...The death penalty has been the cause of a large controversy all across the United States for hundreds of years. In this country, there are both the supporters and non-supporters of the death penalty. Although it may seem that the use of the death penalty should be like night and day, this is not the case. The reason that the death penalty is such a controversial topic is because there are many arguments that both sides may propose against each other. Although everyone is entitled to their own opinion, the cold, hard, facts are undeniable. Studies shown over more recent years are providing more and more information about the death penalty that has not been discovered in prior years. More specifically, there are multiple variables that should be taken into consideration that show why, plain and simple, the death penalty should be considered wrong. A fact of the death penalty system is that it is disproportionate. Whether one is a supporter or non-supporter of the death penalty, this fact cannot be denied. The death penalty system is disproportionate because of the simple fact that the crimes punishable by death in each state vary completely. The Death Penalty Information Center website provides a “summary of states’ death penalty statutes.” In this article, one can find every reason one may receive the death penalty in each state of the United States. Here, it is easy to see that certain crimes are punishable by death in one state but may not be in another. For example, someone...
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...Deeq Arab July, 22 2008 Eng 102 Tuesday-Thursday 12:30-1:50 Mr. Chris Anderson Death Penalty Death penalty is one of the rules mankind practiced it for long times since the early ages of men there has been the death penalty in one way or another. The death penalty has created a lot of argument between people. In the United States the use of capital punishment was famous in the early 1950s executing nearly 100per year. After the 50s supporter started to weaken and in time it went down and came up. In any issue some people will go for it, some will not. In this case of death penalty some people believe that if you take a life you are a menace to society and should be banished from this earth. On the other hand some believe that life is valuable and no one is applicable to take a life other than the creator of life. The critics of the death penalty say practicing these activities such as the death penalty give respect and harmony to murders who take life by force. After all we are humans and our minds are the mother of different ideas, views and arguments. Is the death penalty just? Pro Supporters say there is no better punishment for a person who takes a life other than the death penalty. Majority of supporters of death penalty relied on Holy Scriptures which most of them state that a human life is worth a human life. that is the right justice. It’s cruel and inhuman practice but the person that commits the murder didn’t think about it when he/she were in charge...
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...E-MAIL Capital Punishment [pic] David J. Phillip/Associated Press Updated: April 15, 2011 The United States Supreme Court allowed states to reinstate capital punishment in 1976. States are continuing a trend of executing fewer prisoners and juries are wary of sentencing criminal defendants to die, according to 2010 figures compiled by a group that opposes the death penalty. The 46 executions in 2010 constituted a nearly 12 percent drop from the 52 in 2009, according to the group, Death Penalty Information Center, which produces an annual report on execution trends. The overall trend shows a marked drop when compared with the 85 executions in 2000. Jurors, too, show a continuing preference for the alternative of punishing criminal defendants with sentences of life without parole. Juries handed out 114 death sentences in 2010, slightly higher than the 112 death sentences in 2009, and 50 percent fewer for the current decade than in the 1990s — before the widespread availability of life without parole sentences for juries in capital cases. One contributing factor in the low number of executions nationwide is the shortage of one of the three drugs used in most lethal injections - the barbiturate sodium thiopental. Several states have postponed executions because of the scarcity of the drug. Some states face the looming expiration of their only doses and are scrambling to obtain usable vials from other states as execution dates approach. Others, by proposing alternate drugs...
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...Topic: Death Penalty Organizational Pattern: Problem-Solution Specific Purpose: To persuade you’ll that the death penalty should be abolished. Primary Audience Outcome: I want you’ll to become willing to contact their local lawmakers to make the necessary change to eliminate the death penalty as form of capital punishment. Introduction (Attention Getter) After committing a capital crime which is defined as a crime such as first-degree murder or rape of a child, a large percentage of people are sentenced to capital punishment. The end result is absolute death! But what if you were actually innocent of the crime? This unsettling tombstone could be on the grave as a result of the death penalty! (Thesis Statement) There has been a nationwide decline in capital punishment, but unfortunately potentially innocent people are still often executed. (Preview of the main points) This afternoon, I will first share with you some of the injustices that are occurring in the American legal system. Then I will explore with you reasons why we should consider adopting life without the parole as the only form of punishment for capital crimes. Body The death penalty has more victims than just the person who was convicted of the crime. A. Wrongly convicted people are often exonerate, but more than not executed. 1. The 100-plus innocent people exonerated from death row represent further proof that the death penalty should be abolished. Issues & Controversies On File (2009) ...
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...Pattern Topic: Death Penalty Organizational Pattern: Problem-Solution Specific Purpose: To persuade you’ll that the death penalty should be abolished. Primary Audience Outcome: I want you’ll to become willing to contact their local lawmakers to make the necessary change to eliminate the death penalty as form of capital punishment. Introduction (Attention Getter) After committing a capital crime which is defined as a crime such as first-degree murder or rape of a child, a large percentage of people are sentenced to capital punishment. The end result is absolute death! But what if you were actually innocent of the crime? This unsettling tombstone could be on the grave as a result of the death penalty! (Thesis Statement) There has been a nationwide decline in capital punishment, but unfortunately potentially innocent people are still often executed. (Preview of the main points) This afternoon, I will first share with you some of the injustices that are occurring in the American legal system. Then I will explore with you reasons why we should consider adopting life without the parole as the only form of punishment for capital crimes. Body The death penalty has more victims than just the person who was convicted of the crime. A. Wrongly convicted people are often exonerate, but more than not executed. 1. The 100-plus innocent people exonerated from death row represent further proof that the death penalty should be abolished. Issues & Controversies On File (2009) ...
