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The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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The definition of murder according to law.com is “the killing of a human being by a sane person, with intent, malice aforethought” (Hill 2015). Is the death penalty not, in fact, the killing of a human being by a sane person, with intent, malice aforethought? If one follows that definition then the death penalty is indeed, murder. Our government claims it is not murder through the guise of legal reasoning. Does that make it right? As long as we elect representatives to impose the death penalty, it is very difficult for us to say that it constitutes murder in any commonly used sense of the word. Does the fact that it is a government-condoned murder imply the action is morally acceptable? “Ultimately, the moral question surrounding capital punishment in America has less to do with whether those convicted of violent crime deserve to die than with whether state and federal governments deserve to kill those whom it has imprisoned” (Bedau & Cassell). Each state decides whether or not they will utilize the death penalty through the use of political figures. …show more content…

So are we all in a sense accomplices? Deep down, morally, I feel I am guilty of helping sentence someone to death. I know I did not order the execution but I elected the person that did. I agreed with the legalization of the death penalty. Before this class, morally, I never realized how big of a part the public plays in the death penalty. We can elect the right people when it comes to the death penalty so we do not have to feel like we are accomplices. Is retribution a justifiable reason to not feel morally guilty? As the bible says “an eye for an

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According to Casey Carmical, capital punishment is a justifiable result to choosing to end another person’s life. In fact, Carmichael goes on to argue that should one decide not to execute on the grounds of murder, we the people would be committing a moral injustice to the deceased. Capital punishment can be seen as killing one human, in acknowledgement of their choice to end the life of another person; however murder, as defined by Carmichael is, “the unlawful and malicious or premeditated killing of one human being by another.” The death penalty is defined within its name alone, a penalty given by a court of law as the result of a malicious or heinous crime. The murderer is not sentenced to death without cause; they are reaping the punishments

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1964 Words | 8 Pages

For me, therefore, the Constitutionality of the death penalty is not a difficult, soul-wrenching question. It was clearly permitted when the Eighth Amendment was adopted (Scalia). . .” Our founding 4 fathers established justice through use of the death penalty, so is it not constitutional for us to continue to do so? Especially when taking into account the state of the crimes committed today. In 1787, death penalties were charged for burglary as well as murder.

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792 Words | 4 Pages

thing as murder. The definition of murder is deliberate and illegal killing of a person or to commit the crime of killing them deliberately according to the Collins. Capital punishment, however, is not illegal killing, nor crime. There is a stern reason to sentence death penalty, which is to protect the society from any more harm from the criminal, and many other reasons. Such reasons were deeply and continuously revised, and it cannot be classified as a murder.

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346 Words | 2 Pages

The Death penalty can be justified when viewed from an egalitarian point of view. This view in relating to the death penalty holds that equal crime deserves equal punishment (MacKinnon & Fiala 2015). Therefore, if one causes death with intent to kill then that person should also be put to death with intent to kill. Many states would agree with this view.

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696 Words | 3 Pages

The death penalty has great varying facts and views when it comes to all of the ethical frameworks. From the religious ethics stand point, it would appear that the death penalty may be a permissible form of punishment. Religious ethics support the "eye for an eye", or retributive form of justice. This would make capitol punishment permissible when deserved as retribution for a murder case. There are many extremist religions that use corporal/cruel punishment as a means of serving retribution to criminals (such as cutting off the fingers and hands of thieves).

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706 Words | 3 Pages

Even though it is true that taking the life of another is not right, it is even truer that the punishment should fit the crime. The death penalty is an exercise of justice that promotes retribution for crime and moral punishment for those who choose to take human life. Also, it prevents society 's worse offenders from re-offending, and it provides justice for the victims whose lives were cut short without a second thought. To better understand why capital punishment is a justifiable act, Kant 's theory gives a clear and logical understanding of the eye for an eye approach. Additionally the utilitarian view also explains why capital punishment is justifiable in regards to comfort for the victim 's family and prevention of re-offending.

