Declaration And The Death Penalty example essay topic

... ted to, so why should the men who murdered them be free to live theirs? My friend's mother was never been the same person again. Part of her died along with Danny. She was a shadow of the woman she once had been. My friend and her other brothers and sisters learned not to speak of him.

It was just too painful for them. Now it's like he didn't exist, but his murderers do. Do I feel like the death penalty would have been justified in this case? I honestly don't know. Maybe then Danny's mother would have had some closure instead of the knowledge that her son's murderers were walking free. But maybe it wouldn't have changed a thing about the way she felt.

Taking two more lives wasn't going to bring Danny back. A survey by the New York Times established that in the last 20 years the murder rate had been 48 to 101 percent higher in states with the death penalty than in those without it. Murder rates in 10 of the 12 states without the death penalty are below the national average. People who have been using drugs or alcohol, or are riveted by fear or anger are not likely to be thinking about possible execution for committing a murder. (Amnesty International USA: Death Penalty) Defense of life and defense of the state may be held to justify, in some cases, the taking of life by state officials; for example, when law-enforcement officials must act immediately to save their own lives or those of others or when a country is engaged in armed conflict. Even in such situations the use of lethal force is surrounded by internationally accepted standards of human rights and humanitarian law to inhibit abuse.

The death penalty, however, is not an act of defense against an immediate threat Death Penalty 8 to life. It is the premeditated killing of a prisoner for the purpose of punishment - a purpose that can be met by other means. The cruelty of the death penalty is apparent not only in the execution but in the time spent under sentence of death, during which the prisoner is constantly contemplating his or her own death at the hands of the state. This cruelty cannot be justified, no matter how cruel the crime of which the prisoner has been convicted.

The inhumanity of the death penalty extends beyond the prisoner to include the prisoner's family Over the centuries, laws and public attitudes relating to torture have evolved. It is no longer permissible to use thumbscrews or the rack as legally accepted means of interrogation and punishment. Attitudes toward the death penalty are also changing, and bringing about abolition requires courageous political leadership, leadership that will be exercised in the defense of human rights. The requirement of respect for human rights has to include the abolition of the death penalty. It is not possible for a government to respect human rights and retain the death penalty at the same time. I uphold the following: A Declaration of Life, the undersigned, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby in the presence of witnesses make this Declaration of Life; I believe that the killing of one human being by another is morally wrong.

I believe it is morally wrong for any state or other governmental entity to take the life of a human being for any reason I Death Penalty 9 believe that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime and serves only the purpose of revenge. THEREFORE, I hereby declare that should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered. The death penalty would only increase my suffering. I request that the Prosecutor or District Attorney having the jurisdiction of the person or persons alleged to have committed my homicide not file or prosecute an action for capital punishment as a result of my homicide. I request that this Declaration be made admissible in any trial of any person charged with my homicide, and read and delivered to the jury. I also request the Court to allow this Declaration to be admissible as a statement of the victim at the sentencing of the person or persons charged and convicted of my homicide; and, to pass sentence in accordance with my wishes.

I request that the Governor or other executive officer (s) grant pardon, clemency or take whatever action is necessary to stay and prohibit the carrying out of the execution of any person or persons found guilty of my homicide. This Declaration is not meant to be, and should not be taken as, a statement that the person or persons who have committed my homicide should go unpunished. I request that my family and friends take whatever actions are necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this Declaration; and, I further request them to take no Death Penalty 10 action contrary to this Declaration. I request that, should I die under the circumstances as set forth in the Declaration and the death penalty is requested, my family, friends and personal representative deliver copies of this Declaration as follows: to the Prosecutor or District Attorney having jurisdiction over the person or persons charged with my homicide; to the Attorney representing the person or persons charged with my homicide; to the judge presiding over the case involving my homicide; for recording, to the Recorder of the County in which my homicide took place and to the recorder of the County in which the person or persons charged with my homicide are to be tried; to all newspapers, radio and television stations of general circulation in the County in which my homicide took place and the County in which the person or persons charged with my homicide are to be tried; and, to any other person, persons or entities my family, friends or personal representative deem appropriate in order to carry out my wishes as set forth herein. I affirm under the pains and penalties for perjury that the above Declaration of Life is true. (A Declaration of Life) If one kills another, no matter what reason, or excuse, they are murdering them just as clearly by taking their life.

Two wrongs don't make a right. Killing two is no better than killing one. Is this a daily act in which we as a country would like to partake? Or is this something we are reluctant to do? Think about it. Do we want this or don't we?

Are we murderers? Death Penalty 11

Bibliography

Hickman, Tom 2003.
Death: A User's Guide. Westminster, MD: Dell PublishingManderson, Desmond 1999.
Courting Death: The Legal Constitution of Mortality. London: Pluto PressRadelet, Michael L 1995.
Post-Furman Botched Executions. web Punishment 2001 (Retrieved October 4, 2004) web of the Death Penalty 1996 web Death Penalty Is Not a Deterrent (Retrieved October 7, 2004) web Declaration of Life (Retrieved October 7, 2004) web.