different crimes that resulted in the death penalty. As time progressed the death penalty became more of a commonplace. Throughout the centuries following King Hammurabi’s reign, the death penalty can be seen in many regions of the world. The death penalty was first seen four centuries after King Hammurabi in the Hittite Code; then in the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code of Athens, and finally in the Fifth Century B.C.'s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. What we would now call cruel and unusual, their methods of execution included crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. In the Tenth Century A.D punishment by execution became a central law of the land, starting off with 222 crimes punishable by death and then reduced to around a 100. Because America’s origins trace back to Britain our laws were influenced theirs, the death penalty being one of them. This influence of the death penalty on our nation by Britain is where issues arise. Times have changed and so have the people living within them. Where once punishment by death received little to no outcry of wrongful doing, now many believe it is an unjust and horrid act of violence. Those who oppose Capital Punishment tend to argue that taking the life of a...
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...Assignment: Documenting Sources Broad Topic: Capital Punishment Narrow Topic: Juvenile Maturity Affects Capital Punishment Sentencing Sub-Topic #1: A juvenile is less culpable than an adult. Sub-Topic #2: The United States Supreme Court declares that practicing the execution of anyone under the age of 18 to be unconstitutional. Sub-Topic #3: Human Rights are protected and supported within the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights", adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. *The sources that support my topic are listed in APA format: *Eddlem, T.R. (2005). Supreme arrogance: in one of its rulings, the Supreme Court has once again stepped beyond its legal bounds, ending capital punishment for people under 18 years old. Adding insult to injury, the court explicitly cited foreign sources in the main text of its decision. The New American 21.7 (April 4, 2005): p30(3). Retrieved June 5, 2009 from ProQuest database. *Arson, J.D. (2006). Brain imaging, culpability and the juvenile death penalty. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Vol.13 (2) pp. 115-142. Revised: March 17, 2007 Accepted: March 21, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2009 from ProQuest database. *Amnesty International. (2009). Human Rights. Retrieved June 5, 2009 from http://www.amnestyusa.org Sub-Point(s) Internet Source Support From my mind mapping assignment, I have narrowed my topic even further. I have decided to focus my expository essay on the effects that a juvenile's age and maturity...
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...Penalty My “Big Idea” topic is on the death penalty. My thesis statement is: Capital punishment is controversial and people have many different feelings about it but I believe that the death penalty is beneficial to society and the public and that the United States should continue to use capital punishment. When doing research for an essay paper it is important to use reputable sources and avoid unreliable or opinionated web sites or articles, such as Wikipedia and Answers.com. Areas or items I will use to do research for my death penalty paper will be the U.S. Department of Justice, Amnesty International, CNN news reports and articles, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Pro-death Penalty web site. The Kaplan library has a Homeland Security Digital Library database which might contain some information that I can use and the Newspaper Source database is bound to have some pertinent information. The Kaplan library also has an abundance of articles and reports as well as a database with news and current topics I can explore for information. To get an idea of some material readily available in the Kaplan library database I did a keyword search on “pro death penalty” articles and three periodicals came up that I am going to review and they are: Top Ten Death Penalty Myths: The Politics of Crime Control; Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment; and Capital Punishment: A Century of Discontinuous Debate. I am confident that I will be able to obtain...
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...The authors find that recent empirical studies suggest a general favourability for the death penalty, while also suggesting a preference for meaningful alternative sentences. Due to the incongruence evident between these two sentiments, the authors question whether this favourability is upheld in cases where the offender is either juvenile or mentally retarded. The authors posit that much current research is misinterpreted and that most reports neglect to make these important distinctions between the abstract notion of capital punishment and the particular circumstances in which it is enforced. Sandys and McGarrell attempt to mitigate this, using Indiana (a state where the death penalty is imposed) as the context of study, the authors aim to analyse and interpret support for capital punishment with accuracy. A goal of extreme importance in the current death penalty...
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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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...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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...Capital Punishment What is Capital Punishment? Capital Punishment which is also known as the Death Penalty. Death Penalty is the infliction of the death penalty as punishment for certain crimes according toDictionary.com. In the following essay will show why Capital Punishment is implemented to our society. Capital Punishment in any form is acceptable according to the following to the following articles will help justify this concept. To some people Capital Punishment would be considered an act of cruel and unusual punishment; while for others it is a system that should be considered needed in all the States in order to keep the country more safe for the people. Many states within the U.S. have performed executions of convicts since the early 1600’s. Views on capital Punishment vary with people in different ways; there are various organizations within the country that have different opinions on the subject, and organizations such as Religions, Political, or Humanitarian have diverse perspectives on the Death Penalty. “The death penalty is also most commonly argued to be a violation of the right to life or of the "sanctity of life." Many national constitutions and international treaties guarantee the right to life. the right to life demands that a life only be taken in exceptional circumstances, such as in self-defense or as an act of war, and therefore that it violates the right to life of a criminal if she or he is executed, since this is purely murder by the State” according...
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