Death Penalty
An issue as divisive as the death penalty has many arguments in its favor and many against it. Sorting through these different arguments to find a reasonable conclusion to either support the death penalty or not can be challenging. In terms of favoring the death penalty, there are two main themes, the deterrence theme and the retribution theme (Gill, 2013).
Some pros are:
Death penalties act as a deterrent for some
Death penalties act to punish those who commit heinous acts
The death penalty is more cost-effective than keeping someone in prison for life
Violation of the social contract to behave with civility towards one another rules out one's right to civil treatment from society
Prevents future crimes
Some cons of the death penalty are:
The right to life is sacred and no one should take it, governments included
Moral hazard in choosing who lives and dies
The death penalty does not act as a deterrent
The death penalty in the U.S. is handed out in a racially-biased manner
The poor are also targeted disproportionally, as they lack access to quality legal defense
Source: ProCon.org (2013)
In general, I do not support the death penalty. I accept that the death penalty is an inadequate deterrent -- that those most likely to be deterred are rational citizens who are unlikely to commit capital crime anyway. Those who do not act rationally are unlikely to be deterred. Research typically shows ambiguous results with respect to the deterrent value of the death penalty (Manski...
Death Penalty The debate surrounding capital punishment is not as clear as one might think -- in fact, there is a great deal of gray within this debate. The actual definition is State controlled taking of a human life in response to some crime committed by a person who was legally convicted of that crime (Lacayo, 2009). Capital punishment has been part of human history, and currently 58 global nations actively
Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, warned about broader problems with the capital punishment. "When the law punishes by death, it risks its own sudden descent into brutality, transgressing the constitutional commitment to decency and restraint." He took into account the many dangers of the death penalty and concluded it should be restricted to homicides (Death Penalty Information Center, 2008). The main question regarding the research for or against capital
Capital punishment [...] both sides of the controversy and provide some conclusions as to what should be done regarding capital punishment in America today. Capital punishment is a controversial issue in the United States, with both sides making emotional and viable arguments for and against the use of capital punishment in crime. There are other alternatives to capital punishment, but in the end, are they as effective as the
Capital Punishment The issue of the death penalty and capital crime has become one of the dominant issues debated in contemporary culture. The reason for this is firstly a moral questioning of the right to take a life, even when it is in retribution for extreme crimes like murder. The foundation of this contemporary attitude lie in the view that modern culture and society should be able to deal with extreme
Death Penalty This informative speech outline topic DOES THE DEATH PENALTY DETER CRIME? The outline detailed 4 APA references. It follow format detailed referenced. Please outline tornadoes OUTLINE FOR INFORMATIVE SPEECH Tornadoes Purpose: To inform audience tornadoes Thesis: Today I discuss fascinating facts tornadoes. To inform the audience about the two sides of the debate on the death penalty, regarding its justice and its deterrent effect. The death penalty is one of the
However, on the contradicting side, the question is "Can death penalty really deter criminals?." Several studies show it does not. An online source indicates the following evidences. From 1976 to 1996, the number of executions per year in the United States has increased from 0 to just under 60. The homicide rate per 100,000 population has remained constant at just under 10. Criminologists who belong to the American Society of Criminology,
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