...The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished. The death penalty has been around in the United States for over four-hundred years. The first person sentenced to death was in 1608 and he was hanged for spying on the Spanish government. Since then eighteen states have outlawed the death penalty while it is still legal in thirty-two, one of which is California. The death penalty should be abolished in every state of the United States. The expense for convicting one with the death penalty is much more expensive than sentencing a person to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Many people believe that a criminal shouldn’t be given the “easy way out” and they should suffer in prison for the rest of their lives. The death penalty often times doesn’t bring peace to the victims or the victim’s family. The death penalty is a very expensive process, and unfortunately tax payers are the ones forced to deal with those expenses. In California residents pay 90,000 dollars more per death row prisoner ("Death Penalty : The High Cost of the Death Penalty." Death Penalty : The High Cost of the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Focus, 31 Mar. 2009. Web. 14 Aug. 2013). Convicting a criminal with life in prison without the possibility of parole would cost millions less than sentencing one to death. Charging someone with the death penalty is a long, expensive process because the constitution requires a judicial case to insure no innocent person is executed. Tax payers shouldn’t have to pay millions...
Words: 669 - Pages: 3
...MWF 8:05 AM – 8:59 AM English Composition 2 12/07/12 The Death Penalty Crimes are committed every day. Some of them worse than others. The worst crimes get the worst punishment. That can mean capital punishment. Capital punishment is just another way of saying legal murder. Should it be allowed? This is one of the most debated issues in the criminal justice system. Hundreds of criminals are being killed legally at the hands of the government every day. Why you may ask, because they were convicted of killing one or more people. But the government can do it and get away with it. The death penalty is wrong and should be outlawed in all 50 states. The reasons why it should be outlawed are: the person could be innocent, it is not a good crime deterrent, and it does not cause closure for a victim’s families. The most obvious reason it should be banned is that it is against the law. It says so in our constitution. The Eighth Amendment clearly states that the federal government is prohibited from using cruel and unusual punishment. Most people would have to say that sitting down in a chair and getting electrocuted until your dead or getting poison shoved in your veins is pretty cruel and unusual. Also when you put someone to death for committing murder you are committing an act of it as well, which is an eye for an eye. Evidently the government seems to not think so. Another good reason to ban capital punishment is the person who was charged with the murder could actually...
Words: 1112 - Pages: 5
...right even though two negatives make a positive. I. What is death penalty? A. Methods of execution. B. The history of the death penalty. II. How do you got put on the death row “death penalty” A. What state uses what method? B. What states don’t use any method? III. What do the people think about the death penalty in the U.S.? A. Why are people for the death penalty? B. Why are people against the death penalty? Conclulusion-The death penalty isn’t the right way to go for punishment after a crime it just as worse as the person that committed the crime. Fighting Crime with Murder The death penalty is a common topic and one of the major’s topics today. This research paper as you can already see is about the death penalty and it will show and tell what it is, how it works also how it is wrong because, two wrongs do not make a right even though two negatives make positive. I have learned many of things about the death penalty more than what I expected to learn. I hope by you reading my research paper you will learn how the death penalty isn’t the right way to go just like abortions some people say abortions are right but not the death penalty or the other way around it does not make any sense they both are murdering someone. Yes, the person on the death penalty did something wrong to get there but like I said before two wrongs does not make a right. Make them suffer in the prisons for what they have done instead of dying painless. Also now days...
Words: 2659 - Pages: 11
...Death Penalty A matter of one minute could save a life. One living – or rather, dying – example was that of Eduardo Agbayani’s death execution for raping his teenage daughter. In June 25, 1999, the then President Erap Estrada announced the execution of Agbayani at three in the afternoon that day. An article posted in the Cable News Network (CNN) website, a 24-hour American cable channel, stated that at the last minute, Estrada decided to postpone the execution after receiving an appeal from Bishop Teodoro Bacani. He tried calling the prison officials, but only received busy signals and fax tones. Calling from home, Estrada then realized he was not using a direct line specially used for last-minute postponement of execution. When finally connected at 3:12 PM, Agbayani was already pronounced dead at 3:11 PM. It was a difference of a single minute, but in this case, one life has failed to be saved. In a publication released by the Philippine Statistics Authority entitled “Philippines in Figures”, records showed that the over-all reported crimes ballooned from 217,812 in 2012 to 1,161,188 in 2014. At the first half of 2015 alone, the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management revealed that the total crimes were reported to increase by 46% from 603,085 cases in 2014 to 885,445 cases last year. Thus, the Philippines 2015 Crime and Safety Report identified the country’s crime rating as ‘high’. Such drastic increase in crime rates in the Philippines, especially the...
