Abolishing the Death Penalty Essay - 3076 Words

Abolishing the Death Penalty When taking a human life in response to a crime, a state is acting on behalf of all of its citizens. Capital punishment is an expensive procedure with permanent ramifications. It is therefore very important that the matter of capital punishment be seriously reconsidered. In order to protect all of Americas citizens, I recommend that congress approve a constitutional amendment that reads: The states and the federal government shall not under any circumstances execute anyone. All prisoners currently under sentence of death shall have the right to a new trial. The reasons for such an amendment include the inherent immorality of capital punishment, its inconsistent application and its unjustified costs.†¦show more content†¦The same rationale that prevents us from using torture or corporal punishment should apply to the death penalty as well. Amnesty International argues, If todays penal systems do not sanction the burning of an arsonists home, the rape of a rapist or the torture of a torturer, it is not because they tolerate the crimes (Amnesty International 7). Reasoning that a murderer is deserving of death simply mirrors the criminals behavior. Amnesty International says, If administering 100 volts of electricity to the most sensitive parts of a mans body evokes disgust, what is the appropriate reaction to the administration of 2,000 volts to his body in order to kill him? (Amnesty International 2). William J. Bowers observes, Executions demonstrate that it is correct and appropriate to kill those who have gravely offended us ( 274). In addition, it is impossible for a judge to administer justice to murderers of varying extremity in a just manner. How can we sentence a one-time homicide convict to death at the same time as a mass-murderer? Another reason that the death penalty is immoral is that the various methods of administering the death penalty are inhumane. The gas chamber, which involves strapping the prisoner to a wooden chair and pumping a sealed room full of cyanide gas, is excruciatingly painful. The person is unquestionably experiencing pain and extreme anxiety...The sensation is similar to the pain felt by a person during a heart attack, where essentially theShow MoreRelatedAbolishing The Death Penalty Is Justified Essay1180 Words   |  5 Pages Abolishing The Death Penalty The death penalty has been a controversial topic around the United States of America for the last century. Some believe in Lex talionis which means â€Å"eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an arm for an arm, a life for a life† (Wacks, 311) while others believe that there is no statistical evidence that proves the death penalty deters one from crime which is punishable by death. â€Å"87% of the expert criminologists believe that abolition of the death penaltyRead MoreAbolishing the Death Penalty Thesis2058 Words   |  9 PagesAbolishing the Death Penalty October 18, 2010 Abolishing the Death Penalty The death penalty has been an active force in the United States for decades. In the early history of our country, public executions were quite popular. Thousands have been executed with the majority occurring in the early twentieth century. But public sentiment towards the executions began to wane as the concepts of basic human rights were being developed throughout the century. As a result, a kind of unofficialRead MoreAbolishing The Death Penalty Is Justified910 Words   |  4 PagesEliminating the Death Penalty According to the Webster’s Dictionary, death means the end of life (Dictionary, 80) and penalty means punishment for any crime or offense (Dictionary, 223). Therefore, by definition the death penalty means the end of a life due to punishment for a crime or offense. The death penalty is started with the Code of King Hammurabi’s in the eighteenth century B.C. This code consisted of 282 laws that stressed justice as clearly stated in the opening of the code, An eye forRead MoreA Valid Argument For Abolishing The Death Penalty2243 Words   |  9 PagesLindsey Hogan Professor Reynolds English 321 July 22, 2015 Determinism: A Valid Argument for Abolishing the Death Penalty? In 1940, Lawrence Bittaker, an infamous serial killer from the 1970’s, was born to two unloving parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was adopted but eventually left abandoned by his adoptive parents who could not put up with him anymore (Chojnaki, M. Danz, E. p. 1). By the age of 17, Bittaker dropped out of high school, never to obtain his GED. From the ages of 21 to 26Read MoreAbolishing The Death Penalty : A Values Debate Essay1973 Words   |  8 PagesAbolishing the Death Penalty: A Values Debate Is society better off without its most heinous criminals? Does the justice system have the right to determine who lives or who dies? For centuries, human civilizations have pondered similar questions regarding the philosophical ideologies surrounding capital punishment. The discordance within the United States creates deep divides between proponents and opponents of the death penalty; nonetheless, these schisms are inconsequential due to the continuedRead MoreEssay on A Call for Change: Abolishing the Death Penalty1728 Words   |  7 PagesGeorgian civilians were put to death by our government (â€Å"Execution List†). Capital punishment results in the death of an American citizen; the only difference is murder is illegal unless the government is holding the gun. Many individuals believe the death penalty is a deterrent to future crimes, but numerous think differently. The public view about capital punishment has been shown in polls and the majority would choose punishment o ver death (â€Å"Facts on the Death Penalty†). Even though the bulk of theRead MoreAbolishing the Death Penality743 Words   |  3 Pagesworld. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by a government for serious crimes committed. Capital punishment has been used by almost all societies. Currently 58 nations support the death penalty, and 140 countries have abolished it. Abolish the death penalty because, first, it costs more for a death penalty than keeping a criminal alive. Second, the death penalty, or killing, is not right. It is morally wrong. Giving the death penalty to murderers makes everyone theRead More Pro Death Penalty Essay965 Words   |  4 PagesCapital punishment and the practice of the death penalty is an issue that is passionately debated in the United States. Opponents of the death penalty claim that capital punishment is unnecessary since a life sentence accomplishes the same objective. What death penalty opponents neglect t o tell you is that convicted murders and child rapists escape from prison every year(List of prison escapes, 2015). As I write this essay, police are searching for two convicted murders who escaped from the ClintonRead MoreThe Death Penalty Should Be Abolished968 Words   |  4 PagesEvery year, thousands of lives are legally taken under the death penalty. Why should we take more lives than the ones that have already been taken? The death penalty is the punishment of execution, carried out legally against an individual convicted of a capital crime. Its proponents argue that the death penalty deters other criminals who may intend to commit similar crimes in the future. However, there is little statistical evidence to support this claim. Also, execution eliminates the criminalRead MoreThe Truth About The Death Penalty973 Words   |  4 Pages In her article â€Å"The Truth About The Death Penalty†, Carina Kolodny argues that the death penalty should be abolished in all fifty states due to the fact that it is ineffective and very expensive. Kolodny believes that capital punishment has too many complications and variables that cause it be more of an issue than a real solution for capital offenses. She proposes that the death penalty should be dropped and exchanged for better programs such as Proposition 34, which replaces capital punishment