Capital Punishment example essay topic

Each year there about 250 people added to death row and only 35 of them are even executed. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment actually enforced by the United States government. Once the jury has convicted a criminal offense they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment part. If then the jury considers the death penalty, then the judge agrees that the criminal will have to face a form of execution. Lethal injection is the most widely used by today's death row criminals. For a period between 1972 to '76, capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

There are many reasons for why they thought that. The death penalty was looked at a cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. This decision was switched when a new method of execution was formed. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are many opinions as there are people on this earth. Since the beginning of the United States there has been over 13,000 legal executions. Texas has executed the most people since the death penalty has been reinstated in 1976.

There are only about 30-60 prisoners killed yearly. "The Bible requires the death penalty for a wide variety of crimes, including sex before marriage, adultery, homosexual behavior, doing work on Saturday, and murder. It even calls for some criminals to be tortured to death by burning them alive" (SOURCE 1). Some of the things stated in the last quote were a little morbid, and made me question in what I truly believe in. John Stuart Mill once stated", When there has been brought home to any one, by conclusive evidence, the greatest crime known to law; and when the attendant circumstances suggest no palliation of guilt, no hope that the culprit may even yet not be unworthy to live among mankind, nothing to make it probable that the crime was an exception to general character rather than a consequence of it, then I confess it appears tome that to deprive the criminal of the life which he has proved himself to be unworthy -- solemnly to blot him out from the fellowship of mankind and from the catalogue of the living -- is the most appropriate as it is certainly the most impressive, mode in which society can attach to so great a crime the penal consequences which for the security of life it is indispensable to annex to it", this was stated before Parliament on April 21, 1868. I find that in this passage a lot of good is said.

How can you not agree with what he said. In 1994 there were 2,850 persons awaiting execution. Yet like stated before only 30-60 are executed yearly. This is ridiculously low number compared to 199 persons executed in 1935.

Many people feel that innocent people will be executed, but I feel that if there was enough information to convict that person than they should be convicted for their wrong doings. You know once a murder is executed, then he can't do anymore harm to society. Also, once the persons are executed there are no further costs for the tax payer to maintain. All that capital punishment is, is a method of retributive punishment that is a sold as earth itself. Retribution, or an eye for an eye and life for a life, is justice at its best. Through my findings, and talking to my fellow people.

I have concluded in being for capital punishment. I feel that retribution is a justification for capital punishment, because it is an injustice to tolerate criminal behavior such as murder. For a person to just go to jail while the family of the victim is in grief is unfair. I feel that it is are duty is to serve justice and have the person executed. Despite the moral argument concerning the inhumane treatment of the criminal, the punishment is meted out because of the nature of the crime. Should a person on death row really get of free?

I think if not capital punishment, then the jail should think of a outstanding mode of cruelty to deter from the crime. We should have them endeavor some punishment for the living criminal that shall act in their human mind as a deterrent force that is comparable to death. Capital Punishment web web "Capital Punishment", Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia. 1993-1997 Microsoft Corp.