Words: 1299 - Pages: 6
...Legalizing the Death Penalty On April 19, 1995 at 9:02 not only was our nation impacted by the largest terrorist act to date on American soil. Timothy Mcveigh was convicted and executed for the attack, killing over 168 people. Though people have different views on whether or not the death penalty should be legalized in all states, it is not. The death penalty is only legal in 32 states. There are many reasons to why such as justice being served especially to the families of someone who suffered, it costs the government less, and life in solitary confinement. There is many pros as to why the death penalty should be legal. We really may never know if the death penalty will stop a person from committing murder, but it is something that can be put to look at it. It is wrong to let someone sit in prison for life and still get the...
Words: 807 - Pages: 4
...Introduction Nowadays, the death penalty debate is a heated issue in many countries, especially in the United States. The death penalty or the capital punishment is a sentence imposed by the law, which remove the legal life of the person who commit or is suspected of having committed a serious crime. The history of death penalty in the U.S is long and ruthless and the first recorded execution was in 1608. There are many kinds of death penalty which have been used in US such as shooting, electric chair, hanging, lethal injection. Some people believe that it is never ethical and justifiable to carry out the death penalty as means of punishment by the law. Nowadays, approximately 2/3 of all countries have banned the death penalty included 18 states of the United States. Most executions take place in the Southern states, according to this source, until 2008, 930 out of 1136 executions took place there, with Texas having carried out 422 (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, n.d). This research will indicate whether the death penalty in the U.S should be abolished. Body Paragraph Reasons for the abolishment of Capital Punishment in the U.S It is possible to argue that the death penalty in the U.S should be eliminated because of inviolable human rights, unjust punishment and faint correlation between executions and crime rates. Firstly, inalienable human-rights are against the death penalty in all over the world because no one can decide who could be...
Words: 1238 - Pages: 5
...35 countries have abolished it de facto. The death penalty has in the past been practiced by most societies as a punishment for murder, political or religious dissidents. Yet, since the 19th century tolerance and respect for life has become of great importance. In this essay I will seek to answer if capital punishment should be reintroduced. Some people say that capital punishment acts as a deterrent. Facing this punishment a murderer may think twice before committing the crime. If one takes somebody’s life he has forfeit his own right to life. However, statistics show that crime rates in countries that practice capital punishment have not gone down. In fact, the United Stated murder rate is 6 times bigger than that of Britain or Australia. Neither country has the death penalty. Texas and Oklahoma have historically executed the most number of inmates who were sentenced to death, though in 2003 their murder rate was higher than the national average. ”I have never heard a murderer say they thought about the death penalty as consequence of their actions prior to committing their crimes” says Gregory Ruff, police lieutenant in Kansas. The life imprisonment, for some anti-death penalty activists, would be the best way to deter crime. On the other hand, assaults in prisons all over the US have more than doubled in the past decade, according to statistics gathered by the Criminal Justice Institute in Middletown, Connecticut. Even the prison walls can not stop these kind of criminal from...
Words: 696 - Pages: 3
...Although the death penalty has many problems including its expense and cruelty to inmates, it is imperative that we utilize this punishment due to the horrendous crimes people. Many people believe that we should get rid of death penalty, but really people need it for all the outrageous things people have done. There are so many pros and cons debating whether the death penalty is good or bad. Many believe that its way too expensive taking care of the inmates such as electricity, water, food, and clothing. The government approximately spends about $1 million on each inmate sentenced to life in prison. There is around 2,000 inmates that are in prison for death row a year, that is a lot of money spent on just bills and food, also that's not even...
Words: 1351 - Pages: 6
...is the death penalty. It has been used throughout history to punish a variety of offenses committed. Whether or not there should be a death penalty is one of the most debated issues in the Criminal Justice system. It is polled that approximately 62% of Americans support the death penalty. Behind that percentage is poorly based reasons like revenge or misrepresented facts, such as cost and a sense of justice. The United States had a 2012 murder rate of 4.8 victims per 100,000-meaning that nearly 15,000 people were victims of homicide that year. (Benoit) These criminals, it appears, are not fearing capital punishment as a consequence of their crimes as much as people hope they would. The death penalty should be abolished because criminals are not deterred from committing crimes, millions of dollars are wasted, and innocent people may be executed. Attorney General Janet Reno stated, “I have inquired for most of my adult life about studies that might show that the death penalty is a deterrent, and I have not seen any research that would substantiate that point.” (J Donahue and J Wolfers) While many would like to believe that the death penalty would be more of a deterrent than a long prison sentence, criminals rarely consider the consequences of their actions. A crime of passion is exactly that, where they would not think about what would happen if they went through with a crime. These criminals, who commit these heinous crimes that would lead to the death penalty, can have...
Words: 2134 - Pages: 9
...The first death penalty laws were established in the eighteenth century making it so you could only be hanged for murder. The first recorded death penalty that took place was in 1608, it was Captain George Kendall. This execution took place in the new colonies, he was put to death because he was suspected of spying for Spain he was executed by a firing squad. Capital Punishment has not been proven to deter crime and opens the possibility of executing innocent people; finally, the Death Penalty/Capital Punishment can cause 2nd hand trauma to the victim and their family. Capital Punishment violates the 8th amendment, it is labeled as cruel and unusual punishment. Capital punishment also violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection,...