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419 Words | 2 Pages

Some were minutes away from their execution. In the states of Missouri, Texas, and Virginia, investigations have been opened to see if these states have executed innocent men and women. To execute an innocent person is morally reprehensible.

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1128 Words | 5 Pages

Death penalty violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment, and the guarantee to due process of law and equal protection under law, and thus should be prohibited in the United States. Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil rights and civil liberties and government should not have the power to execute people, in the name of the law or in the name of its people, especially when it does this in an arbitrary and discriminatory fashion. Capital punishment is cruel because it dates back to times when slavery and branding were commonplace, and like those barbaric practices, executions have no place in our modern civilization. It is unusual because of all the Western industrialized democracies, the United States is the only country who considers this hideous practice as legal. It is unusual also in the sense that only a random fraction of criminals are convicted with this type of punishment.

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798 Words | 4 Pages

Should the Death Penalty be a widely accepted practice by the judicial system in each state? Deeming a person’s life worthless after they have committed a crime is an inhuman way to serve justice to guilty criminals. Described as "the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime" ("capital punishment"), Capital Punishment is legal in most of the United States of America but often looked over as a form of justice. The authorization from the Government does not diminish the fact that killing another human being is murder. It’s wrong.

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862 Words | 4 Pages

Have you ever thought about the people you love being murdered? If so, what would you want to happen to the murderer? You would most likely want them to receive equal punishment. What about terrorists? What about treason?

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1141 Words | 5 Pages

Murder is defined as “the unlawful killing of another human being with intent or malice aforethought” (4) Murderers have been convicted for their actions in most trials, regardless of the background or reasoning behind the crime. While murder is a sin and should be avoided, people who commit it have reasoning behind their actions that may not be connected to evil thoughts or origins. Although others think that all murderers are evil, murderers should not always be punished because of mental disability, self-defense, and the childhood or background of the person. Some people may believe that people should always be punished for a murder, regardless of mental state. This may be true in some aspects because people who murder others could be

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836 Words | 4 Pages

In 1985, the TIMES announced that the United States had wrongfully executed 25 people in the past one hundred years, this number can only rise as executions continue, executions before this time period were unaccounted for, and the innocence of many remains unknown. Though many officials claim that this is “An acceptable number,” no amount of innocent lives lost as punishment for crimes they did not commit is acceptable. When people who have been executed are found innocent, there is nothing that can be done to improve that person’s tarnished reputation or bring them back to their families and loved ones. The United States has only ever issued 7 pardons after these innocents have been killed, leaving many families with angry and very little closure. Although acknowledging these crimes the government has committed against innocents, the death penalty continues to be given.

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1451 Words | 6 Pages

The death penalty is something no one can take back, after it is done the person is dead and life goes on. People who tend to just cause destruction and like ruining people's lives tend to kill themselves so all it did for us was save the money that it would've cost to kill the person. Sooner or later there's going to be a time where someone will given on someone who is so destructive and instead of giving them the death penalty they would give them the life sentence to where they get to eat food every day, it might not be the best food but they still get to eat, they get to sleep every night and breath and maybe go outside and be able to breath in that fresh air. When it comes down to it people don’t think of what that person gets out of it, do you think there all sad because they didn’t get the death penalty. If anything they would be happy and maybe even enjoying life because they know what they have did and they might be able to think about what

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592 Words | 3 Pages

Death penalty is the most inhuman thing since slavery. It is incompatible with human rights and human dignity by (insert here). In addition it punishes “criminals” by executing innocent people in the justice system. Lastly, we pay more than million dollars for the penalty system, when we could be using that money on education or the homeless. Making death penalty illegal is the (logic) thing to do in order to make the system better not just (harsher).

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450 Words | 2 Pages

Or is it just “legalized” cold-blooded murder? As innocence projects across the country can attest to, the criminal justice system does not always get it right – even for the most heinous of crimes. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been 150 exonerations of death row inmates since 1973. Unfortunately, the system is not perfect, and sometimes people are wrongfully convicted. This means we as a society run the risk of executing an innocent person as long as the death penalty is in

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