...English essay Topic: capital punishment The causes, effects and solutions to the problems of serious crimes are causing a big debate all over the world. Should ‘capital punishment’ be restored? Capital punishment (also called death penalty or execution) is a way of punishing an inmate on the death row, who is accused of committing crimes. Everybody knows the expression “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” - but is this really how we want to live our lives? Is capital punishment all about getting revenge, or is it more about getting rid of the guilty prisoners - and how do we know whether they are guilty or not? And should one even be able to decide another one’s destiny, and whether they have a right to live or not? Either you punish, because there will be a beneficial outcome, or else you punish because the prisoner has deserved it. But the big question is: where do we draw the line of whether it’s right or wrong - which criminal actions deserve capital punishment, and which does not? The text “Capital punishment in the US” reads: “An argument often made by opponents of the death penalty is that innocent people are sometimes executed.” p. 31 ll. 8-10 A big problem could be, that if the prisoner is acquitted of the charge, they hand the prisoner some money, to make up for the “lost years”, but how is a human’s life even measured in the value of money? Perhaps it’s not, it’s just a way for the government to show that one actually is able to escape the death row, if...
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...Death Penalty Essay Should rapists and murderers really be given the privilege to live after they ruined a family, broke their hearts, and took a loved one away from them forever? After his victim is six feet in the ground, to never be found, or if they lived, to be scarred for the rest of their lives and to never be able to trust anyone the same ever again because of what they've been through? Well in my opinion they shouldn't. They should be given the death penalty because they took an innocent life on purpose just to satisfy his needs so his life should be taken as well. He should not only get sent to prison but get the death penalty as well. i think there are two different types of murderers. There's the murderer that lives for killing and likes chopping the body parts of his victim or even likes eating them. They plan their murder to the very last detail, maybe they know their victim or maybe they don't, but they know exactly how much time they are going to spend with them and how they are going to kill them; these are called premeditated murders. Then there are the types that act in the moment of anger or of fear and dont realize what they are doing until they have already done it. I dont think that this type of murderer deserves the death penalty but they do deserve some time in prison to pay for what he or she did if it wasnt in self-defense. Many people think that if a murderer is sent to prison for life that he is going to stop killing, but there is no guarentee that...
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...Death Penalty in Contemporary Society Although some people may say that the death penalty is completely absurd and an unjust method of punishment, this is not true. In a contemporary society, the idea that the death penalty is necessary is partially valid. Recent studies have shown that the death penalty acts as a deterrent, preventing murders and saving lives. The death penalty also allows for reduced costs, instead of having that person in jail for the rest of their life. Lastly, it provides justice for the victims and the families who went through the pain and struggles of the crime. According to around a dozen studies, executions save lives. Studies show that for each inmate put to death, three to eighteen murders are prevented. Research; such as that from H. Naci Mocan, an economist at LSU shows that the death penalty has a deterrent effect. This shows that the death penalty has a lasting effect on a community and the criminals in that community. The death penalty shows that criminals could be subject to capital punishment for crimes they are committing, so it makes them realize that and to not do it. Also, if a person is put to death instead of being put in jail for a period of time, that person won’t be released from jail to do the same crime, such as murder, and go back into jail, thus saving lives of innocent people. (Source C and Source E) From previous arguments, the death penalty allows for reduced costs to taxpayers. It’s been stated that it costs roughly $100...
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...In the case of the death penalty, I am against it because I believe people are sometimes wrongly convicted for crimes and they might have to pay for a crime they didn’t commit with their life. Another reason why I am against the death penalty is because in my opinion, I think that there is no greater punishment than holding the individual that committed a heinous crime to spend the rest of their life having to live with what they did. The death penalty violates the 8th amendment on cruel and unusual punishments because the government is taking away someone's life for an action they did when all they might need is some psychological help. The government should apply some sort of action to try and help kids at a young age to see if they have any differences from the other kids. Another way to try and discourage people away from killing is to stop advertising killing like it's fun like on video games, since the kids who are playing it are the future of our country and all those games show is people killing each other to be at the top of the leaderboard. According to a study on oadp.org, it lists many reasons why the death penalty should be gone. One reason is, the death penalty is applied at random, from the 15,000 homicides that are committed a year, only 120 get the death penalty. So it hardly used. Also it showed that your race could play a huge part in how your sentencing could go, if you’re a minority your sentencing could be worse than a white person for example. Another...
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...On February 11, 2003, the eighth circuit court of appeals in St. Louis ruled that Arkansas official could force prisoners on a death penalty to take antipsychotic drugs to s make them sane enough for execution. Supreme Court in the United States prohibits insane prisoners to execution. Therefore, unless Charles Laverne singleton was sane, he was not supposed for infliction. Charles was executed for felony capital but he became insane while in jail. The courts question was what constitutes true sanity? Nevertheless, the question would be is death penalty moral ethical? In philosophical stand of view, medicine is not supposed to heal sick people, not to prepare them for infliction. If at all there is, any law that directs doctors to treat people so that the state can execute them is an unethical law (Jones, 2014). To begin with, existence of death penalty in United States, as well as, any other society raises questions. This argument sets up to examine the ethics of capital punishment.in real sense capital punishment sets ultimate warning against all...
