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The Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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In the United States, thirty-one states still have the death penalty as a sentence, and nineteen states have abolished it or overturned it as a sentence (States, 2017). As of this year, twenty-one inmates have been executed (Execution, 2017). The death penalty, which is also referred to as capital punishment, is given to individuals who have been convicted of capital crimes such as murder or treason (Staff, 2007). Despite being able to sentence those individuals convicted of murder and other capital crimes in states that sanction it, there is a debate among individuals about the death penalty with regard to whether if it deters crime, whether there is a chance innocent individuals have (or will be executed if wrongly convicted), whether factors …show more content…

Lynaugh, which they had originally voted on against exempting individuals with intellectual disabilities from the death penalty (Mossman, 2003). Therefore, stating that the death penalty would be considered as a cruel and unusual punishment. Furthermore, it stated that previous court case decisions, which prohibited or rarely used the death penalty, and public opinion, which found the execution of offenders with intellectual disabilities unfavorable was used as evidence to support their decision. In addition, it was argued that “offenders considered to have [ an intellectual disability] are categorically less culpable than the average criminal (Atkins, 2001). It further argued that this was a result of incapacity in areas such as “reasoning, judgement, and control of their impulses” (Atkins, 2002). Even more importantly this case has a significant outcome with regard to how psychology is applied in the courtroom. The case helped demonstrate how assessments are important when determining factors that could implicate that an individual suffers from a mental illness, pertaining more to intellectual disabilities, and how that can help mitigate what type of sentence an individual should receive (Mossman, 2003). However, the method used determine whether or not an individual suffers from an intellectual disability and the definition of intellectual disability falls at the discretion of each state (Amos,

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The U.S. Supreme Court argued that execution of an individual with an intellectual disability is inconsistent with the “evolving standards of decency test that marks the progress of a maturing society.” The Court held that there was a “national consensus” forbidding execution of the intellectually disabled from the fact that 18 states of the 38 states that permit capital punishment had recently enacted legislation barring execution of the intellectually disabled. The U.S. Supreme Court in Atkins observed that the execution of intellectually disabled criminals in the states that permitted it was no longer common and noted that the practice of such executions “has become truly unusual” and that a “national consensus” against it was emerging. This was evident in the public reaction and national attention

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The case prosecuted under the court of Appeal of Ontario, Her Majesty the Queen v Danny Lalumiere, in 2011, was intended to appeal the conviction of counseling to commit murder. The appellant argued that the life sentence was not appropriate and was outside the range of sentences imposed on similar offenders for similar offenses. This is an example of a case where legal guilt was used to provide a conviction. The conviction of the appellant was based on the testimony of a psychiatrist doctor, Dr. Pallandi, who provided a profile of the accused and concluded that the appellant was pathologically predisposed to commit an offense. The appellate court ruled against the Crown’s decision at the trial, stating that the appellant lacked moral culpability for his offenses and therefore the sentence was not deserved.

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He was then sentenced to death and this decision was reviewed. The Supreme Court reversed the penalty due to a forensic psychologist’s testimony that regarded Atkins as “mentally retarded, with an IQ of 59. The psychologist asserted Atkins did not have the ability

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In the chapter named “Mitigation”, Stevenson focused solely on the treatment of individuals with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system. In many instances, prosecutors and judges neglected to consider mental and intellectual disabilities when

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In Roper v. Simmons there are two issues that must be addressed, the first being the issue of moral maturity and culpability. The defense in the trial phase of this case argued that Mr. Simmons was an at an age where he was not responsible enough to fully understand the effects and consequences of his actions. The majority draws on Atkins v. Virginia to argue that this specific precedent supports their case that the death penalty should not be imposed on the mentally immature or impaired. However, an important point to be made is that the Atkins v. Virginia decision is geared towards the clinical definition of mental retardation: significant limitations that limit adaptive skills. Also, another important question to consider is the competency and premeditation of Mr. Simmons’ crime in this case.

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They argued that no intellectually disabled person should be executed under the basis of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (APA, 1989). They argued that the disabilities related to intellectual disability are directly correlated to a criminal responsibility and the punishment for the criminal activity. They stated that if a person is intellectually disabled they are unable to not only understand their actions, but control their actions because they do not have the cognitive or behavior development that should have occurred during their development (APA, 1989). People with intellectual disabilities have a reduced ability to cope and function in the world because they have severe impairments in judgment making, logical reasoning, strategic thinking, and control of their impulsivity. This relates to the level of their ability to conform to the law’s requirements and to the degree of the defendant’s blame which is an integral part of the insanity defense.

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In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court in Atkins v. Virginia stated that it was unconstitutional to execute defendants with “mental retardation.” However, legal questions surrounding this issue remain unresolved. The Court in Atkins left the definition and method of determining intellectual disability up to individual states. It has been said that 46 known “mentally retarded” persons have been executed since 1976. Of these 46, two occurred after Atkins v. Virginia was decided.

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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.

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Insanity Defense evaluations The insanity defense evaluations are used to justify the mental capacity of a criminal in a court proceeding that committed murder as a result of their conduct in society. According to Heilburn (2006), “One doctor in an attempt to find a legal analogy called the DSM 3 the statute law of psychiatry.” (pp.65) formally known as the lex loci delicti commissi in legal terms is a diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders ever known. However, there are two different ways in going about providing an evaluation to a criminal with a mental disease.

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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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As the rule can include both diabetics and sleepwalkers whom do not have a mental illness but have been known to commit crime without the knowledge of what they were doing, causing some individuals to be incorrectly labelled which is both offensive and stigmatising. Also, many defendants may be deterred from using the Insanity Defence as it can result in hospital orders, supervision order or guardianship order, which may last longer and be more severe than serving a prison sentence. (Ashworth, 2009) Also, the M’Naghten rules do not take into account those with uncontrollable impulses (such as pyromania) to commit an act, nor do they observe individuals with learning disabilities whom research suggest are deficient in moral reasoning which inhibits their ability to determine right from wrong. (Raine, 1993)

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The complicated legal process and the high costs involved in the pre-trial and trial phase for the death penalty makes it an economically unsound method of punishment. Another issue is the amount of innocent people sentenced to death row, and race as it plays a part in capital punishment. After being put on death row it takes years before the execution is carried through. This means that the government will pay to feed, clothe, and keep a roof over their heads until execution day.

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The death penalty is one of many controversial topics that are present in modern day society in the United States and has been a subject for debate since it was first established. Since the establishment of capital punishment many organizations have been formed to support the abolition or the maintenance of capital punishment. These organizations and the people who form them have developed arguments that support their position in the death penalty argument. Some arguments that have been presented talk about the morality, efficiency, constitutionality, or benefits and disadvantages of capital punishment. In recent years, the arguments of the anti-death penalty movement have become stronger and more prominent than those of the advocates of the

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As stated in the website, Death Penalty Information Center, “The death penalty in the United States is used almost exclusively for the crime of murder. Although, over the course of time, there were a significant amount of murders, rapes etc. Which caused the offenders to receive the death penalty. Therefore, The amount of crimes that can be committed by one are endless, but the kinds of crimes that can be committed to sentence one to receive the death penalty are limited, as well as the various execution styles.

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Rape, murder, corruption. Those are crimes that need serious and effective punishments, that is why death penalty is the best option, not it is only effective but also deterrent. People will think twice to kill knowing that they could get killed too. Regrettably rate crimes are constantly growing and most governments can 't handle the situation. Except for the ones that have successively applied death sentence.

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