Premium Essay

Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

In:

Submitted By kazami21
Words 2041
Pages 9
Should the Death Penalty be abolished?
The international trend of stopping executing and abolishing the death penalty is obvious. For example, in 2011, there are nearly 200 countries in the world but only 21 countries execute the death penalty. In addition, 140 countries have already abolished the death penalty legally and practically (i.e. stop executing the death penalty). In the US, 17 states abolished the death penalty or sentenced the death penalty unconstitutional, including New Jersey (2007), New York (2007), New Mexico (2009), Illinois (2011) and Connecticut (2012). There are also a numbers of states that have suspended executions for many years.
In 2007, United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution for the first time to implore all the members of the United Nations to stop using the death penalty. Since then, the United Nations General Assembly also declared the similar resolutions in 2008 and 2010 respectively and the most recent one was made in December 20, 2012. In 2007, 104 countries voted in favor of the resolution, while 54 voted against it. By 2012, there were 111 countries in favor, 41 countries against.
The death penalty has two dimensions: one is the humanity between the individual life, another one is the rights among social communities and social members. The first dimension is a punishment executed by a specific public institution to the murderer once the murder happened between the the social members. In this dimension, the trace of the evolution from the revengeful behavior in the olden days to the severe death penalty under the social organization nowadays is crystal clear. The basic principle of revengeful behavior is a compensatory revenge based on the equal values of individual lives. For example, the quote “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” from Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian law code, 1754 BC) expressed this

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

...Date: Student: Teacher: Class: Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished? Thе Dеath Pеnalty is diffеrеnt from all othеr forms of punishmеnts in that it cannot bе rеvеrsеd and thеrеforе should bе abolishеd. Murdеrеrs arе not discouragеd from committing crimеs еvеn with thе dеath pеnalty as a punishmеnt. Thе high costs of thе dеath pеnalty arе also anothеr good rеason to gеt it out of govеrnmеnt's systеm. Thе dеath pеnalty goеs against somе of Thе Amеrican Constitution's laws. Thе Dеath Pеnalty is unfair and unjust and should bе abolishеd from Amеrica. Thе Dеath Pеnalty doеs not frightеn pеoplе from committing crimеs any morе еffеctivе than imprisonmеnt doеs. For thе dеath pеnalty to work thе offеndеr must sее it as a thrеat. Most pеoplе who commit murdеrs do so mostly in thе hеat of passion, undеr thе influеncе of drugs or alcohol and arе thinking vеry littlе about thе consеquеncеs. Thosе who actually plan thе murdеr also plan away of not gеtting caught so thеy do not havе to go through thе punishmеnt. Somе pеoplе commit murdеrs so thеy havе an еasy way out and not havе to commit suicidе. Othеrs sее it as a way to gain a bad namе, for thosе thе consequence is an attraction. This еxplains why capital punishmеnt еncouragеs homicidеs and why somе killеrs havе askеd to diе.Thе Dеath Pеnalty may havе an oppositе еffеct of what is intеndеd, aftеr a man in Florida was еxеcutеd, homicidеs sееmеd...

Words: 938 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Death Penalty Is Brutal and Should Be Abolished

...for a specifically crime, and also an issue of in between controversial and dissenting in public nowadays. Capital punishment stated as death penalty, there is various form of death penalty which includes the gassing, hanging, shooting, electrocution, stoning, beheading, gas chamber, firing squad, and also comes with lethal injection. In the simplest way to define what capital punishment is, someone deprive his or her life. In my opinion, I think that capital punishment is considered as inhuman, cruel, an unfair cold blooded way of punishment, because it against the most basic of human rights. Well, to define what is basic of human rights, it can be explains that every people have the basic rights to be freedom and live, we have the rights to do the right things with the regardless of consequences in nationality or other more status. Nevertheless, although death penalty is executed for murders, but it is not the reason for government approval in use as legality, due the capital punishment destruction and also breaks the rules in order to protect the human rights. Therefore, I strongly agreed that capital punishment is brutal and it should be abolished. First and foremost, there are several arguments to put forward. Results in a system show that the necessity of legal and moral belief errors that must be kill some innocent victims. Death penalty deterrent people ineffectively especially when those innocent lives get destroyed. Based on the research which conducted by Bell (2011)...

