...Essay Andrea Counts Professor Lincoln Schreiber Critical Thinking May 3, 2015 Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the punishment for a crime by death ("legal definition of capital punishment," n.d.). It is usually administered via the use of lethal injection for heinous crimes such as murder and other serial offenses. I am a defendant of capital punishment for several different reasons, which are detailed in this assignment. One of the main premises that support my position as a defendant of the death penalty is the separation of church and state ("Should the death penalty be allowed?" n.d.). Many opponents of the death penalty contend that it is an immoral act, as it essentially murder and that murder is inherently wrong. This viewpoint is flawed due to the fact that the United States is a country that believes in separation of church and state. Murder is a sin in many religions, but religion cannot play a role in how punishment for crime is carried out, nor is there anything in the constitution asserting that the death penalty as a form of punishment is against any civil liberties afforded to the citizens of this country. The death penalty is reserved for and carried out on the worst of the worst ("Should the death penalty be allowed?" n.d.). I agree with this premise and it goes back to my original statement in which I said the death penalty is used as punishment for those who have committed heinous crimes. There are those who commit crimes so unthinkable...
Words: 1088 - Pages: 5
...argue the death penalty should be abolished, they fail to offer up any comparable alternatives for the crime for murder. It is a harsh punishment but, in all fairness, the punishment fits the crime. Capital punishment does what the name suggests: it punishes and it removes the notion that one can kill and get away with it. It serves as a deterrent for those contemplating murder and in the end, it brings justice. Capital punishment defends the sanctity of life and until we evolve to the place where murders are no longer a part of our society, we must punish this crime fairly. To know we have removed a murdering criminal from the street is a relief thankful to deterrence of violent crime, retribution, Christianity, and innocence. One argument for the death penalty is the fact that it deters crime. Those enticed by killing someone might think twice if they know their life will be taken as a consequence. Joanna Shepherd explores the history of capital punishment and explains that while many studies produced mixed results, modern economic studies reveal executions “significantly deter murders” (Shepherd). In addition, Wesley Lowe reports when the death penalty was temporarily suspended, the number of murders in the America “skyrocketed from 9,960 to 23,040, a 131 percent increase” (Lowe) and the murder rate “doubled from 5.1 to 10.2” (Lowe). He goes on the quote Karl Spence of Texas A and M University, who maintains until “we begin to fight crime in earnest [by using the death penalty]...
Words: 1896 - Pages: 8
...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
...Timothy Patterson Criminal Justice 101 Professor Davis February 13, 2013 The Death Penalty Is Reasonable- A Life For A Life The death penalty is an increasingly hot and pressing issue in the United States because there are many strongly opinionated people and no one can seem to find a solution that will satisfy both sides of this issue. Looking at the death penalty system in action, it is fundamentally flawed in use and there is a serious risk of executing innocent people. Many unjust convictions such as lack of eyewitness identification, false confessions and the access to have DNA testing has caused our country’s criminal justice system to convict many innocent individuals, who have been sentenced to death. In the United States of America, there are 3,146 known death row inmates. There are 29 states with current death penalty statutes, as well as federal civilian and military legal systems, and 21 states without death penalty statutes. Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976, there have been a total of 1,307 executions (NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Quarterly Report, October 1, 2012). According to James Brockway (Guest Blogger, Death Penalty Focus), “Exoneration has been incredibly important for those who oppose capital punishment. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 138 death row inmates have had their convictions overturned… While organizations like the Innocence Project put their tireless...
Words: 789 - Pages: 4
...Petroff BCOM/275 December 14, 2011 DeeAnna Stiglich Article Rebuttal The article chosen for this assignment was published in the University of Denver student newspaper and titled Capital Punishment is Wrong, the United States needs to abolish the death penalty sentence. In this article, the author Ryan Hanschen states that the death penalty does not act as a deterrent to crime and offers supporting data to his claim that the death penalty should be abolished, but his sources lack credibility. The sources he cites in the article, such as Coloradans against the Death Penalty and Amnesty International are an interested party. These two sources stand to gain if the death penalty is abolished because abolishing the death penalty is their mission. Ryan Hanschens blatant use of rhetoric is obvious when he states for his argument, “How can we call ourselves the land of the free with a straight face while remaining one of the only first world countries that still executes its citizens?” Also his bias is apparent when he states, “we must end this vicious practice of capital punishment in the United States.” Included in the article is a University of North Carolina study that shows that the odds of minorities receiving a death sentence rose 3.5 times among those defendants whose victims were White, indicating a bias against minority defendants. However, this study did not provide data indicating the percentage of crimes committed by minorities vs. the crimes committed by Whites...
