...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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...might use the hedonic calculus in making moral decisions. Introduction Utilitarianism is an ethical theory, introduced by Bentham, in guiding people on how to make moral decisions, based on the outcome of your actions. Does the action that you are going to do, bring pleasure to the majority of people? This is the whole basis of utilitarianism. The hedonic calculus is a part of the decision making process in utilitarianism, it is a guide with 7 measures, which help the utilitarian make a moral decision. This essay will look at the ethical issue of death penalty and how a utilitarian will use the hedonic calculus in making a moral decision. 1st paragraph Death penalty * What is it? * Controversial debate * Talk about how modern society compensation, people want pay back for the loss * Many are in favour some aren’t believe life is valuable 2nd paragraph * A terrorist * Death penalty favourable great happiness * Looking at the hedonic calculus 7 measures how they fit in category? Benefit society how? * Summarise back to the question yes utilitarian then see its good moral decision say it’s good considering all views 3rd paragraph Counter argument * However, doesn’t look at the minority? * How can utilitarian use the hedonic calculus to make a decision? It doesn’t look what else can happen from the action u do. More death threats for the country etc. * Subjective * Summarise back to question 4th paragraph ...
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...Frytzala Panagiota Assignment name: Argumentative essay Attempt: regular Academic year: 2016 Words: 368/350 Filename: Argumentative essay “Do people who commit heinous crimes deserve the death penalty?” Death penalty should be abolished or not? That is the one of the most important issues concerning many. Some say that it is the ultimate denial of human rights with others believing that it the fairest punishment for people that have committed heinous crimes. Beginning I want to state that most of the criminals that have committed a serious crime such as paedophilia or murder do not have a sense of humanity in them. Furthermore that happens because these people are so ignorant that they think they can do as they like by killing or raping, like the world belongs to them. Many argue that in cases like this death penalty should be enforced. Not only cause they have killed or rape but due to the fact that our prison system is in terrible condition. As a result to the overpopulation in the penal institutions it is widely believed even among criminals that our prisons are like universities of crime too them. Moreover people that exit penitentiary commit the same crimes or even worse. In the same way the paedophiles get away with committing the worst crime by being released after several years by committing the same crimes again and again. On the other hand the arguments opposing to the death penalty are mainly ethical in their nature. Basically that is wrong to kill...
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...Essay opposing death sentence Student details Institutional affiliations Introduction There has been an argument that lifting amnesty on miscreants and vagabonds is barbaric and retrogressive. The same argument is seen on the death penalty, and it has been a controversial issue not only in the USA but also in the rest part of the world. The death sentence has been a verdict to individuals who have committed a capital offence. However, this is not considerably the best way to punish the guilty. It is necessary some sympathy be expressed to the guilty party since they could at one point in life decide to change for the better. The death sentence is not the noblest way to counter violence. In this case, it would appear as if it is tat for tat, or to repay violence wit violence. Several civil rights and religious groups have been against death sentence claiming that there is no outright prove that the convict is guilty or not. What if the accused is just innocent and is just accused falsely? There are several ethical downsides of the death sentence and the reasons it should be abolished or not used at all. Several religious and civil rights activists haven't found it easy to negotiate about this penalty. There is a lot of both religious and ethical concerns about the issue that have prompted different groups to oppose staunchly this sentence. Subjecting a person to a death penalty is unconstitutional. The main reason has the fact that the individual living also has his right...
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...The Death Penalty Lucious Davis PHI200: Mind and Machine Instructor: Michelle Loudermilk October 10, 2011 The United States is still one of the countries that still use the death penalty as punishment for crimes. While some see it as barbaric and totally against American values, others view it as an important deterrent to violent crimes- such as murder. Regardless of which side you are on, one thing is for sure- the debate isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Capital punishment, another name for the death penalty, has been present in the United States since 1608. This is the process by which a person a person is tried and put to death for crimes they have committed. The list of crimes that are punishable by death vary from state to state (the U.S. government and the U.S. military have their own criteria), as well as the methods used for execution. Lethal injection is the standard for execution, but there are several other methods used, including: electrocution, hanging, and death by firing squad. Although every state does not employ the death penalty- a vast majority do. Along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. government, 36 states currently have the power to execute inmates. Through the centuries there has been endless debate about the morality, legality, and constitutionality of capital punishment. For many (and for my paper’s sake) the debate is whether or not the death penalty is ethical. Specifically, is it ethical to put someone to death for...