Words: 1005 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Should Death Penalty Be Abolished Essay

...Death Penalty Should Exist It has been a long debate whether death penalty should be executed or not. Dated back to 18 century B.C., Babylonian King Hammurabi set very own legal guidelines, known as Hammurabi’s Code. One of the famous laws is summarized as “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. It sounds unethical to some people. However, standing in victims’ shoes, one can realize why they think there should be death penalty. Criminals who have committed felonies have left numerous heartbroken families of victims. Consequently, it is believed that capital punishment should not be abolished. Death penalty is definitely necessary for the society. First and foremost, in order to maintain social order, the execution of death penalty can eliminate criminals with unforgivable crimes like murder. Death penalty also gives victims’ families a sense of justice being served, for instance, one of the most devastating cases in Taiwan is 2014 Taipei Metro Attack. The 21-year-old...

Words: 825 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Should Death Penalty Be Abolished in America?

...Should Death Penalty be abolished in America? Death penalty, or capital punishment, the most severe punishment for criminals, has been in the punishment system in countries all over the world for thousands of years. The history of death penalty is almost as long as the history of human beings. Death penalty was once considered as natural as life itself. It was usually applied to those criminals who had conducted grave crimes and no one would feel pity for the criminals in the past. However, with the development of human beings, different voices about death penalty appear more and more often. Some people argue that in modern society where life is highly valued, death penalty that deprives of a person’s life would be too cruel. Therefore, campaigns are launched for the purpose of abolishing death penalty. However, there are still some other people who firmly support death penalty. As a result, in today’s society, death penalty has become an extremely controversial issue, both sides of which have its own supporters and reasons. This paper explores to the different sides of death penalty, to find whether death penalty is necessary or not in today’s world. In the coin of death penalty, side A stands the firmly supporters of death penalty, claiming that death penalty is a cruel necessity in today’s world. A latest Gallup poll shows that 64% of the Americans support death penalty and 29% oppose it. For especially atrocious crimes, the support rate rises to 80% (Jones, Jeffrey M)....

Words: 2317 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Why the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

...No matter where you are in the world, there is always going to be awful criminals such as murderers and sex offenders. The big debate is, what do we do to punish them? Some people say to give them a taste of their own medicine and sentence them to the death penalty. Others say to let them rot away in prison so they realize how wrong their decision was. I say that the death penalty should be abolished because many people are wrongfully convicted, it’s hypocritical, and it’s not a true punishment. According to the DPIC, since 1973 there have been 143 exonerees. It is hard to tell for sure how many people have been actually executed from a false accusation because once the execution has occurred, the case is typically forgotten and not further investigated. There are 10 known cases from which the person that was wrongfully convicted was executed (Innocence). We also need to keep in mind the families of the wrongfully accused. How would you feel if your son/daughter or brother/sister was sentenced to the death penalty for something they didn’t even do? Making them go to jail is bad enough, but them being killed is too tragic. Using capital punishment on a person who commits murder is hypocritical. Murder is against the law, so now when a person commits it we’re just going to kill them as well? That doesn’t make any sense. Trying to teach people that killing is wrong by killing those who commit murder just causes confusion and doesn’t solve anything. This is best stated by the...

Words: 500 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Death Penalty for Drug Trafficking Should Be Abolished

...DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING SHOULD BE ABOLISHED General Purpose : To inform Specific Purpose : To inform my audience about why death penalty should be abolished Organisational Pattern : Topical Order Central Idea : Drug trafficking is indeed detrimental but it should be abolished because there’s a better alternative to it INTRODUCTION I. A lady folded her new clothes and placed them neatly at the head of her bed. Then, she made a green bean soup while placing her Mcdonald’s burger on the stool. She didn’t eat that night. Instead, she spent the night talking to her friends and singing religious songs. That was how Donggui, a lady from China spent her night before undergoing a death penalty the next day II. Drug trafficking is indeed a heinous crime to commit but it would be unfair to subject the traffickers to a death penalty because there’s a better alternative to it III. I have made a thorough research on drug trafficking and the impact of the imposition of death penalties IV. For this topic, I will elaborate on what drug trafficking is, why death penalty should be abolished and what’s a better alternative to death penalty (Transition : Let me begin with enlightening you with what drug trafficking is) BODY I. What is drug trafficking? A. According to section 2 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, drug trafficking is the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of any dangerous drug without any authority 1. The laws relating...