Words: 466 - Pages: 2
...appeal the death penalty and replace it with mandatory life without parole, and the biggest advocates were Ron Briggs and Mr. Heller who would like to reverse what they have come to view as, “one of the biggest mistakes of their lives” (Danzig, 2012). A law school professor Paula Mitchell stated that by repealing the death penalty in California this would allow us to focus on cost because it is the most “politically neutral” angle (Danzig, 2012). Although there are many different opinions of capital punishment that is believed to be immoral and non-productive at times, these advocates of capital punishment have proven this to be a cost effective, and ethically correct deterrent of future murders. Mr. Briggs stated in a conversation with his father that when capital punishment was established in California 1978 it started with 300 people on death row, and now the state is up to 720 inmates who are waiting on death row (Danzig, 2012). He proceeds to make his case by saying to his republican friend by keeping the death penalty active it would do swift justice by getting the criminals and murderers through the system quickly by applying the death penalty. The American public believes that by supporting capital punishment laws this will produce a strong deterrent effect that saves lives in the present and future. There is a link between the executions that are being done and the decrease in murders from doing so. Professor Mitchell argues how expensive the death penalty is, for example...
Words: 822 - Pages: 4
...leaders that failed to see the damage their biases and self-centeredness was causing, it is possible that not nearly as many convicts would be facing the horrors of death row in America today. The problem is that within our justice system today, discrimination and prejudices continue to destroy many lives. Although in our modern society of perceived acceptance and toleration, people want to believe discrimination is a problem of the past, this is sadly not the situation. Subtle, but potent prejudices towards race and social class continue to plague and disease the upholding of justice in our society today. Although statistics can be manipulated to serve a personal agenda, the issue of racial discrimination should not...
Words: 1030 - Pages: 5
...2009), compares the deterrence capability of the death penalty to that of long term imprisonment. The article begins by detailing the context of the study through highlighting the declining support for the deterrence hypothesis, due in large part to flawed empirical research. Radelet and Lacock offer a brief history of studies on...
Words: 1264 - Pages: 6
...December 2013 The Death Penalty: An Exaggerated Punishment Furman v. Jackson, a case ruled in the State of Georgia in 1972 really aroused concerns regarding the death penalty. Technically, William Henry Furman was found guilty of murder which was supposed to attract a death sentence. However, his death sentence was said to be “arbitrarily and capriciously “applied and therefore regarded a contradiction to the eighth amendment that prohibits excessive bails and fines as well as cruel and unusual punishment. In effect, this argument hindered the death penalty law of forty states and the federal death penalty decrees and altered the sentences of 629 inmates who were on death row during that period (“The Death Penalty in America”). Now, if the death sentence of 629 inmates were commuted at the time, it means that there could have been an alternative form of punishment applied in place of the death penalty. Therefore this gives rise to questions, is the death penalty really necessary? Is the life of the murderer any less valuable than that of the victim? Over the years, the view that the death penalty is a deterrent to serious crime has been immensely debated, in this paper the debate against death penalty as a good deterrent to serious crime will be continued. Democracy is a prime feature of the system of governance in the United States and as part of democracy the freedoms and rights of the people are held in high esteem. With the imposition of the death penalty, the intention of...
Words: 1507 - Pages: 7
...Supporting a Position There are several problems with capital punishment used in this country. In addition there are several issues with the State of Florida's implementation of Lethal-Injection. Florida's procedure for the use of lethal injections is the principal issue in both the NPR Podcast (Which is incorrectly labeled as a podcast as it is streaming only and you can not download it.) and the St. Petersburg Times article. The State of Florida uses outdated and inhumane procedures when administering lethal injections. They do so without a doctor present to insure that the proper steps are taken to prevent what happened to Angel Diaz from happening again. The excuse that it is hard to find doctors that are willing to violate their ethics is inexcusable. The are more issues at hand then just the correct administration of capital punishment. Many of the people executed in this country are innocent. The legal system direly needs to be reworked. There should be protections in place to protect innocent people from being murdered by the courts. The amount of legal red-tape in the appeals process is excruciatingly high. The case of Leo Jones is one example. On May 23, 1981 patrolman Thomas Szafranski was shot by high-powered 30-30 rifle while he was stopped at a traffic light. Leo Jones who lived in apartment near by was later arrested (Mills, 2008). That night he was beaten until he confessed to the murder (Mills, 2008). Retired police officer Cleveland Smith testified...