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...The Death Penalty Introduction The death penalty is a huge controversial issue all over the world. This punishment is carried out by the country's government when a citizen of that country disobeys the law by committing an unthinkable crime, such as rape or murder. But having the death penalty has it negatives as well as the benefits to a country .In this assignment I research and discuss , the benefits as well as the negatives. Currently, there are thirty-three states in which the death penalty is legal and seventeen states that have abolished it all together . I believe the death penalty should be legal as I will now debate . There are many reasons as to why I believe the death penalty should be legalized, including deterrence, retribution, and morality; and also their are other arguments to this topic that do not show enough evidence to prove it is wrong. This discussion is important because I feel it is a decision made within what you believe is right. I don't see why society should tolerate such people, I suppose throwing a person in prison for life works, but then again why should good citizens who go about their daily lives and pay their taxes and be responsible for supporting the life of a peadophile or murderer ? My hypothesis is the death penalty, is more beneficial than harmful. My research report will be based in the United States , as the USA still has the death penalty in many of their states. What is the Death Penalty? The death penalty, also...
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...Which is the most appropriate justification for punishment – deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation or incapacitation? Give reasons for your answer. In this essay the following methods of punishment; deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation and incapacitation will be critically evaluated with example to reference, thus the most appropriate method in collaboration with the justice system for the UK can be selected. There has been much debate with regards to the meaning and purpose let alone the most efficient method of punishment for many years. For the purpose of this essay punishment can be defined as ‘social artefact’ Garland (1990). Punishment such as prison and ASBOs tell us a lot about society such as who has broken the law and who is legit and trustable, nevertheless dose this in reality justify why punishment exists and conducted in a social environment? As stated by Durkheim punishment has a diverse effect on each person certain people react in a positive manner and others in a negative. However he left us to question from all the different strategies at the core of punishment which one actually works in different places or at different times, do societies use different kinds of penal strategy? Why did punishment such as ducking stools and stocks go out of fashion? Why have so many industrial democracies given up on capital punishment? Why has imprisonment become such an important form of punishment” Hudson, J (2003). Capital punishment can be defined as...
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...Individuals tend to think of law as a body of institutions and rules that govern a society with the intention of maintaining social order, upholding justice and resolving disputes in the interests of the common good. However, any legal system must be more deeply founded than that if it is to last for long and operate effectively. This essay will explore concepts on the storied nature of law. In recognising that stories are an important part not only of individual understanding of the world, but also in interpreting the law, this essay will seek to expose the myth of objectivity in legal narratives by exploring the favouring of facts within stories of legal adjudication and interpretation. Stories are one way that individuals deal with their...
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...SANCTIONS Introduction This essay main is to conduct a critically, and logically analyze of both the economic and ethical consequences that emanate from imposed economic sanctions. The first section of the essay will also deeply appreciate on the definition of an economic sanction and also clearly and logically evaluate whether it is a good strategy to make the other nations honor and respect their demands. This is mostly with an aim to avoid any form of generalization that is done by most people who assume it’s a good practice and also a form of defensive mechanism to coerce the other nation consider on its ultimatums by delivering and basing my argument on a critical analysis point of view. The second paragraph will mainly constitute and analyze the effects of an imposed economic sanction as well as it’s political, ethical, and economic impact on the nations involved. On the conclusion bit, I will give an opinion putting into consideration both the positive and the negative effects of the economic sanctions and also assess on their viability and applicability. Main body Ethics or morality, rather than being general, are highly diversified according to different times, spaces, and groups. As Nardin argued, “ethics involves principles, but it also involves the interpretation and application of these principles by particular persons in particular circumstances” (1992: 2). Economic sanctions are a form of domestic fines and even penalties that are imposed by one mainly...
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...consequentialist and non-consequentialist elements. What distinguishes these theories is their focus and goals: Consequentialist theories are forward-looking, concerned with the future consequences of punishment; non-consequentialist theories are backward-looking, interested solely in past acts and mental states; and mixed theories are both forward- and backward-looking, with each hybrid placing a different emphasis on culpable past conduct versus future consequences. The present paper will briefly examine the two dominant consequentialist and non-consequentialist theories of criminal punishment–utilitarianism and retributivism, respectively–as well as leading hybrid theories. In between using the utilitarian and Kantian arguments fallacy of death penalty has also been explored. Research Methodology Aims and objectives: Present paper attempts to sketch the significance of two seemingly opposing justifications of punishment....
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... INTRODUCTION (300 words) This essay will look at three different learning outcomes, each using a specific case study for illustration. The first part will focus on the issues relating to health and safety legislation and how these are implemented in the work place. The Health and Safety can trace its origin back to the year 1833 when The Factories Act led to the creation of the first factory inspectors and whose role was initially tasked with only preventing injury amongst child workers (Jarvis, 2011). This has significantly developed, since then, into a ‘must-have’ policy at work places not just here in the UK but throughout the European Unions (EU). The case of North Staffordshire combined NHS Trust (NSC) which will be discussed in some detail is living proof that Health and Safety, if managed effectively, could lead to better outcomes for all stakeholders. The second part of this essay will focus on the practicalities and the implementation mechanism of Health and Safety at work or lack thereof and the consequences that an organisation which transgresses may suffer for non-compliance as seen in the case of South Birmingham Primary Care Trust. To this end, issues such as lifting and handling heavy loads as well as other dilemma faced by organisations in relation to health and safety will be explored with a view to grasping the implications not only at individual levels but also at corporate level. The final part of this essay will attempt to show how Health and...
