The moral of the death penalty is that when someone commits a heinous crime, they should be prosecuted in a way that is equal to their crime. Robert Blecker, JD said that "We have the responsibility to punish those who deserve it, but only to the degree they deserve it...." This states that people should get what they deserve. If they go out and commit homicide or murder for fun they should get the same treatment. Losing someone can be tragic, but losing someone because a criminal killed them is even worse.
The death penalty is currently legal in 31 states in the United States. The fact that capital punishment is not morally required in any case is true. One could argue jail is not moral either and we would have a larger number of criminals who do not fear any type of punishment. Why should mercy be shown to those who commit senseless acts that take another’s life, on of the most sacred things?
As of April 1, 2015, there are 3,002 inmates currently on death row. Greg Wilhoit spent five years of his life on death row for a crime he was wrongly convicted for. On June 1, 1985, Greg’s wife Kathy was viciously murdered in Oklahoma. About a year later Greg was arrested and charged with Kathy’s murder because two dental “experts”, one whom had been out dental school less than a year, testified that a bite mark found on Kathy’s body matched Greg’s teeth. While on trial Greg was assigned a new attorney which helped him to get a new trial, during the new trial forensic odonatologists examined the bite mark and testified that it could not be mark’s and was let out on bail.
A journalist for the Tulsa World wrote after assisting Robyn LeRoy Parks in an Oklahoma execution. “It was terrifying, remarkable, a disrupting intrusion into a moment, so private that reporters, believed for years that interruption is their job, had a dilemma staring each other in the eyes after it was over” (Badau, 2012). On August 10, 1982, Frank J. Coppola was electrocuted in Virginia by two 55-second shocks. The second jolts set his head, legs on fire and loaded the chamber with vapors, (Levingston, 2014). There is one person nationwide that is released from death row for every ten executions.
Should the death penalty/ capital punishment be a thing? The death penalty should not be legal, because it has no place in today 's society. The death penalty has been around since at least the eighteenth century B.C. Now the U.S. still has the death penalty in 31 out of the 50 states. While some may say it seems barbaric to still have a death penalty, the U.S. says it 's used as a crime deterrent.
One solution would be to get rid of the death penalty. Many fellow Americans would be happy if their taxes went at least a little bit down. Another solution would be just to give the criminal life in prison. According to the book The Death Penalty written by JoAnn Bren Guernsesy, it states that "They say that too much money is wasted on trying and executing prisoners and that the state can never be sure it is not mistakenly executing an innocent person". All this money that is being to waste on a innocent person can be used for something that we actually need.
“Although 31 of the 50 states have statutes which provide capital punishment for one or more crimes, and hundreds of prisoners remain confined in state prisons under sentence of death, only 32% of those first convicted go on to death row, and 8% of those on death row die before they are executed” (Sellin). The Death Penalty: Who Deserves It? The discussion of what’s morally correct is debated in courts every month, and less than half of criminals who originally receive the death penalty sentence actually go on to death row.
At the same time, murder rates began to plummet—to 9.6 per 100,000 in 1993, 7.7 in 1996, and 6.4 in 1999, the lowest level since 1966. So, in conclusion the number of murders committed grew as the numbers of executions were reduced. Abolitionists claim that one of the alternatives to the death penalty is life in prison without parole. I don’t think this alternative is good deterrent because the criminal can ask for appeals and as we all know laws can change. Take the James Moore case in New York State for example.
Point number 3 is that the death penalty creates the possibility that innocent people may be put on death row. The death penalty should only be those who are convicted truly. For example, Kevin Green from the Deseret News, interviewed an innocent man, Ray Krone, a man convicted twice and was sentenced to the death penalty for something he did not do. He spent countless of money and his family had to feel the impact on the fact he was on death row for something he did not commit. The crime was a murder of a woman figure in Arizona.
Exonerated death row inmate Kerry Max Cook stated in an interview, “I don't think there's any words in the English language to explain what it's--what it's like to--to sit on Texas death row… convicted but innocent and being put to death.” Twenty two years of Cooks life was spent in prison for a crime he did not commit until DNA evidence proved his innocence, warranting his release. Since 1974, 144 convicted murders have had their innocence proven, removing them from death row in America. The primary purposes of the death penalty is to bring closure to the victims family, however, taking another life will never bring the victims life back. Despite being innocent, countless others have been executed for crimes they did not commit.
There are numerous things in this society which ought to be banned however the death penalty is not one of them. It is most likely the right approach to go the extent that capital order is concerned. At this moment in our nation, I think that it crazy that criminals believe that they can escape with pretty much anything. My argument for this essay is that death penalty is a resource for society; it discourages potential criminals and also serves retaliation to criminals, and is not the slightest bit indecent. The death penalty can be a greatly valuable device in sentencing criminals that have perpetrated a portion of the most exceedingly terrible crimes known to society.
While the solution may not be one hundred percent agreed upon by all parties, it is at least a middle ground most can agree with. The current system of the death penalty adds to the divide of the nation, as it is much more controversial. Through causing more loss of life, and possibly innocent lives, it is clear why the dispute exists. If the proposed solution was put into place, not only would the loss of life be reduced, but also reduce the chance of putting someone innocent to death. This is due to how there would be strict federal guidelines permitting who can actually receive the death penalty.
Suppose a man, for any reason, takes the life of another of his fellow men. Along with many others, in our modern court system, this brings forward two important questions: Is the death penalty a suitable punishment for any crime? Some may be compelled to answer affirmatively, stating the danger a convicted murderer poses to the general public if released on parole, or some may go as far as to argue that the the life taken by the convicted could only be avenged if the murderer were to be killed himself. However, as simple as these arguments may seem, capital punishment is an expensive and archaic, if not barbaric means by which to discipline those found guilty of very serious murder offenses. The death penalty is no longer a viable
Evan Deason Mrs. Tollett Honors 10th Lit. 10 April 2017 People always want to say that the death penalty is horrible and that it will bring down society in some way or form, but it is not. The death penalty is needed in society today as it is put in place to attempt to decrease crime rates, Even if the ways it does it are not the best. People always argue that the death penalty is bad for morale, but the only reason people think that is because the people who go against the death penalty spread lies that the death penalty is a random lottery, which it is not, it is only reserved for the worst of crimes like planning to kill someone or murdering a police officer on duty or killing multiple people (The Pros and Cons of the death penalty).
“(Insert Name) you are hereby sentenced to death by lethal injection to take place at such and such facility.” This is one of the worst things you could hear come out of the judges mouth when being convicted. The death penalty is a very controversial topic throughout America and for good reason. There are a lot of good points you could make on either side of this topic. The death penalty or capital punishment is a form of punishment set forth by the government.
