...The Death Penalty: We Do Not Need It The death penalty has been one of the most controversial debates throughout history. It has been drawing more and more attention in the United States since the Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976. In my point of view, death penalty is a violent and brutal act that is against human moral principles and does little good for the country. Therefore, it should definitely be abolished, especially in this highly civilized society. No one can deny the fact that, the death penalty is a brutal action of killing, regardless of what way people carry it out. In a sense of morality, there is not much difference between a society killing a criminal and a criminal killing an ordinary people. They are both violent acts that turn a human being into a corpse. People are created for being loved, helped and saved, not destroyed. “Thou shalt not kill,” the commandant sets out the basic respect toward people’s life. Neither any individual nor any group of people, which included a country and a society, has the right to decide if a person should live or die. The death penalty, with no doubt, is an action that disregards this most fundamental right of human beings. It is wrong enough for criminals to commit homicides; it makes even less sense to kill criminals for the killings. It can not bring back the lives of those who already died. The only thing it does is to destroy one more life and make more people- the families of the criminals- suffer the pain from...
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...Should the death penalty be mandatory for people that kill other people PANNASASTRA UNIVERSITY OF CAMBODIA Commitment to excellence Commitment to excellence PROFESSIONAL WRITING HOMEWORK ESSAY Topic Should the Death Penalty Be Mandatory For People That Kill Other People? Submitted to Professor LY Meng Written By NHEN Socheath May 30, 2014 Brainstorming Process Should the death penalty be mandatory for people that kill other people? Proponents Opponent * Guarantee justice for the victims - A life in prison is enough * Decrease Crime Rates - Crime remains the same * An eye for an eye is the solution - give a second chance to change * Killing a murderer is fair - Killing is always wrong * Killing is not cruel - Killing is cruel * Practices sometime go wrong - Risk of taking innocent life * It is morally right and fair - Against religious ethics Proponents Opponent * Guarantee justice for the victims - A life in prison is enough * Decrease Crime Rates - Crime remains the same * An eye for an eye is the solution - give a second chance to change * Killing a murderer is fair - Killing is always wrong * Killing is not cruel - Killing is cruel * Practices sometime go wrong - Risk of taking innocent life * It is morally right and fair - Against religious ethics OUTLINING I. Introduction Thesis Statement: I personally do not agree that death penalty can put...
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...other humans or not. People that are in favor of the death penalty say that it saves money by not paying for housing in a maximum prison. Those opposed say that it is against the constitution, and is cruel and unusual punishment for humans to be put to his or her death. I believe that the death penalty is against the constitution and is cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is cruel because you cannot punish anyone worse than by killing them. It is an unusual punishment because it does not happen very often an it should not happen at all. Therefore, I think that capital punishment should be abolished. Capital punishment is the death penalty, and has been legal in most states for many years. The death penalty did not begin reporting executions until 1930, although legal executions have been preformed before then. From 1930 to 1992, there have been 4,002 executions in the United States (Foster, Jacobs, Siegel 54). From around the 1930s to the 1960s there was a steep drop in the total numbers of executions in the US until the mid 1960s. The drop in executions is due to the lack of public support and legal challenges. Then a 10-year moratorium began in order to determine a constitutionally acceptable way to carry out the death penalty (54). The moratorium stopped in 1976 and since then, there have only been 525 executions. Currently there are about 3000-3500 inmates on death row (Wekesser 139), waiting for their death to come by either hanging, lethal injection, or even...
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...What if? What if people were given another chance? There are so many people in this demented that you want other people to suffer, or even dead. What makes people so angry they want someone else miserable? What would drive someone to commit a ghastly, felonious act they know is illegal and could ensue death for themselves? Is someone else’s pain and misery worth your life? Would you want to know when your time was up? The death penalty should be illegal considering it is an act of murder, it is inhumane, and that person can be used for other, useful things within jail. Hundreds of thousands of people die each day. Planned or not, it happens. Murder, suicide, diseases, car accidents, or maybe even the death penalty. The death penalty costs tremendous amounts of money and resources, and it doesn’t seem to decrease criminal activity. If you think about it, how many people have been killed as a result of the death penalty? And still, how many people are committing crimes? It doesn’t scare people. Ballaro and Cushman say “Where the death penalty is allowed, it is often used in a racist manner”. As harsh as it sounds, what good is a dead body? There are many of jobs nobody wants. Pressing license plates, military can always use more help, truck driver, etc. Nobody wants these jobs, they want the money and/ or benefits that come with the jobs. If someone has committed a crime, they definatly do not deserve to have a high paying job but if nobody is wanting to take them they could...