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...There has been a lot of controversy over the past several years about the death penalty and whether it was “constitutional” or “unconstitutional.” There is in deed many reasons that the death penalty is bad, but never the less I think that the people that commit these horrendous crimes do not deserve to breath one more breath. This is my stand on the issue of the death penalty. I may be for the people being executed, but I am definitely not oblivious to the rest of the peoples opposing views on this topic and I will take them in consideration in my arguments. Many citizens of the United States say that killing a prisoner who committed the violent crimes is getting cruel and unusual punishment, but they had to commit a heinous crime to be...
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...More cost effective to taxpayers to keep criminals alive 1. Cost of death row. have to be represented by a lawyer through out their appeals process that can take years or decades. 1. Trial and appeal costs 2. Execution costs and daily costs 2. Cost of a life sentence 1. Trial and appeal cost .. most the time there is not an appeals process that is involved with a life sentence due to the fact that they plead guilty to avoid a death sentence. 2. Life in prison and daily cost. .It can take 15-20 years sometimes longer for the actual death sentence to be carried out. With a life sentence the only things that cost are for the guilty to be fed and guarded. a person that is sentenced to life in prison can cost up to 1 million for the entire life sentence. Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, says that, but for the death penalty, his state would have been $22.4m richer since 1978. That money would have paid for 500 extra policemen for a year, or provided drug treatment for 10,000 addicts. Death Penalty. (1998,May 1). Issues & Controversies On File. Retrieved March12, 2009 from Issues & Controversies database. The estimated cost of defending capital cases in 2006-07 was in excess of $2.2 million. story. The figures do not include the cost of prosecuting cases by the state's attorney's office nor the additional expenditure by the Judicial Department of conducting trials. The requirement...
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...During this time period there were 25 different crimes that resulted in the death penalty. As time progressed the death penalty became more of a commonplace. Throughout the centuries following King Hammurabi’s reign, the death penalty can be seen in many regions of the world. The death penalty was first seen four centuries after King Hammurabi in the Hittite Code; then in the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code of Athens, and finally in the Fifth Century B.C.'s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. What we would now call cruel and unusual, their methods of execution included crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. In the Tenth Century A.D punishment by execution became a central law of the land, starting off with 222 crimes punishable by death and then reduced to around a 100. Because America’s origins trace back to Britain our laws were influenced theirs, the death penalty being one of them. This influence of the death penalty on our nation by Britain is where issues arise. Times have changed and so have the people living within them. Where once punishment by death received little to no outcry of wrongful doing, now many believe it is an unjust and horrid act of violence. Those who oppose Capital Punishment tend to argue that taking the life of a criminal is not humane. They say that by taking a criminals life we are no worse than the criminal himself. Bryan Stevenson, death penalty attorney, puts it as follows- “The logic of gratuitously killing...
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...Controversy regarding the death penalty has been prevalent in the United States for centuries. Those in favor of capital punishment, a term synonymous with the death penalty, argue that its practice provides a “fair” punishment for certain crimes and serves as a deterrent for heinous acts. However, there has been growing opposition in America. The death penalty, implemented in thirty-two states, should be prohibited in the United States due to the financial cost of death penalty trials and executions, the possibility that those sentenced are innocent, and the inhumanity of failed executions. The implementation of the death penalty in America dates back to the colonial era and is largely attributed to British influences. The first recorded...
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...Death Penalty Debate Why is the death penalty still allowed throughout much of the U.S.? The process of prosecuting and convicting an individual is astronomical, and there is great debate as to whether the death penalty actually works as a deterrent. Retribution and biasness have contributed too many that have received this sentence, considering all this, life imprisonment is best for all, realistically, and most effective. The advantages of life imprisonment far more outweigh the death sentence Death Penalty America has always had a history of using the death penalty, but no subject has received greater debate. There are many reasons why the death penalty should not be used in America, first there is not data that shows that the death penalty acts as deterrence, second the costs of imposing the death penalty is astronomical, third, many see the death penalty as a form of retribution, and finally, the extensive appeals through the court. Although, it has since been reversed, Furman v. Georgia has shown that there are many cases in which there is a question as to how the death penalty is imposed, and can be considered Cruel and Unusual. (NAKELL, 1978) Many believe that the death penalty is a deterrence, however many studies on deterrence and the death penalty do not support this idea, in fact the murder rates in states that do not have the death penalty is consistently lower than in the states with the death penalty. Studies have also shown that of the 16,503 homicides...