Words: 1143 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished In Canada

...Historically in Canada, the death penalty existed as the maximum punishment for criminals convicted of committing capital offences before it was abolished from Canada’s Criminal Code in 1976 (Thompson, Andrew.S. 2008, p. 172). Presently the highest form of punishment is as a maximum of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years (Roberts and Stalans, 1997, as cited in Lambert, E., Baker, D., & Tucker, K. 2006, p.3). Many Canadians support the return of the death penalty, an illustration of this would be when the House of Commons held a free vote“…in 1987 …regarding the reinstatement of the death penalty”, although the free vote was defeated “46% of the votes cast were for reinstatement”. (Lambert, E., Baker, D., & Tucker,...

Words: 329 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Abolishing The Death Penalty

...The Death Penalty, “is the process by which convicted criminals are executed by a governing authority” (Issist and Newton). And “It violated the eighth amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment” (ProQuest Staff). The death penalty should be abolished because it is a violation of the Eighth Amendment and often results in the deaths of innocent citizens. The death penalty should be abolished because it violates the 8th amendment. To begin, the death penalty is cruel and unusual and should not be allowed, but only “Eighteen states have abolished the death penalty” (Issitt and Newton). Warner, committed a murder and was given a botched execution. He was, “In a renovated death chamber, the lethal cocktail began flowing into the veins of...

Words: 731 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Abolishing the Death Penalty

...Abolishing the Death Penalty George L Turner III PHI 103 Mr. Russ Tompkins August 31, 2009 Abolishing the Death Penalty The Death Penalty in America today is a highly debated issue and has been for many years. Could you imagine not having a life threatening consequence at all, such as the death penalty when it comes to criminals that commit very severe crimes? There are many people in the United States today with many different opinions on why the Death Penalty should or shouldn’t be abolished in our Country. I’m one who feels that we should not abolish the Death Penalty; however our Capital Punishment system can be much improved. One advantage to keeping the Death Penalty is that it’s suppose to act as a deterrent against those people who might think about committing a serious crime. I believe that it does help as a deterrent for some people, but not to the extent that it should. If we started sentencing more murderers and serious offenders to death, then I believe that more people will fear the consequences in which they may face. Now, if we start convicting the serious criminals to death, then that doesn’t mean continue to let them appeal their sentence and take years before they’re actually put to death. One other thing that I believe that keeps the Death Penalty from being as effective as it should be is T.V. I know it’s only T.V. but that’s what people see and a lot of people believe that is the way it is. Whether or not T.V. is how...

Words: 2795 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Death Penalty Paper

...The death penalty needs to be abolished globally. It is an outdated, unfair and often inhumane punishment. In addition to the fact that many television shows and movies have been made about people wrongly convicted on death row, the whole “an eye for an eye” from the Bible is completely outdated. (BIBLE GATEWAY) Furthermore, there have been numerous incidences where prisoners who had been convicted and sentenced to death, while being administered the lethal injection or on the electric chair, did not actually die the first time around. Many who are convicted and sentenced to death row are mentally disabled, having an IQ of 70 or less. One reason the death penalty should be abolished is that the cost of the death penalty far outweighs the cost of incarcerating a prisoner for life. A study of Indiana death penalty trials concluded that relative costs of incarceration with the addition of a death penalty sentence and direct appeal rose 38%. (JANEWAY) And a report by the Comptroller of the Treasury for the State of Tennessee concluded that when prosecutors sought the death penalty in murder cases, the average cost of the trial rose 48%. (MORGAN) Many states are finding that with rising budget costs and deficits it is better to abolish the death penalty than to sink further into debt. (BISSONNETTE) Another reason the death penalty should be abolished is that is an inhuman practice that is outdated. The old adage, “an eye for an eye”, no longer applies in the modern world. In addition...

Words: 882 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Is Death Penalty Justified?

...Sufian Tanveer Death Penalty The death penalty has been around since the beginning of crime and has been reserved for the worst of crimes. Many people believe it’s justified, reasoning that the punishment should fit the crime. However, a large demographic believes it violates the rights of man and is inhumane. The death penalty is a primitive idea and is reminiscent of the uncivilized ideas of the dark ages and is unfitting in the modern world. It has been abolished in 32 states and is likely to rise. It’s morally wrong and violates practically every religion. The premise behind the death penalty is murder for murder. The death penalty should be abolished because 1) it’s a waste of taxpayer funds, 2) innocent people can be wrongly sentenced, 3) and life without parole is more beneficial. Enacting the death penalty actually costs more than having an inmate spend the rest of their life in jail without parole. It’s better to put an existing death row inmate in life without parole because less money is spent and it does not stir up as much commotion on whether it’s lawful or not. The reason why the death penalty costs more than housing an inmate for life is because the appeals. A candidate can appeal on almost any grounds because of how sensitive the death penalty is. If a candidate was only allowed one appeal it would remedy this issue. Millions of dollars is spent on criminals deciding on whether they should live or not. Any money should not be put towards the benefit of...