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... Over the past years death penalty has been a highly debated issue. The different discussions about death-penalty are led by very strong opinions concerning whether or not the death penalty is morally correct. People agree on the fact that that killing innocent people indeed should be prevented and punished in some way, but the anti-death penalty believers do not think more killing will solve the problem. According to them the State shouldn’t have permission to take another persons life, due to the fact that an eye for an eye only makes the world blind. The movie the life of David Gale covers this issue, and explains the story from an anti-death penalty view. David gale, a philosophy professor from Texas who dedicated and sacrificed his entire life to prove his anti-death penalty points to the state of America. He is a very passionate member of an anti-death penalty group with the main employment being campaigning against capital punishment. We meet David Gale at the beginning of the movie, where he is a prisoner on death row having only a few days to his execution. He is explaining his story to the young journalist Bitsy. Bitsy is a journalist from a major magazine carefully hired to tell David’s story because of the fact, that she is known for acting morally correct, and her ability to protect sources and keep secrets. You can characterize her by her passion for what she is doing, and by saying that she is a person that is willing to fight for what she believes. David’s main...
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...Benchmark Assignment The Death Penalty Picot pg. 1 Keith e picot 3/28/2012 Criminal Procedure Benchmark assignment Mr. Jessie Torres The Death Penalty in America An unreasonable and Inhumane Deterrent The Death penalty has been a staple in U.S. justice system since its inception in 1608, when Captain George Kendall, in the Jamestown Colony of Virginia was ‘executed by firing squad for treason’. Even though controversial this punishment has no place in America. Death Penalty is unreasonable and inhumane deterrent for crime and should be abolished. First of all. data shows a racial bias towards black crimes against white victims. In addition, it is less expensive to house inmates than to execute them. Finally many countries have abolished the Death Penalty deeming it merciless I am a person that does not believe in the death penalty. The main thing we Question is, what purpose it serves for us to put another person on death row. By killing another human being it wont bring back that victim they murder. People against this method realize capital punishment does not stop criminals from killing or stop them from their mischief act. Many states that are against this method argue that the death penalty is both cruel and unnecessary that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who done great evil. Prosecutor need to take time out to make sure that...
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...General Purpose. To inform my audience to/ that/ about: The Death Penalty Thesis Statement: The horror facts about the Death Penalty. I. Introduction A. If someone is guilty of committing a horrible crime, and the family of the victim wants the perpetrator be executed, do we want to live in a society that gives that to them? I would say no, you may reasonably say yes. B. The death penalty is one of those topics that no one wants to talk about, and for that reason it led me to do more research about it. This society needs to know the truth about the death penalty, and what it really brings to our society. These are the horror facts about the death penalty. C. Today I would like to talk about what is the death penalty and a brief history, death penalty in America, and the negative facts about the death penalty. Transition: let me start out with the definition on the death penalty and a brief history. II. Body A. What is the death penalty, and the history. 1. The Death Penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. 2. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. a. 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; and in the Fifth Century...
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...Death Penalty: Terminating the Death Penalty in the United States The Unites States of America is one of the few remaining countries to keep intact the most severe of criminal sanctions, the death penalty, even though it has not been proven to be effective, but rather the opposite. It is a truism. Their are many and more reasons to why this drastic criminal sanction should be abolished. Under definition of law, execution is premeditated murder in the first degree. The death penalty is unjust and we, the people, should have moved past our ancestors barbaric ways. To create a peaceful and just world even for the worst that humanity may offer. This criminal sanction also has a cost, in more ways then one. It is very expensive to preform physically but also has the ability to take a mental toll to those involved, it’s a costly situation. The worst of situations is those convicted and put of death row, only later to be found innocent of all charges. The lucky ones proved innocent before their scheduled execution but some are not half as lucky until they have reached their after life. The overall cost of executions have different ways to take a toll on someone. It’s the financial cost of carrying out the death penalty. The cost of an execution is much higher then the cost of life in prison. If sentenced to death, their are many financial costs that need be taken care of such as the lawyers, the medications for the actual execution, the trials to be tried, etc. Since 1978, in...
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...Death Penalty 1 The Death Penalty Student PHI 200 Instructor Date Death Penalty 2 The Death Penalty The death penalty is a decision that causes frustration and tension within society as there is a battle of its justification and validity. It seems to be a great divide between opinions of justification, retribution, and deserved punishment to the potential of killing an innocent person and simply the fact that execution is murder. Crime is an everyday threat to our lives and will always be, the questions is how do we deal with it and to what extent do we take the punishment. This has been a question that goes as far back as Biblical times. History tells us that capital punishment is an acceptable and efficient deterrent of crime. Even today the death penalty remains an effective punishment in some states for heinous crimes and murder, while others have abolished this penalty. The death penalty has been challenged in the realm that it is a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which states that the United States cannot use cruel and unusual punishment. Punishment itself is an infliction of suffering which is legal and somewhat cruel. It is not however unusual as it has long been used in history. During the eighteenth century B.C. the death penalty was codified for 25 different crimes, in the Fifth century B.C. death was the only penalty for all crimes. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning...
