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Arguments Against The Death Penalty

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The death penalty is too outdated to be used in modern society. It is tremendously more expensive than life in prison, does not deter criminals for committing crimes, or give a chance for the person to be proven innocent, thus killing people who may have not committed the crime to begin with. Additionally, it completely violates the eighth amendment and does not always grant closure to victims of crimes. As a result of these facts, many argue capital punishment as unconstitutional and that it should be abolished
First, the death penalty is more costly than a life sentence. It has been estimated that the average cost for a person carrying out a life sentence in prison is around one million dollars. On the other hand, the average cost for someone …show more content…

The first execution in the United States that had been recorded was in 1608. (Clark County Prosecutor 2011). While the amount of these has drastically declined over the years, the crimes being committed that are punishable by capital punishment have not.
Although the trials and investigations for someone on death row are ample and extensive, mistakes do happen. Corrupt officials and other flaws in creating a seamless trial are quite likely in cases that include the death penalty or a life sentence. If a person is wrongfully executed for a crime they have not committed, they cannot get their life back. Alternatively, if someone is jailed for said crime, and later proven innocent, they have the opportunity to resume their lives as usual and sue the courts for violating their rights.
The death penalty severely violates the eighth amendment against cruel and unusual punishment. There is not a humane or completely painless method to go about with capital punishment, and oftentimes they result in extraordinary amounts of pain for the person being executed. This may also be extremely traumatizing and mentally scarring for those performing the execution. Killing someone in such a manner, be it legal or not, dehumanizes them, and strips them of their natural

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According to Julie Delcour, “The Cost of the Death Penalty Outweighs its Benefits to Society,” she states that death penalty cases are much more expensive than other criminal cases and cost more than throwing them in jail for life

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Capital punishment is cruel for nowadays society. The death penalty is essentially another way of trying to get revenge. It is a way to essentially get payback for someone who has taken another life. “To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge,

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Richard C. Dieter, former director of the death penalty information center says, “All of the studies conclude that the death penalty system is far more expensive than an alternative system in which the maximum sentence is life in prison.” Dieter and many against the death penalty have a problem with the expense of death penalty when life in prison keeps criminals off the streets and is much cheaper. The latest study showed cases were the death penalty cost over one million dollars as cases without cost over $700,000. This doesn’t seem like a ton of a difference until it comes out of taxpayers pockets. It cost taxpayers approximately $90,000 more each year for an inmate who is on death row.

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Many argue that capital punishment is indeed “cruel and unusual.” The strongest argument is the physical and mental suffering falling under the Eighth Amendment which is commonly referred to in terms of the death sentence. As stated above there are many execution methods used. Many of these methods are no longer practiced, at least in the United States, but some of them such as lethal injection, electrocution, and a firing squad is still practiced, with lethal injection being the most common. Lethal injection depending on your point of view is the most “humane” way of execution, and electrocution most likely being the most inhumane.

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Hamlet uses the secrecy of his plan to be able to surprise the characters that are most effected by his action giving Hamlet the higher ground in conflict. Throughout this scene, Hamlet was able to hold the basis of his secrets by only telling one person of his plan, trying not to make anyone suspicious in his actions, and pushing other to do the act for him so he will not be seen as the violator unto the characters effected. Through using one true and faithful friend that he trusts, Hamlet is able to capture the necessity of making sure other don’t figure out his secret plan to make Claudius and Gertrude guilty. When Horatio arriving to see Hamlet, Hamlet explains that “there is a play to-night before the King. One scene of it comes near the

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Criminals are shielded from cruel and unusual punishments. Finding the better option for good is sometimes the only answer. More so, execution is a crueler punishment than a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The process of entrusting a jury and judge with the power to decide someone's fate and put an end to their life will always be inhumane and seen as a cruel punishment. Although the Supreme Court has ruled capital punishment constitutional, it is difficult to determine if someone really deserves to die rather than just spending life locked away with no possibility of release.

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The death penalty is very expensive. Defense costs were about three times as high in death penalty cases and prosecution costs were as much as four times higher than for non-death penalty cases. according to a report released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, "The Budgetary Repercussions of Capital Convictions," by Katherine Baicker. Counties manage these high costs by decreasing funding for highways and police and by increasing taxes. I believe that the death penalty should be banished.

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785 Words | 4 Pages

The death penalty is a sentence that has no use. The process has become too slow over the years to the point where some people die before they get executed. Similar to the case of Max Soffar who may have been innocent, but died of cancer before he had the chance to fight for the freedom he may have deserved(Houston Press). This also shows that the death penalty has taken and ruined the lives of innocent people. A study shows that 4% of defendants sentenced to death penalty are innocent(The Guardian).The second reason is the high number of botched executions that happen in the USA.

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Since the fall of man, humanity has struggled its way through many millennium, searching for truth. Many believe to have found truth in different religions, while others take pieces of religions and form another. The Catholic Church has had many different people take pieces of their faith and turn it into something it is not. These new beliefs are often referred to as heresies. Around 400 AD Pelagius started teaching his heretical views.

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Capital Punishment is cruel and usual, is costly, and does not deter crime rates and should ruled unconstitutional in all state. Capital punishment is a cruel and unusual method of “retribution” for those convicted of heinous crimes. A primary reason for the

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873 Words | 4 Pages

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal process in which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime by the government of a nation. The United States is in the minority group of nations that uses the death penalty. There are thirty-three states that allow capital punishment and seventeen states that abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). The morality of the death penalty has been debated for many years. Some people want capital punishment to be abolished due to how it can cost a lot more than life imprisonment without parole, how they think it is immoral to kill, and how innocent people can be put to death.

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1924 Words | 8 Pages

The average prisoner spends eight years on the death row. Prisoners have to be placed in a maximum-security facility and the person requires a considerably more time and work on the correction workers behalf. The prisoner is also surrounded by an extensive number of cameras, all costing a tremendous amount. In Florida, and many other states, a prisoner who has been sentenced to the death row has to be watched for

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1229 Words | 5 Pages

Death Penalty: Constitutional, Cost Effective, and Retribution The public view of the death penalty as being the appropriate punishment for a capital crime has shifted back and forth multiple times in the last century. The ruling by the Supreme Court in 1972 found the existing death penalty statutes and not the death penalty itself-unconstitutional (Sheherezade C. Malik & D. Paul Holdsworth 2015). Many states performed a legislative reform and did reinstate the death penalty as a legal and constitutional method of punishment for capital crimes. However, there are still many people that argue the constitutional aspects of the death penalty, the cost of proceedings and the retribution versus revenge for the victims are reasons to dissolve the

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1267 Words | 6 Pages

The Death Penalty, loss of life due to previous crimes and actions, is believed by some to be extremely costly, inhumane, and cruel unlike some others whom believe it is just, right, and provides closure. The Death Penalty is not a quick and easy process. Most who get sentenced to deaths row wait years for their ultimate punishment of death. Some believe that it is not right to punish and kill a human for actions they have done because, they believe that the inmate should have another chance. Then others believe that it is right to punish someone for their actions especially if their actions involve killing another or multiple humans.

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861 Words | 4 Pages

When the final sentence is being decided, the system they use to determine, is very flawed. The sentence is determined not by the gravity of the crime, but depending heavily on the person’s lawyer. Another thing that is used against the defendant, is race. As sad as using race to determine when someone else’s life is going to end sounds, officials really do that. On top of the corrupted method officials use, the people being sent to death sentence have an extremely high risk of experiencing intense pain during the execution.

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