Capital Punishment Essay: Death Penalty In The United States

1355 Words6 Pages

Imagine a family member of yours got framed with something he didn't commit and sentenced to capital punishment, how would you feel? The capital punishment has been thrown back and forth with the argument that it is, or it is not an acceptable way of punishing. Offenders are doing what they know best, breaking the law, but the government instead of fixing the problem by doing something better, the make it worse by taking another life from society, which can be considered a "crime." The capital punishment is currently being used by thirty-four out of the fifty in the United States. Capital punishment often establishes the question, "Does the government have the right to take away someone's life?" When capital punishment claims another life, …show more content…

Most places on earth have abandoned the capital punishment except industrialized countries and others that just refuse. The capital punishment is so outdated that "Almost all democracies in the world have abandoned the capital punishment. The U.S., Japan, and South Korea are the only exceptions" (http://www.religioustolerance.org). Condemning somebody to death row can also take someone's life by mistake. If the one being accused did not commit the crime, and has no way to prove it at that time, justice can be wrongly brought. David Von Drehle stated, "Incompetent investigators, using discredited science, sent two men to death row in Texas for alleged arson murders" (http://time.com). The capital punishment as said before is a risk because somebody can die when they were innocent. David J. Burge stated "Capital punishment runs counter to core conservative principles of life, fiscal responsibility, and limited government. The reality is that capital punishment is nothing more than an expensive, wasteful and risky government program" in his article the death of the capital punishment in …show more content…

David B. Muhlhausen stated, "Some crimes are so heinous and inherently wrong that they demand strict penalties – up to and including life sentences or even death. Most Americans recognize this principle as just" (http://www.usnews.com). As stated, certain crimes are so horrendous that the only way to "solve" the problem is by the applying the capital punishment. http://www.usnews.com said, "In short, capital punishment does, in fact, save lives. That's certainly not to say that it should exercise with wild abandon". What this means is that by getting rid of the threat, which is the murderer, a crime could be stopped before it begins. However, this is not to say that just because somebody committed a crime, they should be sent to death row. Robert Blecker stated, "Vicious murderers, who prey on the helpless and vulnerable, once captured, become perfectly well behaved ‘inmates' they get transferred from maximum- to medium-security" in his article "The Death Penalty Needs to Be an Option for Punishment" in http://www.nytimes.com. When actual, dangerous criminals are sent to jail instead of capital punishment their personalities transform. They become better persons and slowly work their way into having fun or even back to the open