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...The Death Penalty PHI103: Informal Logic Professor Donald Ceplenski March 26, 2012 The Death Penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the lawful infliction of death as a form of punishment. It is considered to be one of the most controversial and a debated topic across the United States which leads to the logical question; is the death penalty just and applied fairly? Although in theory sentencing a criminal to death may bring closure to the victim’s families, the practice of sentencing someone to death is an unjust form of punishment with factors such as costs, deterrence, and rehabilitation failure show that putting a criminal to death is counterproductive and inhumane. Death Penalty laws have been around since Eighteenth Century B.C., but the execution in American dates back to the colonial days in 1608, when Virginia carried out the colonies first execution to Captain George Kendall (Randa, 1996). According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), in the last four hundred years, 36 states have instituted the death penalty, making execution the ultimate form of punishment (2012). In theory the death penalty appears to be a reasonable method of punishment but in reality it has major flaws that damage the integrity of the state. Not only does it have serious flaws it is absolutely inhumane in every way. The death penalty goes against our rights as human beings. We are supporting the message that killing is okay if the reason...
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...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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...| Death Penalty: | What’s the problem? | | Michael Stender (14354787) | 11/27/2012 | What is the good of killing our inmates if the violence around us continues to grow more and more out of hand? This paper examines a single perspective of societies position on a difficult but necessary evil. | Death Penalty: Why do so many citizens oppose the death penalty? In today’s society the rate of crime, specifically those that involve crimes which can be tried as a capital punishment cases, continue to increase; domestic killings, predatory crimes against children and innocent victim crimes have all continued to rise; Meanwhile the public’s belief and support in our justice systems ultimate punishment continue to fall. The death penalty although looked at as cruel or inhumane by some, can be viewed as a necessary evil. Society as a whole must feel that our system of laws is protecting us. Locking up non-violent and common criminals and attempting to rehabilitate in order to join society is a continuing effort and with some success. However, most studies have found that an increasing number of prisoners today are repeat offenders with sentences for more violent crimes. A study recently done found that 56% of violent felons are repeat offenders and 61% of all felons are repeat offenders. The study also found that most are being punished outside the walls of prison due to their criminal past. After the inmate is released he’s sent back out to society...
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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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...Death Sentence Hello, my name is Joaquin Solari Costa and as you may know, I am here to talk about the death penalty or sentence. The death sentence could be defined by different things: Is a judge’s official statement ordering someone to be punished by death, or the punishment of being legally killed, or the practice or legal sanction of allowing the imposition of punishment of death for people convicted on certain crimes. The countries that still apply the death penalty and most make use of it are China, America, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Yemen. However, the number of people supporting the death penalty has begun to decrease. With the United States as an example, there are many ways to make a legal death penalty nowadays: * Lethal injection: injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs that kills the person by first putting the person to sleep, and then stopping the breathing and heart, in that order. * Electrocution: Using an electric chair, which was the dominant method of execution until the lethal injection appeared. * Gas chamber: consists in a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas introduced. * Hanging: is putting to death by the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck. * Firing squad or fusillading: a squad fires at the sentenced man. Another type of execution, which is not legal in America, but it is in some other countries, is: * Beheading: intentional decapitation, usually accomplished with an axe...
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...punishment also known as the death penalty is the process by which convicted criminals are executed by the federal government. The death penalty has always been part of human history; there is archaeological evidence that proves executions were practiced as early as the 8th century BCE. The first execution in the American colonies took place in Virginia in 1608 when George Kendall was accused of espionage. By 1612, many colonies approved the method of execution by hanging or firing squad; the executions were made public in an effort to increase fear of committing a crime (Issitt, Micha L.Newton, Heather). Executions were abolished in 1972, by the Supreme Court during the Furman v. Georgia. The court ruled that death sentences are handed down arbitrarily, violating the 18th amendment of the U.S. constitution and where “cruel and unusual” (Farley Matchett). The United States did not perform any capital punishments for five years. Then, in 1976 the death penalty was reinstated and Gary Gilmore was the first person to be executed after this hiatus (Issitt, Micha L.Newton, Heather). In a modern society that values life, righteousness and justice, the United States is still part of a decreasing number of countries that still use this sort of punishment. The death penalty is a highly debatable topic since it makes it hard for an observer to pick a side, because for every point there is a counterpoint. From where I stand, after making extensive research, the death penalty has; killed innocent...
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