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Capital Punishment: The Consequences Of The Death Penalty

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The first death penalty laws were established in the eighteenth century making it so you could only be hanged for murder. The first recorded death penalty that took place was in 1608, it was Captain George Kendall. This execution took place in the new colonies, he was put to death because he was suspected of spying for Spain he was executed by a firing squad. Capital Punishment has not been proven to deter crime and opens the possibility of executing innocent people; finally, the Death Penalty/Capital Punishment can cause 2nd hand trauma to the victim and their family. Capital Punishment violates the 8th amendment, it is labeled as cruel and unusual punishment. Capital punishment also violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, …show more content…

Painful, lengthy executions constitute violations of the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment”(NCADP).
Capital punishment can give 2nd hand trauma to the victims & the families. Studies show that the Death Penalty can cause additional harm to the families. The death penalty can even cause the family to be traumatized by two deaths if the offender and the victim are related or friends. People can actually be traumatized because of a man named Carol Pickett, a minister who witnessed almost 100 executions in Texas, attributed his severe health problems to the stress involved with executions.
Using an execution to try to right the wrong of their loss is an affront to them and only causes more pain. Also, trauma is not only common in the families but the people who have to watch, prepare and struggle with the inmates who are fighting for their lives. There are people who have to deal with the inmates daily. The guards have to look and watch people knowing that they will die whether they think capital punishment is right or wrong it will put pressure on them. The guards will never forget the people they saw or heard die because of something they did or something they even didn't …show more content…

Most criminals don't think about what they are doing at that exact moment or think that once they have already started they can't stop. I would think lots of criminals would not want to go to prison either, I would think prison would be worse than death. Once in prison, those serving a life sentence often settle into a routine and are less of a threat to commit violence than other prisoners. The death penalty also does not give the felon time to think over their actions.
States that do not use Capital Punishment usually have a lower murder rate than states that do. The South, where 80 percent of all executions take place, has a higher murder rate than the North. People wouldn't want to go to prison where anything can happen. The inmates at prison hate it because they basically have no life in prison. The death penalty makes society more dangerous by further increasing violence through the brutalization effect. The brutalization effect is when violence is punished via violence (the death

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Passed on September 25, 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791 by Congress, the eighth amendment has been present in the United States for quite some time. Over time, the amendment has morphed and interpreted differently. In the Constitution it states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”. In the 1990s, individuals referenced the eighth amendment when discussing capital punishment or the death penalty. Death sentences were most frequent during the 1900s, resulting in some individuals declaring that it went against the amendment (Source A).

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The 8th Amendment of the Constitution states that no one should receive any "cruel and unusual punishments" for the crimes they have commited. The death penalty is a violation of the 8th amendment, and should be banished from the USA as it is an unreasonable and extreme punishment that is unnecessary and avoidable. The death penalty is inhumane, irreversible, and much more expensive compared to a non-death penalty case. Currently, 27 states are still using the death penalty and many of these states are either Midwest or South. Methods such as lethal injection, electric chair, hanging, gas chambers, and firing squad are used to execute these inmates.

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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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People started the Capital Punishment debate in the early 1950s, and it perseveres as a very controversial topic (History of Death Penalty). Capital Punishment is a very permanent solution to problems, and it has several drawbacks- like its improper methods of execution; it is also unethical, immoral, and often discriminatory. According to the 8th amendment, the government can neither impose excessive taxes or fines on citizens nor can it sentence cruel or unusual punishments. This amendment was based on the English Bill of Rights, and it was originally created to prevent unusual punishments like branding or strangling.

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