Words: 1359 - Pages: 6
...What is the death penalty? Its prisoners being sentenced to death for their crimes. Prisoners aren’t put to death as much as they were back in the day. We believe the death penalty is needed because, it keeps prisoners from rotting in jail there whole life. Another reason is an eye for an eye. The last reason is that it will lower the crime rate. People think that the death penalty is bad saying it’s morally wrong and no one deserves it. The truth is, it is right. People should have to pay for what they have done. Why sentence a guy to life in prison when you could just give him the death penalty instead. It keeps prisons from getting full and keeps them from wasting space. Putting a person in prison for the rest of their life is basically the same as letting them go free. They are in prison but that just means there are stricter rules than the outside life....
Words: 524 - Pages: 3
...and executed 38 people by the means of the death penalty (mic.com/articles). That statistic shows that the United States death penalty is not a punishment that is tossed around lightly. However, it is a punishment that the United States needs to keep. The writers of the Constitution wrote that there should and will be a death penalty (Is the death penalty unconstitutional?). Many people who oppose the death penalty say that it has racial bias, well according to Roger C, race is not a factor in the sentencing of the death penalty. Many people also try to say that it is far too expensive, this is false because sentencing criminals to life without parole adds to the expenses that prisons and taxpayers already have to pay ( does the death penalty cost less than life without parole?). The death penalty is fair, and effective and needs to be kept at all costs....
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...Does the “death penalty” Deter crime? Deterrence The death penalty or “Capital Punishment” as it most widely known has been around for century. It has been used in biblical days as punishment for just about any type of activity viewed as unlawful acts ranging from fornication, and adultery to religious beliefs and practices. Many people have different views about the death penalty. The debate concerning which type of punishment is better, weighs between the death penalty and life in prison. Many argues that the death penalty violates the eighth amendment which states we “cannot use “cruel and unusual punishment”, or we might be taking the life of an innocent; while others says justice, retribution and it helps to lowers ‘deter” the crime rate in society. Whichever way the argument sways, the battle still wages, “Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed”? Whenever someone commits a crime the law requires swift and just punishment for any unlawful deed offering closure and justice to the family of the victim. But how do we know which crime is worthy of the death penalty or life in prison? Do we even consider the issues surrounding these sentences before ordering them? There are many issues surrounding the death sentence. Some of the issues that arise are: the morality of the death penalty, the cost of the death penalty, vs. the cost of life in prison, and the deterrence of the death penalty. Many people will say that the death penalty deters crime. Their argument: other convicted...
Words: 470 - Pages: 2
...The Death Penalty in Today’s Society Laura Parker September 10, 2013 Unit 3 Individual Project ENG 107-1303B-03 The topic of the death penalty has been a controversial subject for many years. There are many people who think that it is unconstitutional, yet it still exists and serves a purpose in today’s society. The death penalty is the only punishment that can be rightfully labeled as the ultimate deterrent to murder. The death penalty is often the only punishment that is deserving for the crime that has been committed. It also helps reinforce the theory “eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” to begin to give closure to the victim’s family. The death penalty sill serves a purpose in today’s society and will continue to be the ultimate punishment that we can give. Capital punishment is the one punishment that can be called the ultimate deterrent to people committing murder. In the 1930’s, murder rates hit an all-time high. Cases of the death penalty also hit an all-time high in 1935. Because of the fairly routine executions of murderers, over the following 30 years both murder rates and the rates of death penalty cases dropped. “By 1960, 90 percent of all murders involved people who knew each other.” (Tucker, 2000). Murder rates had reached a record low by this time, but that low would only last a short time. By 1964 the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that capital punishment was unconstitutional. The death penalty was abolished...
Words: 893 - Pages: 4
...August 18, 2009Death Penalty Filed under: Free Essays — Tags: death penalty essay, death penalty essay examples, death penalty essay topics, death penalty research paper, death penalty term paper, free death penalty essays, sample death penalty essay — admin @ 10:55 am My argument will be for the death penalty because it is not actually justice killing a person but if that person goes out and kills another, than he or she should have the death penalty. “The death penalty is our harshest punishment. It is irrevocable: it ends the existence of those punished, instead of temporarily imprisoning them” (p.440). It is the serious and best punishment for murderers, and therefore we should not abolish the death penalty. If we abolish the death penalty, the murder rate will mostly likely increase because the murderer would be like, ah, all I have to do is go to prison for life and try to get parole. This would not be fair to the victim’s family, whose life was erase by a murderer. Death is more fearful than life imprisonment, so murderers who are sentence to death would rather have life imprisonment. What would be the reason for a murderer to be living in this world after taking the life of another person? There should be no light punishment for a murderer because that person should have thought about the consequences before he or she did it. I not saying punish every person that kills another because there are some situations where people are defending themselves as in self-defense...
Words: 828 - Pages: 4