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...Topic 5: The Death Penalty being reinstated: Ray Krone was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. After serving more than 10 years in Arizona prisons, including 32 months on death row, he was successfully vindicated in 2002. His innocence was finally established after DNA tests proved another man had committed the murder of a female bartender. If he were not proved innocent then he would have been killed because of the death penalty. His whole life would have been taken away from him because of a mistake that was made by the police. These mistakes could happen on a daily basis and innocent people around the world could actually have their lives taken from them because of the death penalty. The death penalty isn’t an effective way to prevent or reduce crime, it costs a whole lot more money than life in prison, and worst of all, risks executions of innocent people as I have mentioned. The death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison. The high costs of the death penalty are for the complicated legal process. The point is to avoid executing innocent people, but have not been successful in doing so. There are tremendous expenses in a death penalty case whether or not the defendant is convicted, never mind sentenced to death. If it happens that an innocent person is executed then families will most likely sew large amounts of money for the killing of their innocent loved one who’s life was taken away, which will lead to more time spent in court. The...
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...The debate on whether the death penalty is acceptable will never be resolved. That is unless the government decides to abolish it. I do not nor will I ever agree with the death penalty. It does not matter what the person has done. Nobody has the right to take anyone’s life. Although these people have done horrible crimes the death penalty can never be justified. The death penalty is inflicted on those who have committed capital crimes. Those crimes being espionage, treason, murder, and aircraft hijacking resulting in death. Furthermore, kidnapping, genocide, and drug drive by’s all resulting in murder. The death penalty is legal in 31 U.S. states. While it is only illegal in 19 of the 50 states. Making over half of the United States murders. Explicitly, the ways of execution on the death penalty are the most some of the most lethal. There are five ways used in the U.S. , lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging. All five of these processes are disgusting to me. When considering the death penalty it is important to look at it from all...
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...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....
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...Reimplementation of Death Penalty in the Philippines On February 4 in Pangasinan, President Aquino viewed the mutilated bodies of two little girls who were raped before murdered. According to the presidential aide, a visibly moved president asked Rex Nobleza, the children’s father if what can the government do for him. The poor man’s response was what if the government re impose the death penalty. In our society today where criminals are not afraid to go to jail, because they know that the capital punishment was abolished. Criminals that do heinous crimes, because they know after few years in jail they will commit freedom once again. Criminals that are selfish, they do not know the negative side effects of the sins that they have done...
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...Death Penalty: Humane or Unjust Martin Luther King Jr. stated in his quote, “The old law of an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind”. For example, a murder occurs, therefore, someone maliciously decides to end a life in revenge. Consequently, another counterpart kills the person who started the crime. Eventually, if this pattern were to continue, there would be no one left in the chain of misconduct. How is death an effective way to try and show that someone was wrong? This sparks another question: How is the death penalty legal? Throughout the years, there has been much opposition regarding the death penalty. Ample people believe that it is unconstitutional, yet in 31 out of the 50 states, the death penalty remains a sentencing...
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...Thousands of people believe Timothy McVeigh should have gotten the death penalty for his actions, but some people think otherwise. McVeigh did kill a lot of innocent lives on the day of April 19, 1995, but did we do the right thing to add another death to the list? There is a lot of controversy over if McVeigh should have got the death penalty or life in prison. Although he did a terrible thing, many people think he does not deserve to live. However, some people think Mcveigh should not have gotten the death penalty. People wonder what pushed McVeigh to bomb the Murrah Building. It could have been many different reasons that urged him to do what he did, like his PTSD from the war, the Turner Diaries, or the Waco incident. Many believe they all had a huge impact on his actions, but one that stuck out the most was the bombing of the Wako Building by government officials. “McVeigh loved guns: he was outraged by the Brady bill and the federal ban on assault weapons, and he was so passionate about his second amendment right to bears arms, that he quit the National Rifle Association because he thought it was too soft” (Morgenthau). McVeigh was very outspoken for his rights and did not agree with...
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...Have you ever lost a loved one by homicide and felt revenge? Well, you’re not alone. There is a way to overcome that revenge, the death penalty. The death penalty should be kept legal because murderers should be put to death if they take a person's life, they could cause harm to others in the same prison if they get put in jail, and they shouldn’t deserve to live out the rest of their lives in prison. Murders can get the death penalty by many reasons: treason, espionage, drug trafficking, aircraft hijacking, and drive-by shootings. When murderers take someone’s life, they should be put to death. Getting charged with the death penalty means they will be publicly shamed. The death penalty can be used in many ways. One of which is, the lethal injection. The criminal will be injected with sodium thiopental to put the criminal to sleep, Pavulon to cause muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest, and potassium chloride to stop the heart (Wikipedia, 2018). Another way is the electric chair, which is used by the prisoner being strapped to a chair at the wrists, waist, and ankles. Then two electrodes are strapped to the head and a leg. A voltage of 2,000 watts are rushed through the body several times a minute and eventually stops the heart (The Register, 2006)...
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... As of July 1, 2015 there are thirty-one states with the death penalty and nineteen have abolished it. The death penalty should be abolished because there is a better alternative in life without parole, innocent lives are put at risk, and we pay millions each year to fund this process. First off, we have a much better way to punish people for the even most inhumane of crimes and we can find that in using life without parole. With death as a option after they commit such a crime, it is an easy way out of having to truly pay for their crimes. Life without parole is easily a better alternative because no one would want to spend the rest of their life in a prison cell until they died. There is also the option of life with the possibility of parole for an option, even then there is no guarantee for parole. The wait would be...
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...446 executions (Death Penalty Information Center). 1,446 people have been put to death for committing crimes such as murder and treason. The death penalty is definitely not a new prospect; far from it, first known to be practiced in the 14th century B.C.E. (Death Penalty Information Center). In fact, some describe capital punishment as a barbaric, outdated, or unsophisticated form of justice. America is, after all, one of the only developed countries that still enforces the death penalty. Others argue that it is necessary in keeping law and order and helps to deter crime. The death penalty has an interesting history, and still today there is an argument about whether or not it should continue to be enforced, possibly because of the historically discriminatory nature of the death penalty. In early colonial America, the death penalty was fairly strictly enforced....
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...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...
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