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...competency tests for death row inmates have low standards and are in dying need for improvement. While John H. Blume and C. Lee Harrington’s arguments about the tests arrive at the same end, Harrington’s rhetorical techniques were dead wrong. Considering Harrington interviewed 20 high profile defense lawyers for data to support her claim that the Supreme Court needs to heighten the standard of competency for death row inmates wishing to waive their appeals, it may seem that Harrington’s rhetorical approach is more effective than John H. Blume’s. However, if we take note of the informal formatting of the quotes in Harrington’s scientific formatted article and her rhetorical strategy to only have text, it is evident that Harrington’s argument may not be as persuasive as a first glance may suggest. In comparison, John H. Blume’s argument: the Supreme Court ‘s competency test required for death row inmates to waive their appeals fails to directly assess if they are motivated by getting help in their suicide, is more effective than C. Lee Harrington’s argument....
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...The Death Penalty AJS/552 WK 4 Professor: Joseph Laronge March 31, 2015 By: Tammy J Argie In a time when the people ask that all crimes be punished in some way shape or form the one that has caused the most controversy is the death penalty or also known as capital punishment. Whether on is for or against the death penalty we must remember it has been around since the late eighteenth century B.C. All crimes in that time were punished by death no matter what the crime was. When William the Conquer ruled he allowed only hangings to take place for murders and nothing else (Part 1: History of the death penalty, 2015). The first person to convicted and killed under a death penalty law was Captain George Kendall for being accused of being a spy for Spain. As times changed so did the laws for the death penalty as well as the methods. When hanging, crucifixion, burning alive, drowning, and impalement where used new methods over the years have changed. The use of the electric chair was built in 1860 but began being used in 1890. The first execution by the electric chair was William Frances Kemmler who was convicted of murdering his lover (Part 1: History of the death penalty, 2015). This would be the method used for years to come. As the years progressed and laws changed so did the sentencing of crimes and the death penalty. The last person to date that was electrocuted in the electric chair was Robert Gleason on January 16th of 2013 (Daily mail, 2013). Robert Gleason wanted...
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...committed even in broad daylight. In consideration of the rising criminality in all parts of the country, the revival of death penalty is being given a serious thought. The rationale behind death penalty, is retribution. The reasoning behind it is that individuals who have committed a capital crime should receive similar punishment that equals their crime. Tracing the historical development of the death penalty, it is evident, that with time, being put to death became a common form of punishment that ensures that those who had committed crimes that were not forgivable by the society received punishment equal to the crime. The death penalty is deeply rooted in justice as articulated by natural law, however goes against the same law. According to the natural rights theory, every human being has the right to lice and should not be denied this right, either by the government, or any other manmade law. However, the death penalty is used as a form of punishing those who have committed crimes against natural law, such as first degree murder. Death penalty has been considered to be one of the most cruel and unusual punishments for sentencing criminals who have been found guilty of heinous crime, as it requires the law enforcement officers to execute the offender for his punishment. It has a lot of ethical and religious matters tied to it. There are many who support death penalty while others oppose it. From a Christian standpoint it is our moral duty to follow the commandment "thou shall...
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...United States there have been many controversies and disputes of issues ranging from abortion, gun control, health care and immigration. But possibly, capital punishment is the most widely discussed issues because of the range of questions that arise stemming from legal, philosophical, social, practical, political and moral aspects. Capital punishment is defined as the legal infliction of the death penalty on persons convicted of a crime. It is a form of retributive justice that some feel is justified when proportionate to the crime committed. In the United States capital punishment is not intended to inflict and physical pain or torture but rather just used as another form of punishment. Many civilizations such as the ancient Romans and Egyptians used capital punishment to punish citizens form crimes such as blasphemy, treason, theft and murder. They believed in the “eye for an eye” doctrine. These ancient civilizations would perform capital punishment in the forms of stoning, burning, garroting, beheading, decapitation and crucifixion. Unlike how capital punishment is used today these methods were used to humiliate and inflict pain; they would be considered as cruel, barbaric and unusual punishment. Most deaths resulting from capital punishment in ancient civilizations were very slow instead of immediate. Two of the most popular cases of ancient capital punishment are that of Socrates and Jesus Christ. Great Britain originally brought the death penalty over to the United States...
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...What are the most important ethical dilemmas. problems, and/or controversies in punishment that we face in today's justice system? Address a minimum of three. Furthermore, what can to done to draw attention to these issues? What are some possible solutions and/or policy implications that can address the ethical dilemmas/problems/controversies you selected? Lastly, in your opinion, why are these issues more "important" that others that we covered this semester? The 1970s War on Drugs is one of the most important ethical issues that we face in today’s justice system. The War on Drugs is more important than others because it has many negative trickling effects from the shift to punitive policies. The War on Drugs has made America the leader in incarceration rates (Banks 2005:114). These high incarceration rates within America have also led to overcrowding, racial bias, increase in women in prison, and many other negative effects. The public does need to be educated on the negative effects from the War on Drugs in order to push for change in our punitive policies for non-violent drug offenders. In order to change these negative effects, America needs to get rid of mandatory minimums and the three strikes laws. These laws are placing many non-violent drug offenders in prison. These offenders are in need of substance abuse treatment in order to stop the vicious recidivism cycle. Wrongful conviction is another very important ethical issue that we are facing in today’s...
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