...outside world for such a long time and there are new things for them to introduced to, which may intimidate them. But at least when you execute the inmate, it’s one less person regular society has to worry about. People like them that are serving time just don’t change. Just put them to death so they cant terrorize society anymore. Surely, it would be a win win situation anyway, because their suffering would cease as well. The medieval philosopher, Thomas Aquinas made this point very clear: “Therefore, if any man is dangerous to the community and is subverting it by some sin, the treatment to be commended in his execution in order to preserve the common good… Therefore to kill a man who retains his natural worthiness is intrinsically evil, although it may be justifiable to kill a sinner just as it is to kill a beast, as Aristotle points out, an evil man is worse than a beast and more harmful. Aquinas is saying that certain situations change a bad crime (killing) into a good crime (killing to repair the violation of justice done by the person killed, and killing a person who had forfeited their natural worthiness of killing.) However, everyone has the...
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...Arguments on Capital Punishment Length: 2 Pages 545 Words Printer Friendly Version Capital Punishment: Is It Right or Wrong? Capital Punishment is a controversial topic discussed in today's society. There is a heated debate on whether states should be able to kill other humans or not. People that are in favor of the death penalty say that it saves money by not paying for housing in a maximum prison. Those opposed say that it is against the constitution, and is cruel and unusual punishment for humans to be put to his or her death. I believe that the death penalty is against the constitution and is cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is cruel because you cannot punish anyone worse than by killing them. It is an unusual punishment because it does not happen very often an it should not happen at all. Therefore, I think that capital punishment should be abolished. Capital punishment is the death penalty, and has been legal in most states for many years. The death penalty did not begin reporting executions until 1930, although legal executions have been preformed before then. From 1930 to 1992, there have been 4,002 executions in the United States (Foster, Jacobs, Siegel 54). From around the 1930s to the 1960s there was a steep drop in the total numbers of executions in the US until the mid 1960s. The drop in executions is due to the lack of public support and legal challenges. Then a 10-year moratorium began in order to determine a constitutionally acceptable way...
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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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...do the crime, then he should be indeed big enough to take the punishment that follows. “Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for a crime.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment) Basically Capital Punishment is the country’s major punishment, for what they consider to be the most major crimes. It is a subject of active disagreement and controversy in various countries and positions in the argument can vary with a single switch in political hierarchy. To count there are about fifty eight countries that still recognizes Capital Punishment. Surprisingly most of the European and Asian Countries are the ones prohibit the use of Capital Punishment. And oddly even though most of the world physical land masses rebukes Capital Punishment, most of the world’s population still resides in countries that still strongly agree with the use of Capital Punishment. But here in The Bahamas, our situation is quite a special one. We are a free independent country, our laws say that we recognizes the use of Capital Punishment in the country, it obvious that a country cries for it, but the dilemma is that it is not being carried out. But the question raised is why? What is the hold up, and how do the Bahamian people feel about the whole situation? Chapter 1 “Capital Punishment in the Bahamas; Gone but not forgotten” Capital Punishment in The Bahamas has been a practice long before the ages, from...
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...Clementina Arriaga Racial Discrimination in the Death Penalty The death penalty is a punishment in which a person is executed for having committed a serious crime. This punishment has been carried out in many different ways all over the world and has been around for many centuries. Since it started here in the United States, however, we have been seeing racial discrimination in sentencing to the death penalty. An African American man who kills a white man is more likely to be sentenced to this punishment than a white man if he kills an African American. African Americans form most of the minority group here in the United States and they are a majority that are falling in this discriminating situation. Being sentenced to the death penalty is an unjust way of punishment for any crime committed, and it is even worse to be sentenced to the death penalty because of the race or class standing of a convict. The race of the convict and the race of the defendant in capital cases are major factors in determining who is sentenced to die in this country. This is ethically wrong. It is choosing to end someone’s life because we do not like their physical appearance or because they cannot afford their way out of it. This is unconstitutional and is definitely not a way to practice for our safety. It is a choice made by a judge that can easily be protected by the law, and that is unfair. We need a system that affords the same fairness to everyone, that does not accept racial discrimination...
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...should not have to pay with his or her life. Yes, it is true that people do commit horrible crimes but to kill a person for their immoral behavior is not just. Some people may think that capital punishment is justifiable but all it is is revenge. Instead of killing the person we should lock them up behind bars, where they are away from the general population. Offer the person counseling so that they can become a healthier person both mentally and spiritually. To just kill someone for their actions does not solve anything. When we kill for justice, the only thing that separates us from the criminal is the reason why we are killing. A death for a death does not help any situation. The victim will not be brought back to life, the only thing that happens is that two families are greatly affected. Two wrongs do not make a right, the death penalty should be abolished from the laws of our country. In the Old Testament there are many references to capital punishment. The Mosaic Law set numerous offenses that were punishable by death. In Exodus 21, God commanded capital punishment for murderers. The consequences were harsh to prevent people from doing wrong. On the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is calling us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek. The New Testament reverses the old ways of thought. An early Christian writer St. Clement of Rome spoke heavily against capital punishment. He said that "to witness a man's execution, regardless of the justice of his prosecution, is forbidden...
