...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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...waiting to strike again. However, if someone asked what your thought is on the death penalty, most would probably say that they are against it that is until a family member or someone you love is walking down the street and that man who was looking for their next victim found them. It was a family member and you will never see them again. Capital punishment has been a topic of debate for a very long time and it still has no certain solution. The Supreme Court, in 1972 said that it was unconstitutional and had made it legal after the Furman v. Georgia case. They said that it was in violation of our eighth and fourteenth amendment citing cruel and unusual punishment (Shaw, 2001). They then reinstated the death penalty after the Gregg v. Georgia case in 1976 (Shaw, 2001). As of September 2010, fifteen states that do not have the death penalty ("Death penalty information center," 2010.) Today about seventy percent of Americans who support the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). While thirty percent are against the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). When seeking the death penalty, it is something not done very often and it not taken very lightly. The reason is because the cost it accrued overtime A typical death row trial usually goes as follows: The District Attorney’s office will seek the death penalty in cases they feel it is the appropriate punishment. The case will be in front of...
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...Death Penalty In today judicial system, many criminals are getting away with very little or no punishment for the crimes they are committing. You could be walking down the street in your very own neighborhood looking for their next victim and you do not even realize it. These criminals have no remorse on what they do; they are just waiting to strike again. However, if someone asked what your thought is on the death penalty, most would probably say that they are against it that is until a family member or someone you love is walking down the street and that man who was looking for their next victim found them. It was a family member and you will never see them again. Capital punishment has been a topic of debate for a very long time and it still has no certain solution. The Supreme Court, in 1972 said that it was unconstitutional and had made it legal after the Furman v. Georgia case. They said that it was in violation of our eighth and fourteenth amendment citing cruel and unusual punishment (Shaw, 2001). They then reinstated the death penalty after the Gregg v. Georgia case in 1976 (Shaw, 2001). As of September 2010, fifteen states that do not have the death penalty ("Death penalty information center," 2010.) Today about seventy percent of Americans who support the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). While thirty percent are against the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). When seeking the...
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...Pros and Cons: the Abolishment of Death Penalty Death penalty, from a legal perspective, is the killing of a person by a state authority through judicial process as a punishment for an offense. The capital punishment has been used by nearly all societies and the use of it extends to the beginning of recorded history. People believe that if we owe one’s money, we must pay back for it, so as one’s life. This kind of idea has deeply carved in many people’s mind for a long time. Compared with Christianity, who are strictly on the side of abolishment of the death penalty, Chinese tend to in favor of the saying of an eye for an eye and teeth for teeth. According to Amnesty International, at least 23 countries were known to had executions in 2010 and at least 17,000 people worldwide were sentenced to death. In addition, there are countries which do not publish information on the use of capital punishment, most significantly China, which is estimated to execute hundreds of people each year. Although there are many execution in China each year in the present day, there was a time in Tang Dynasty when the death penalty was abolished. This was in the year 747, enacted by Emperor Xuanzong. Depending on the severity of the crime, a punishment of severe scourging with the thick rod or of exile to the remote Lingnan region might take the place of capital punishment. However the death penalty was restored only 12 years later in 759 in response to the An Lushan...
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...PRO Capital punishment which is also known as the death penalty has become an increasingly controversial issue over many decades. Capital punishment is the pre-meditated and planned taking of a human life by a government in response to a crime committed by that legally convicted person. Capital punishment should be legalized in all states, because it is morally just and it will deter crime. The many opponents of capital punishment who are against it feel that the death penalty is not a deterrent and that it is a thing of the past. It has no place in a civilized society today. One of the biggest arguments against capital punishment is people feel that it violates the eighth amendment which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. People against Capital Punishment believe the death penalty is absurd and is in un-Christian practice. Further more, they feel society should not" encourage sentiments of revenge or cater to morbid interest in ritual execution." Criminologists also built a strong case that the threat of death failed to deter murder, anymore effectively than prison. Therefore, to inflict harm to one, it is simply useless. However, the punishment fits the crime therefore, it is morally just. Capital punishment is an expression of society's moral outrage at offensive conduct. This may be appealing to many but it is essential in an ordered society. It asks our citizens to rely on legal procedures rather than to self-help their wrongs doings. It is morally right to sentence...
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...the death penalty in the United Sates, which dates back to colonial times. Some people see it as a barbaric means of punishment while others see it as an important tool for fighting pre-meditated murder and other horrific crimes. The death penalty has bee in existence since the Eighteenth Century B.C. At first, it was carried out by horrific means, boiling, beheading, and burning at the steak just to name a few. Later as man became more civilized, more humane methods were invented and used. It was not until the Nineteenth Century that the death penalty finally found opposition. Since then the civilized world has been at odds on whether to abolish the death penalty. In conclusion, the reasons for abolishing it as well as reasons against abolishing the death penalty are argued; however, the victims of the crimes and their families cannot be ignored. . Over 15,269 Americans have been executed since the beginning of the death penalty in the United Sates, which dates back to colonial times. America remains a minority of nations in the world that still uses the death penalty for punishment of certain crimes. Many see this as a barbaric and against human values. Others see it as a very important means to fighting violent crime and pre-meditated murder. The death penalty’s history started as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. during the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. During that period there were 25 crimes that were considered punishable by death. The...
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...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...
