Pro Death Penalty Essay

Capital punishment also known as the death penalty is the execution of a murderer. You have at least be convicted of first degree murder, which is the voluntary and premeditated murder of an individual; or second degree murder, which is a murder committed with intent but without deliberation. Death row is an area of a prison where criminals convicted of crimes warranting the death penalty await execution, it may be years before they are actually executed.(Issitt) Capital punishment has been used in society since ancient times. It is a controversial topic because on one hand supporters of the death penalty believe that it is only fair, if a criminal takes someone else’s life they deserve the same fate as their victim or victims. While on the

In the early 1600’s through 1910’s the most common way to execute criminals was hanging. The first electrocution was in 1890, it gradually became the common method by the 1920’s. The gas chamber was introduced in 1924, and fell out in the 1960’s. Within the 18th century burning was used and by the 19th century firing squads were used. The more inhumane procedures were pressing, in which weight was applied till the convicted was crushed death; and gibbeting, in which the convicted was placed in a cage to die by dehydration.(Smith) Lethal injection was used in 1982 and now is the primary the method of execution in the U. S. It is a sequence of drugs to induce unconsciousness and ultimately death. In recent years, the drugs used for lethal injections are in a shortage because of the lack of support of the death penalty, among the Pharmaceutical companies and Europeans manufacturers who produce it. This leaves the American prisons desperate to find alternative ways to execute their death row

The Furman v. Georgia case proved that capital punishment was unconstitutional, due to violating eighth and fourteenth amendments. The court sets a limit on the use of the death penalty for certain crimes. In 1976, the Gregg v. Georgia case reinstated the death penalty because of the new laws created and addressed the Supreme Court’s concerns. These laws made capital punishment constitutional in Florida, Georgia, and Texas. In the Coker v. Georgia case the court ruled that death for rape was “grossly disproportionate and excessive”, which led to murder being the only crime that deserved capital punishment. The Kennedy v. Louisiana case also restricted the death penalty to crimes in which the victim is killed, or cases of treason. The Atkins v. Virginia barred the execution of the mentally disabled. The Roper v. Simmons barred the execution of juvenile defenders.(Smith) The Ring v. Arizona case led the court to find that the sixth amendment supports that the death penalty decision must be made by juries, not judges. This ruling invalidated the death penalty laws of five states and possibly those of four