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Death Penalty In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

665 Words3 Pages

The dark figure stood stock still in front of the old man’s door. Slowly, slowly, he opened the door, moving more sluggish than a watch’s minute hand. The old man in the room lay frozen with fear in his bed. His heart pounded. Thump. Thump. Thump. Suddenly, the dark figure lunged forward and-
Dark, mysterious short horror stories are what Edgar Allan Poe is famous for. Even his own death is filled with mystery. “The Tell Tale Heart” is an eerie story about a man who killed an old man because of his icy blue vulture eye. Should the man be charged for a death sentence, sent to a mental hospital, or years in prison? Based on the evidence presented in the 8th Amendment of the Death Penalty, the main character should be sentenced to death because as stated by evidence from the text the narrator planned the murder for several days and understood the concept of punishment but still continued. …show more content…

As the text says, “You should have seen how wisely I proceeded - with what caution - with what foresight - with what dissimulation I went to work!” (Poe, 1843). This shows the man was cautious when going to “work.” It proves he planned the murder carefully and wisely. The man also hid in the old man’s room for seven nights and carefully shone a sliver of light upon the man’s eye. He did this everyday, which shows it was not something he just thought of in an instant. Instead, he planned for a week. This is significant because it shows why the man deserves the death sentence. The man committed a first degree murder, which is any intentional murder with careful premeditated planning. In the Baze v. Rees case, two inmates were sentenced to death for first degree murder. The case is similar to this

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