"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent and has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments." Quoted from Amnesty International Website. Since the beginning of this century, 23 innocent people have been executed in the United States alone. These 23 people were wrongly tried, convicted, and executed. .
II. Need .
A. There are several reasons why we should look to alternative solutions to the problem of capital crimes. .
1. Cruel and Inhumane Punishment/Loss of Human Rights .
a. The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. In the United States, cruel and unusual punishment is outlawed by the eighth amendment. Lethal injection is often cited as the most humane method of execution, but even this method involves violent loss of control, and gasping for breath during the process. The death penalty takes away the most basic of all human rights, the right to life. .
2. Does not Deter Crime .
a. The deterrence of crime has always been one of the strongest supporting arguments for the death penalty. There have been many studies done, and there is no evidence that the death penalty can be linked to a decrease in violent crimes, such as murder. This graph from the Death Penalty Information Center shows that there is very little connection between the number of people executed and crimes such as murder.
3. Justice .
a. Another strong supporting argument for the death penalty is that it provides justice for the victims of the crime. Justice is defined by Webster's Third New International Dictionary as "the maintenance or administration of what is just," and the word just is defined as "acting or being in conformity with what is morally right or good." From these definitions we can then say that justice is upholding what is morally right and good. Killing another person in the name of vengeance for a crime cannot be considered morally right or good.
It stands for the total abolition of the death penalty but allows states parties to retain the death penalty in time of war. ... Some states have already abolished the death penalty. ... Some people think the death penalty is fair. ... The death penalty is a global issue. ... The death penalty isn't a way to prevent crime. ...
Currently, there have been over 1,000 deaths due to the death penalty since 1976 (Death Penalty Information Center). ... There are many different forms of execution used in the death penalty. ... Three years later in 2009, New Mexico repealed the death penalty. ... The death penalty gives most people a sense of security in many states. ... The Catholic religion is the religion most against the death penalty. ...
I am against the death penalty. ... "A new survey by the New York Times found that states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states with the death penalty" ("Facts" 6). ... My last reason for my opposition to the death penalty is its constitutionality, whether or not the death penalty should be legal. ... "The Death Penalty on Trial." ... "Debating the Death Penalty." ...
The Old Testament clearly calls for the death penalty on many occasions. ... In the case of the death penalty, an individual kills another human being and he is punished for it by death. ... Statistics from the Death Penalty Information Center (1997) show that the death penalty does not really deter crime. When comparisons are made between states with the death penalty and states without it, the majority of the death penalty states show murder rates higher than non-death penalty states. ... In 1996, death penalty states averaged a rate of 7.1 criminal homicides per 100,000, while non-death pen...
(Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty Website) The main argument that advocates for the death penalty have is that the death penalty deters crime, that the threat of execution is enough to make criminals think twice about committing a capital crime. ... Clearly, by the time he has decided to commit his crime, he has already disregarded other forms of punishment besides the death penalty, such as lengthy imprisonment. ... Also, states that do not have a death penalty experience lower number of murders each year than that of the states who do. ... (Death Penalty Information Ce...
After the Supreme Court made this ruling, states reviewed their death penalty laws. ... The death penalty contradicts the whole idea of human rights. ... Supporters of the death penalty believe that the death penalty helps keep the crime and murder rate down, but that is not so. States with death penalty laws do not have lower crime or rates than states that with death penalty laws. ... If the death penalty is not "cruel and unusual punishment" then what is? ...
-Contact Death Penalty Focus. ... -Start a Death Penalty Focus chapter at your school. ... -Attend national conferences on death penalty organizing. ... What Teachers Can Do -Use the Death Penalty Information Center's curriculum for educators in your classroom! ... Death Penalty Focus can help you find many excellent speakers. ...
One way people are being deprived of their rights is the use of the death penalty. The death penalty is often used to kill people who have committed murder. ... The death penalty is not a surefire way to punish criminals. ... Jury members may avoid the death penalty for this very reason. ... If the death penalty does not deter crime, why should there have a death penalty? ...
DEATH PENALTY The death penalty has existed as long as humans have existed. ... There have been many comparisons of crime rates of death penalty states to non-death penalty states. ... Michigan, Ohio and Illinois all have the death penalty. ... In 1994, the average murder rate in death penalty states of a population of 100,00 was 8.0, for a non-death penalty state, 4.4. ... In 1976 Canada got rid of the death penalty. ...