Words: 837 - Pages: 4
...hence resulting to the society as more hardened criminals. Placing young offenders in adult prisons heightens criminal behaviors after release according to the findings. There is well founded fear that several number of young offenders slated to be placed in adult jails are more likely to be assaulted ,commit suicide and raped. Juveniles are driven to desperation and abused regularly in adult prisons because they are not specific measures to protect the young offenders from the adult prisoners. My completes work Case summary Issue Roper v. Simmons’ main issue is whether the application of Death penalty on a person who committed murder at age 17 amounts to “Cruel and Unusual” sentence and thereby barred by the 8th and 14th Amendments (Dinkes, et al 2009) Facts The Supreme Court of the United States initiated a review of the case against Christopher Simmons to determine whether death penalty was allowed by constitution for persons under the age of 18 at the time of crime commission. The case concerned Christopher Simmons arrested at the age of 17 for Shirley Crook’s murder. Simmons had been found of a first-degree murder and had subsequently been...
Words: 887 - Pages: 4
...Against the Death Penalty Life is sacred. This is an ideal that the majority of people can agree upon to a certain extent. For this reason taking the life of another has always been considered the most deplorable of crimes, one worthy of the harshest available punishment. Thus arises one of the great moral dilemmas of our time. Should taking the life of one who has taken the life of others be considered an available punishment? Is a murderer's life any less sacred than the victim's is? Can capital punishment, the death penalty, execution, legal murder, or whatever a society wishes to call it, be morally justifiable? The underlying question in this issue is if any kind of killing, regardless of reason, can be accepted. In this paper I will discuss if the modern American form of capital punishment can be morally justified Opponents of the death penalty have a distinct advantage when arguing their point over advocates. Their advantage is the fact that taking the life of another is immoral, and if you remove all outstanding circumstances capital punishment is nothing more than legalized murder. This argument alone is not strong enough, though, because of the many circumstances surrounding capital punishment, such as the fact that the convict being executed has more than likely taken someone else's life. The first justification for the claim that capital punishment is immoral is the idea that it creates a climate of violence. If a society punishes a murderer by murdering...
Words: 3205 - Pages: 13
...punish also it affects the public when criminal put to death. The impact on the public is most impressive it could debate upon this so many times. Also against the matter, give a thorough explanation putting to death, criminal also the impact on the public. At this current time, research does not only show that the sentence to the death penalty is intricate in many ways. However, capital punishment has started to make people ask many questions it connection with preventing criminal act's effect. That it has on the public economically by having information that recent and from the past, also using articles of scholarly and other articles on the topic as well. To help support, the reason this research is essential and he would aid society to use different tactics. To help benefit both side issues, within the debate, they have on this matter. The costly and ethical standpoint of the death penalty The Kentucky lawmaker stated that it was too expensive to use the methods of using the sentence to death as a form of punishment. Also, how it might seem as morally wrong, to do, although the commission tells the truth about the expensive cost of administering the sentence to death penalty. It hardly talks about the ethical, also principled wickedness of the practices sentence to capital punishment. In the article, it says that it is ethnic also socioeconomic prejudice, with the penalty of sentenced to death also how it might or would begin to start worrying...
Words: 1651 - Pages: 7
...Deterrence can be further classified into two forms: general and specific. General deterrence seeks to influence individuals prior to the commission of a crime through fear of the known penalty. Specific deterrence focuses on seeking to impose punishment on the individual for lesser crimes in attempts to deter repeating or escalating criminal behavior. Incapacitation serves to remove individuals from society to ensure the safety of its members [3]. Capital punishment, commonly referred to as the death penalty, is the most extreme form of punishment imposed on an individual. It is currently defined as “the execution of a convicted criminal as punishment for the most serious of crimes [2]. Despite its current definition, its use throughout history has not always been so clearly defined and limiting. This paper will serve to discuss capital punishment and its application across time and the world. Application and Evolution Even before recorded history, early man formed tribal societies. These tribes were necessary to ensure survival in their sometimes harsh environment. Food, shelter and protection were afforded with increased numbers and banishment or shunning of an individual was used as man’s earliest implementation of a death sentence. Although they did not actively execute the individual, loss of position in tribal societies were, in...
Words: 2947 - Pages: 12
...been scientifically tested and proven effective. In simple terms, doing what works. This has led to drastic changes in various sectors from police operations, probation, sentencing, etc. When examining capital punishment the first question that must be asked is why do we do it? Is it simply a universal response to an atrocious act committed by an offender? If so, then there is no need to look any further. However, thousands of capital offense convictions are handed down annually in the U.S., yet most do not result in death penalty sentences. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that there is much more complexities in play once the state hands down capital punishment. Possible Effects of Capital Punishments at a Glance By and large, capital punishment in the United States is handed down to those offenders that are found guilty of homicide. Although not limited to strictly homicide, the overwhelming majority of those executed and assigned to death row have committed such offenses. Therefore, the focus of this paper is centered around capital punishment, and its effect on homicide. Some will contend that capital punishment serves as a deterrent for those in society that have not committed such offenses, but may be considering. Others believe that...
Words: 4052 - Pages: 17