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...CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Capital punishment or the death penalty is the execution of a person of the state as punishment for a crime. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are many different opinions as there are people. Supporters of the death penalty believe that in some instances, people who take another human life deserve to forfeit their own lives. Many supporters also believe that the threat of death discourages crime. I am oppose to the death penalty for many reasons. Criminals need to live with their consequences for the rest of their life’s, not die for them. He or she will never have to look in the mirror and regret he/she’s horrible crime. Life in prison without parole is the best alternative for the death penalty. Criminals should have to face what they committed everyday of their life; they need a punishment to fit their crime. Death is just an easy escape for the criminal. If we kill the killers we are only becoming them. When turning on the television, radio, or simply opening the local newspaper, one is bombarded with news of arrests, murders, homicides, serial killers, and other such tragedies. Killers kill innocent people, there is no question about that, but does that give us the right to kill these killers? I do not think so. I believe that there is a risk of executing mistakenly convicted people. One could be spending and ending his life incaptivity for...
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...Marc HIS 202 Powley Capital Punishment The death penalty is viewed one of two ways. Either you oppose it or you agree with it. Over the years there have been studies done to try and justify or discredit the actions surrounding the death penalty. Whether you agree or disprove the punishment doesn’t make it right or wrong. The process of capital punishment has been around a very long time. Through the years societies have put their own twists and added their personal variations to the concept. While the death penalty will never lose its ability to start a great debate, who is right and who is wrong? One thing stand the same, whichever side you’re on, you picked that side for a reason and that’s what you believe in, no matter what anyone else says. Well the church is the same way, they have a viewpoint and have taken a stand as well. During this paper we examine the ideas and thoughts of the church as a whole, and how they feel about the death penalty and how it is used in our society. Throughout history, one of the most influential institutions in society has been the church. No matter the demographic location, the religious influence can been seen in almost every aspect of the culture in that area. One reason why religion is so influential is that religion gives a moral foundation for behaviors. Morals are believed to be from a higher power, mainly from God. So when one debates the issues dealing with behaviors, and the laws that govern those behaviors, religion ends...
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...Cons of Capital Punishment Capital punishment has been around for years and the debate whether it is moral and justified is always being addressed. Most people can agree that one is either for or against the death penalty. This section of the paper will present arguments supporting the view that an “eye for an eye” is not a valid method of obtaining justice for crimes committed. Is it our job to decide who gets to live and die, and more importantly, is something as severe even evident through written laws? Here are some of the cons why capital punishment should be abolished from our civilization. Playing God ? First off, is it our duty as civilians, or humans for that matter, to play the role of God? I believe that death is a natural occurrence that is not something we can chose for another human being. Why should we kill someone who killed someone to show them that killing is a faulty comparison? It just seems for hypocritical to me to think that someone can say don’t do that, but then go on and do the same thing. There are alternatives to killing someone as a form of punishment and that is something that is a greater lesson to teach the criminal and have them live the rest of their life knowing what they did and the consequences for that crime. Some people, not all, have even been deemed innocent many years down the road when some real hard evidence proves their innocence. Now tell me if killing someone was worth it? To know that you didn’t believe an innocent...
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...Is Capital Punishment the correct sentence for a murderer? I will be discussing in my essay whether Capital Punishment should stay abolished or be reintroduced after 38 years since the punishment was banned. Capital punishment is a form of taking someone's life in order to repay for the crime that they have committed. There are many different methods of doing this, for example a few of them are such things as The Electric Chair, Hanging, Stretching, Stoning. Since 1965 people have been saying that Capital Punishment should be reintroduced. I will be stating most of the reasons these people give in the next few paragraphs. One of these reasons is the fact that prisons are getting overcrowded in England. There are over two thousand convicted persons serving life sentences in our prisons today, therefore if we were to reintroduce Capital Punishment we could resolve these problems by sentencing the people who would at present be sent to prison for life to the death penalty as a punishment for doing wrong. Another common point that is made is that with so many people in our prisons it actually costs us money due to taxing. And as I said before prisons are overcrowded plus every person serving a life sentence costs £400-£1000 each per week depending on the amount of security that they need and this is coming out of money that we work hard for. So without all those criminals we would be living better lives due to the fact that we would...
