Executions Since The Death Penalty example essay topic

317 words
The death penalty is an ancient practice that has, in recent years, become a very controversial issue. The death penalty is a vital means of punishment that must be practiced. The founders of the United States practiced the death penalty even more than we do today. They certainly did not prohibit capital punishment when they wrote the Constitution. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution states "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted". This is not referring to capital punishment.

"Cruel and unusual punishment" refers to torture, not death. The Framers would not prohibit cruel and unusual punishment if that included death because they exercised the death penalty. Amendment Five states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. According to this amendment, a person can be deprived of his life if there is a proper trial and legal proceedings.

The death penalty has also been shown to deter murder. If a murderer is executed, than obviously he won't kill anyone again, and a person is less likely to murder if he knows that he would be executed for it. Life in prison is certainly not comparable to the death penalty. Parole laws are constantly changing and many murderers have been let out of prison on parole, and they kill someone else. Many people argue that the death penalty is murder. They say that we are killing someone to show that killing people is wrong.

Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a person with malice and forethought. Therefore, murder cannot be used to describe executions since the death penalty is under the law. Not only does capital punishment discourage murder, but it is a lawful and Constitutional method of punishing murderers.