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Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

578 Words3 Pages

“32 states, that's how many use the death penalty in the US” as a way of punishing those who deserve nothing less than death (32 States With). The ideas behind the verdict shows the controversy within the topic. The novel In Cold Blood written by Truman Capote and passage
“Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment” by John Stuart Mill demonstrate the contradicting stances on capital punishment.
Based on parts of the novel, it can be inferred that Capote is against the death penalty through unfair judging. In the story, Dick and Perry commit murder on a family of seven for reasons that isn’t truthfully explained. When the two were on trial, Capote believes they weren’t defended properly because they were given a state attorney. “I do not desire …show more content…

Another example from the story is with someone with mental health issues are being questioned, the defense can bring in a general medical doctor instead of a psychiatrist. “Just plain doctors. Medical doctors in general practice. That’s all the law requires” (Capote 267). If the doctor had said they were mentally insane, they wouldn’t have been able to continue on with the trial. Throughout the entire novel it shows Capote’s opinion of being against the death penalty.
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According to the passage “Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment” it can be inferred the stance Mill has on capital punishment. “... as beyond comparison the least cruel mode in which it is possible adequately to deter from the crime” (Mill 23-26). It can be inferred that the author is trying to pull across that it may take extreme measures that they have committed to come back around to teach others the basics of morality. People act in a way of monkey see, monkey do so if people see that crimes are going on with no discipline, then it will attract people with even crazier ideas. “Then in 1973 Isaac Ehrlich employed a new kind of analysis which produced results showing that for every inmate who was executed, 7 lives were spared because others

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After most people hear what Perry has gone through you immediately give him a get out of jail free card right? You think that since he had a difficult upbringing he should be exempt from receiving the death penalty? Although you may think this, this is certainly not an excuse for such a violent act. Throughout In Cold Blood, Capote attempts to portray to the reader that Smith in a way should be exempt from the crime he commited and how one should not blame it on Smith himself, but his psychological background. Specifically when Al Dewey, the head of the Clutter murder investigation, states how the crime was not in fact Smiths fault.

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In writing the essay entitled "More Innocents Die When We Don't Have Capital Punishment," Dennis Prager examines the arguments of those against capital punishment. He makes a deductive argument that supports his conclusion in favor of capital punishment, taking the stance that murderers should undergo execution as capital punishment imposes a lessened threat to innocent lives than if it was not an option. Furthermore, Prager makes several claims throughout his writing regarding those opposing capital punishment, their arguments, and the effects on the lives of innocent people. Additionally, through this essay, he commits a few logical fallacies such as false dilemma, strawman, slippery slope, and appealing to the person. Prager's essay presents

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On Pages 339-340, Capote uses selection of detail and diction to argue against the use of the death penalty. (Dick) “...hung for all to see a full twenty minutes before the prison doctor at last said, ‘I pronounce this man dead.’” (Capote 339). (The guard says), “They don’t feel nothing. Drop, snap, and that’s it.

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In other words he is begging the world not to kill him through the capital punishment, but instead grant him mercy and allow him to live out his life in prison. Perry knows that what he did as wrong, but he does not thing he deserves the capital punishment because nobody wants to

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624 Words | 3 Pages

The novel In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote and the passage from Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment, by John Stuart Mill are both works of literature that focus on the use of the death penalty. In Cold Blood tells a story of two men, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, who savagely murder a family of four during the 1950’s. Through capture of the killers, the trial that they must face and the execution of the men, Capote gives the readers insight on his wavering beliefs about capital punishment. In contrast, Mill uses his speech written in 1868 to ensure society that the death penalty is the most appropriate action to take when sentencing a killer. Although the authors have different views on the morality of capital punishment, Capote and Mill use rhetorical devices to express their arguments.

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Capote has showed both positive and negative thoughts toward the death penalty. In my opinion, Capote is Perry and he shows his opinions and thoughts through this character. Capote delivers how other people think about the death penalty through other people such as court people while he delivers his own using Perry. From my perspective, it seems like Capote is comparing two different perspectives to explain how there cannot be one exact answer to the death penalty which is a very heavy punishment or even a cruel punishment.

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In the village of Holcomb, Kansas a wealthy family, the Clutters, was murdered on November 14, 1959. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were convicted of these murders and received the death penalty. In Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, the audience receives different viewpoints on why Dick and Perry either deserved the death penalty or not. Though the decision to sentence someone to death should be based on the truth, the truth is not always easy to define; Capote shows this through his depiction of the controversial executions of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Criminal punishment is an immensely ongoing controversial and societal issue in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world.

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Which is almost as wicked as the crime it punished… It isn't effective. It doesn't deter crime, but merely cheapens human life and gives rise to more murders. All we ask is mercy. Surely life imprisonment is small mercy to ask.”

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Summary of Major Ideas In this article “Death and Justice,” Edward Koch adequately defends the view of capital punishment on many fronts. He doesn’t, however, approach the topic in an offensive way. He defends the issue primarily by defending opposing vies by counteracting common arguments made against the subject. He shows that any argument someone could make against the matter he could undermine it through examples, statistics, and even the Bible.

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Because of the arguments hinted at by Truman Capote in In Cold Blood, there will always be debate on whether capital punishment should be used for certain crimes. One can never be sure if a punishment, whether as mild as jail time or as severe as the death penalty, is justified for the crime

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Henry Louis Mencken argues the two most commonly heard arguments against capital punishment in his essay “The Penalty of Death”. Mencken believes that the death penalty is a form of “katharsis” for the immediate victims of the crime. Katharsis being a release of healthy steam. He states that criminal punishment is not solely for deterring other criminals of similar crime, but to give a peace of mind to the society that has been wronged. Mencken also argues the complaint of “that of a hangman is a dreadful business” (463).

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Just as Anthony Burns’ life was ruined by an immoral law, criminals have their life terminated as a result of capital punishment. Although criminals should be properly reprimanded based on the severity of their crimes, the death penalty is a highly immoral solution passed to deliver such punishment. Convicts are wronged by this law because they are forcibly murdered for their actions rather than making efforts to reform their lives. These people are deprived from life when instead they should be punished through different, humane means. Just as the laws negatively affect certain parties, the public’s response to each law coincides with its

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In In Cold Blood, the issue over the death penalty is prominent. Did Perry and Dick deserve to die? Should the severity of one’s crime determine one’s fate? Although Truman Capote writes the novel in a straightforward, “from a distance” way, he conveys, through his characters, theme, and plot development, that the death penalty is an issue that should be looked at from all sides and that the legal system itself is the real issue at hand, and that the death penalty is used as a means to suppress the distress and indignation of the citizens surrounding the case, instead of suppressing the victim himself.

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4. Capital punishment has been in debate since early hangings, and will continue to be a subject of controversy untill our society identifies the irrationality of it 's existence in our judicial system. Currently capital punishment is being left up to the individual state as to whether or not they decide to implement it as a form of punishment. Advocates of this obscene form of punishment offer a handful of reasons justifying it 's use. At first glance these reasons seem to hold up, but one by one I will show you that these reasons are as ridiculous as the source they are trying to endorse.

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Capital Punishment – A Potentially, but Unfortunately Optimal Choice The death penalty is an extremely controversial topic, strongly because of the morals oriented around our country’s roots. America had the impulsive motivation to free ourselves of oppression. Many of the “utopian” ideals involving freedom were exaggerated, leaving us with the American stereotype in which there was a “freedom-blanket” thrown over the entire country. This past still distorts our view of right and wrong to this day as we idolize a dream founded out of impulse purely due to patriotism. There are three logical ideologies behind the validity of capital punishment that bring clarity to morality.

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