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...From this perspective, several ethical concerns have been raised which makes organ recovery from executed prisoners an undesirable act to be performed. First of all, vital organ procurement becomes a way of execution and it places the physicians in the role of executioner and shift the setting of capital punishment away from prison, neither of which is morally acceptable. Furthermore, in China, a common practice of execution for those who are destined to be organ donors is temporal gun shooting. The executed is then declared dead, which is not the typical classifications of brain-death or circulatory-death, and sent to a hospital for organ procurement optimum for transplantation. Ethical question emerges because it is uncertain that a donor is truly dead —with cessation of heart and lung function becoming irreversible, when vital organs are retrieved from his body. This process has been described as death-inmates receiving their “unfinished execution in the surgery theater… and finished by transplantation surgeons” [1]. Such arrangement is a direct violation of dead donor rule (DDR) [2], which states that organ procurement must not kill the donor and organ donation has to be carried out from the deceased. It has long been a bright line to separate death and donation so as to assure public trust. If this...
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...satirical essay “A Modest Proposal.” If taken literally, it might leave a bad taste in your mouth and will probably scar your guests for life. Swift proposes to end the great suffering of the country of Ireland by putting the children, whom he states are of great burden to the poor, to some use by turning them into a product that will in turn resolve the issue of the country’s inability to be self-sufficient. Swift’s proposal is well thought out and detailed, but can we really advocate cannibalism as a solution to fix the crisis of this nation? Swift offers arguments that cover three main topics, the economic status of the nation, the welfare of the poor population and the overall happiness of the population. Although there is logical reasoning to support his proposal, efforts can be made into a more humane solution. Swift starts off with a claim that his proposal “would greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly overrun, being the principal breeders of the nation” (page 222). This falls into the topic of the welfare of the population. Reducing the poor population will then reduce those that are suffering. Swift uses a logos approach by appealing to the reader’s logical sense by providing deductive reasoning. Swift implies that if we eat a moderate portion of what we produce, it will indeed reduce our numbers or at least keep it at a sustainable amount. Getting rid of the superfluous amount of people being produced is not really resolving the issue. The people...
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...Running Head: ECONOMICS ESSAY III 1 Economics Essay III Task: Write an essay that describes the relationship between regulation and market structures and how regulations affects the market. A Define Industrial Regulation Explain why industrial regulation exists, how it affects the market, provide entities affected by industrial regulation in terms of market structure, and why industrial regulation affects those entities. Economic regulation is a form of government intervention designed to influence the behavior of firms and individuals in the private sector (Econ Guru Web). Other forms include public expenditures, taxes, government ownership, loans and loan guarantees, tax expenditures, equity interests in private companies and moral suasion. It is the imposition of rules by a government, backed by the use of penalties, that are intended specifically to modify the economic behavior of individuals and firms in the private sector, regulation in general is aimed at narrowing choices in certain areas, including prices (airline fares, minimum wages, certain agricultural products, telephone rates), supply (broadcasting licenses, occupational licensing, agricultural production quotas, pipeline certificates "of public convenience and necessity"), rate of return (public utilities, pipelines), disclosure of information (securities prospectuses, content labeling), methods ECONOMICS ESSAY III 2 of production (effluent standards, worker health and...
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...Against Humanity: Euthanasia Tolga Arslan ESL 160-03: Combined Skills VI Professor Roxanne Leach April 24, 2013 Tolga Arslan 4/24/2013 ESL 160-3 Library Report Essay Professor Roxanne Leach Against Humanity: Euthanasia Euthanasia is a serious political, moral, and ethical issue in today’s society. Euthanasia is putting people in a painless death or when terminally ill people choose to end his or her life with a doctor’s help. The word euthanasia comes from Greek “eu”, goodly or well and “thanatos” death, so it is good death. This short definition is a cause of all those debates all over the world. Doctors, politicians, religious leaders, lawyers, and general public argue for euthanasia, whether it should be legalized or not. Euthanasia is a serious topic because it goes against the standards of traditional medicine. First, doctors have to take the Hippocratic Oath to become a real doctor. The Hippocratic Oath says do whatever you can to save people’s life. Euthanasia says just kill them if they want to die. Which doctor can kill their client if they have taken the Hippocratic Oath or if they are real doctors? Second, euthanasia is not always applied to terminally ill patients either. People who have been in serious accidents, or who have debilitating diseases are often consideration for the application of euthanasia. The problem is, these patients are neither in a coma nor senseless. According to http://www.euthanasia.cc, “A pair of identical twins has died after...
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