Words: 707 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Analysis Of The Death Penalty: Tang Dynasty In China

...Death penalty is a punishment for person to put to death by government. There are 103 countries who have abolished death penalty. In Tang Dynasty in China, the death penalty has already been abolished which the first-time human abolished death penalty. Most of the countries don’t use death penalty on teenagers. This essay will argue that death penalty should be abolished because it gives the court the possibility to release the innocent person; there is the race discriminant in using the death penalty; the death penalty is incompatible with human rights and there are other ways. Death penalty kills the possibility for citizens who are innocent to release. No matter how the times progress, misjudgment will always exist. Even though the proportion will be lower, the innocent case won’t be avoided. It is unfair for an innocent person alternative the criminal to sentence the death penalty without any remedy opportunities. In 1992, Cameron Todd Willinghai...

Words: 698 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Death Penalty in America

...Death penalty in America Death penalty debate has been a daily talk for quite some time now. This has been a very controversial that has engaged many organizations and countries in the debate. Some oppose this form of punishment based on moral and judicial grounds. These grounds include wrongful conviction base on DNA tests. Other grounds include wrongful conviction based on race. Those supporting death penalty argue that death penalty creates a feeling of safety since it instills fear in potential criminals. They also hold that those convicted despite their race actually did the crime they are convicted for. Some countries like Canada and New Zealand do not believe in the administration of death penalty as a means of punishment. Therefore, until today there is no agreed provision used by the judiciary to reach at a decision of such cases. United States, China and Japan among other countries believe that death penalty is a favorable sentence. United States has authorized death penalty in most federal governments, including the military. Some of the methods used in death penalty include the electric chair. Most of these procedures used in death penalty have been considered to be violating constitutional rights. Though fewer legislatures have been made to change these procedures, death penalty should be abolished. This is the position that is appropriate and offer should be supported. It is a racist tool of criminal punishment. Evidences explaining the reasons against this...

Words: 2146 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Argumentative Essay On The Death Penalty

...The Death Penalty: Cruel and Unjust As Ronald Ryan fell to the ground on February 3, 1967, a flock of pigeons flew away in a scare (York). Everyone nearby knew this man’s life had been taken from him and never to be used again. This moment was the last of Australia’s executions. 50 years later, however, the United States of America still commits Capital Punishment, and regularly, too. The topic is debated whether or not the Capital Punishment should be legal. The government is already involved in the lives of those who commit crimes, but the idea of it taking away someone’s life creates an uneasy thought. Some people believe that execution is wrong, inhumane and should be abolished while others believe that it projects positive impacts and will benefit the world, in such ways as lowering crime rates and ridding the world of the worst criminals....

Words: 1439 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Death Penalty

...The Death Penalty: Moral or Immoral? The death penalty, otherwise known as capital punishment, has been a topic of heavy debate and discussion since some of the earliest stages of the United States. For a long time, a majority of the general public approved of capital punishment, but within the past century, especially, opponents have made significant moves in trying to prevent its further use. A majority of what makes the death penalty so controversial are the moral and ethical issues involved in taking people’s lives as a punishment. Although morals hold some weight, the most significant reasons for debate consist of the capital punishment’s legal fairness and accuracy. The death penalty is the use of death as a punishment for committing capital crimes such as first-degree murder, rape, and treason. The problem is, why does the United States still use the death penalty? The government uses different ways to put those who have committed capital crimes such as first-degree murder, rape, and treason, into permanent sleep. The different grueling methods used to bring death to the inmates include the uses of the electric chair, the gas chamber, hanging, and the most “civilized” approach, lethal injection.1 Under these judgments, I believe that the death penalty should be abolished. Punishments need to be enforced when a person is guilty of a committing a serious crime such as first degree murder, which is the unlawful killing of another human being with malicious intent.2 Those...

Words: 2037 - Pages: 9