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...I feel that the death penalty should not be abolished, at least not here in the United States. I feel that the death penalty should be administered because: • There’s an overflow of the human populace and the death penalty can (at least somewhat) keep the populace in check. However, if we were to abolish the death penalty, there might be an even greater inflation of the human populace. • There’s an overflow of criminals in the court systems and not many efficient ways of handling these prisoners; however, with the death penalty set in place, there’s at least one guaranteed method of dealing with inmates if they step too far out of line. • The death penalty is a significantly cheaper and more efficient way of handling prisoners; especially those with a life sentence on their heads. The cost of keeping a...
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...by the justice system and emphasis be placed on looking for a new way to deter crime? This is more than just a crime deterrent issue because it involves taking a life to save a life. This is an ethical issue of whether capital punishment is the best way to solve the problem, and this has been argued by millions of people all over the world for decades and it is still a highly debated topic to this day. Capital Punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the practice of sentencing a person to execution as punishment for a capital crime after a proper legal trail. It is typically only used as a form of punishment for people who commit serious types of murder. It may not be known, because many countries never actually use it, but there are 58 countries that currently have a form of the death penalty (Unknown, 2010). Capital punishment is a topic that many people offer their opinion on, not only people from academia, but also doctors, bus drivers, salespeople, accountants, politicians, and barbers. There is a huge interest in the death penalty globally, but that doesn’t mean there is a consensus that has been reached on the topic. There are basically three different points of views on the use of capital...
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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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...Taborn ENG. 100 July 25, 2012 ------------------------------------------------- Pro Capital Punishment ------------------------------------------------- Pro Capital Punishment ABSTRACT Capital Punishment is a highly controversial and emotional issue which most people seem to have strong arguments for and against. In the United States, controversy over capital punishment began in colonial periods when, against the consents of the English Crown, some settlements enacted only a few capital laws. Soon after the War for Independence and the adoption of the Constitution, America’s death penalty debate started in earnest. Capital Punishment is a subject that must be addressed with today’s violent society. The use of Capital Punishment in America has become a controversy among Americans. Controversy whether to ban Capital Punishment or not has become a top priority for most politicians. On one hand it brings justice, yet on the other its taking a life. After examining the benefit of capital punishment, one will likely conclude that the benefit of capital punishment outweighs the harm of expenditures, deterrent compensations, and retributions. The economic argument that people must always consider is the cost of the death penalty opposed to life imprisonment. According to California state records, the operating expense to finance the penalty costs tax payers more than $114 million annually (Tempest). A 2005 report from...
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...Death Penalty Amber Coughenour Florida State College at Jacksonville The United States of America is the land of the free, home of the brave. Some people would argue against this, because of many states’ laws. Many states still use the death penalty as a form of punishment for heinous crimes. Eighteen of the fifty states, and the District of Columbia, have abolished the death penalty (“States With and Without”), while a few others have voted to abolish it and failed. Personally, I believe for some heinous crimes, the death penalty is the only way for the community and family and/or victim(s) to get their retribution and closure. In our criminal justice system, each crime has a punishment that is distributed through the court system. Depending on the state, the punishment may be different. In America, we punish people for a few different reasons: retribution for victims, to rehabilitate the offender, and punish the offender for breaking the community’s standards, to name a few. States with the death penalty may or may not sentence someone to death for crimes other than killing another human being. Personally, I believe murder is the only reason a person should be given the death penalty. Arguments agreeing with my statement mostly state that it isn’t equal punishment, which is what our justice system is trying to achieve. People who rape children should not be sentenced to death, but should be locked away for life without parole. They may have harmed a child in an unspeakable...
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...this case, the state has the responsibility and the legal authority to punish the criminal or groups of criminals based on the given law. The punishment of the criminals may vary from simple fines and imprisonment to sever torture and the deprivation of life. Capital punishment or the death penalty has existed as part of the human justice system since ancient times. In these earlier periods people were sentenced to death as a punishment for crimes considered as first degree offenses by the state. These crimes were most of the time political as well as religious and the method of execution, in addition to different brutal ways, was mainly beheading. With additional types of crimes resulting in capital punishment and more sophisticated methods of execution, the death penalty has continued to be practiced in the 21st century. However, capital punishment, especially after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, has became an issue of greater debate among states, human right organizations and other nongovernmental organizations. Since 1948, the number of countries employing death penalty is decreasing and currently nearly half of the states in our world have abandoned the death penalty for all kinds of crimes. This paper will focus on presenting the diverging views regarding capital punishment mainly from a human right perspective. The study then tries to present facts, figures, and tries to look in brief the move towards its universal abolition. As far as the methods...
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...Head: Death Penalty Larry Williams Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice CJA/313 University Of Phoenix Robin Rabiner May 10, 2009 Death Penalty There are crimes that take place throughout society. When crimes are investigated, and investigators have evidence that prove who were involved, there are consequences for their actions. In some cases, there are crimes that involve consequences such as the death penalty. This consequence can be one of the severe punishments that are placed in our judicial system. There are many people that are for, as well as those are against the death penalty. In many cases, the death penalty has its benefits, as well as its flaws. Unfortunately the death penalty seems to cause problems that leaves many mulling over. In this case, it seems that the flaws of the death penalty needs reinstituted. History The death penalty laws were founded in the early 1800s. This punishment was implemented for 25 different crimes. However, the death penalty establishment goes back as the early Fourteenth Century. “The death penalty was also part of the Fourteenth Century B.C.'s Hittite Code; in the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes.” (Death Penalty Information Center, 2009). As the centuries progressed, the number of death penalty crimes increased. By the early 1700s, there were over 200 crimes which systematize the death penalty...
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...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...
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