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...International Human Rights: Sara Cook- u3083225 We kill people who kill people, because killing people is bad. If this is not the most obvious contradiction of the human race, I’m not sure what is. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that we as humans have the inalienable right, first and foremost, to life, the right of a life free from torture or punishment and the right not to be subjected to any cruel or inhumane behaviour, in my view Capital Punishment blatantly violates these rights. Capital Punishment or better known as ‘The Death Penalty’ is a concept that for most of us is hard to grasp, how does one justify and actively carry out killing a person because they’ve killed another person when we believe that action is wrong. Where do we draw the line when it’s right or wrong to kill another human being? The Death Penalty is the ultimate punishment, both psychologically and physically, thus proving to us as humans that we are in breach of our essential rights as a human being and are still enabling countries to carry out this action. While Australia and numerous other countries have abolished the Death Penalty there are plenty of countries that still uphold the belief that it is a justifiable action and is morally right. The American state of California currently has over 700 prisoners on death row, one of these prisoners a 55-year-old man named Kevin Cooper states “Between the moment we are sentenced and our death date, we die a profound psychological...
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...Capital Punishment In the United States there have been many controversies and disputes of issues ranging from abortion, gun control, health care and immigration. But possibly, capital punishment is the most widely discussed issues because of the range of questions that arise stemming from legal, philosophical, social, practical, political and moral aspects. Capital punishment is defined as the legal infliction of the death penalty on persons convicted of a crime. It is a form of retributive justice that some feel is justified when proportionate to the crime committed. In the United States capital punishment is not intended to inflict and physical pain or torture but rather just used as another form of punishment. Many civilizations such as the ancient Romans and Egyptians used capital punishment to punish citizens form crimes such as blasphemy, treason, theft and murder. They believed in the “eye for an eye” doctrine. These ancient civilizations would perform capital punishment in the forms of stoning, burning, garroting, beheading, decapitation and crucifixion. Unlike how capital punishment is used today these methods were used to humiliate and inflict pain; they would be considered as cruel, barbaric and unusual punishment. Most deaths resulting from capital punishment in ancient civilizations were very slow instead of immediate. Two of the most popular cases of ancient capital punishment are that of Socrates and Jesus Christ. Great Britain originally brought the death...
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...CHRISTIANITY AND THE CONCEPT OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Yorel Warr SIN: HISTORY OF AN IDEA November 13, 2013 CHRISTIANITY AND THE CONCEPT OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT The concept of capital punishment/death penalty forces Christians and non-Christians alike to question their morality. The idea that humans have the right to take life from those whom society have deemed undeserving of one is of constant debate. Many Christians find it easy to accept this practice for the worst of criminals. So one is left to question rather this practice of “an eye for an eye” as described in the Holy Scripture is appropriate or if it is just outright murder (sin). My perspective lies somewhere in the middle. On one hand I do not believe any human being has the right to take another’s life, yet on the other hand, there are some crimes so heinous that there seems to be only one appropriate punishment. In this paper I will examine the Christian perspective, practical applications and moral implications. DEATH PENALTY AND MORALITY Some people believe that if there were no death penalty than our country would fall into anarchy. The death penalty, in their mind seems to be moral in the sense that it treats the defendant as a “free moral actor” in control of his/her own destiny. Dr. Ernest Van Den Hagg of Fordham University is an outspoken...
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...Capital punishment has always been in debate across the globe for ages now, sometimes in my own head. In the real world, there are pro group and against group always trying to prove each other wrong, or maybe in this case, prove themselves right, much (un)like the prosecution and defense. I always wonder what goes into sentencing of a perpetrator or like the defense would like to call ‘a defendant’ (by the law of ‘innocent until proven guilty’)? More often than not, or from my little knowledge, I believe that capital punishment is mostly reserved for those involved in murder or serious threat to life, which is understandable. No one has the right to take another man’s life, or woman’s. But how does a judge, or a...
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...a justified and valid form of punishment? There are two arguments for this topic with a lot of different reasons and explanations .One says prevention, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man; one says justice and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. However, c0rime is an evident part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. In several parts of the world, the death penalty has been apportioned to those who have committed a variety of felonies. The Roman Empire made use of the death penalty liberally, as did the Church of the Middle Ages. As history tells us, capital punishment is an acceptable and efficient means of deterring crime. Today, the death penalty remains an effective method of punishment for murder and other terrible crimes because it helps lower the rate of violent crimes, makes the streets safer and provides us a better environment to live in. People will rob, take advantage of others, and commit crimes as long as it is in their best interest to do so. The purpose of our entire criminal justice system is to protect the rights of life, freedom, and property for all its citizens. To be able to accomplish this, the punishment for crime must be harsh enough to deter potential criminals. Under this mindset, the death penalty makes perfect sense because it truly makes a criminal pay for his crime and prevents the criminal from committing it again. The punishment for murder is getting to be shorter...
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