The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is the execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offence. The penalty has been a very controversial topic ever since it came to be. Many people believe that the death penalty is far too harsh in parallel to murder because it is against their religion or because of the many mistakes that have been made. Others believe that the criminal being charged must deserve such a punishment for what he did and that it protects society. .
Currently, there have been over 1,000 deaths due to the death penalty since 1976 (Death Penalty Information Center). There are 32 states that are in favor of the death penalty and there are 18 states that are not. The percentage of victims to the death penalty according to race are mostly white at 76%. Even though the percentage of victims charged with the death penalty are mostly white, it is said that jurors in Washington state are 3 times more likely to recommend a death penalty sentence to a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case (Beckett). In Louisiana, the odds of a death penalty sentence were 97% higher for those whose victims were white than those whose victims were black (Pierce & Radelet). This is stating that race has a lot to do with who receives the death penalty and who does not. Over the years, there have been a total of 150 exoneration in the United States (Death Penalty Information Center). Since 1973, over 140 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. Also, from 1973 to 1999 there was an average of 3 exonerations per year. In the United States, Florida, on average, has the highest amount of death row exonerations. This information shows that there have been many wrongly accused victims of the death penalty. There are many different forms of execution used in the death penalty. Since 1976, lethal injection has been used 1222 times, the electric chair has been used 158 times, the gas chamber has been used 11 times, hanging has been used 3 times, and firing squad has also been used 3 times.
It stands for the total abolition of the death penalty but allows states parties to retain the death penalty in time of war. ... The United States of America has not signed it yet. ... America isn't sure if it is ready to abolish the death penalty: especially Texas. ... America as a whole has not abolished it. ... The death penalty is a global issue. ...
(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. ... 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 Center Website) People justify the death penalty in saying that in the Bible God says that murder should be punished with death. ... ("The Death Penalty: Cruelty or Neces...
I am against the death penalty. ... The 14 says that every American is guaranteed equal protection under the law. ... Just think what our allies are thinking, "Europeans are disturbed by what they see as the violence of American society, and that has two basic elements, as they see it the issue of guns in schools and the death penalty" (Alter & Miller 26) Many other people believe in the death penalty. ... "The Death Penalty on Trial." ... "Debating the Death Penalty." ...
Fifty years ago, America was quick to condemn the Germans for persecuting Jew's, but, today, in 1996 Americans execute their own people the exact same way. ... 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? ...
Human rights are strongly supported in America. ... For example, African Americans are overrepresented on death row. African Americans make up 13% of the population and around 50% of those on death row (Ruggiero). ... If the death penalty does not deter crime, why should there have a death penalty? ... According to the Death Representation Project at the American Bar Association, many capital defendants get incompetent and negligent counsel (Ruggiero). ...
DEATH PENALTY The death penalty has existed as long as humans have existed. ... In a 1986 poll 70% of Americans favored the death penalty as a punishment for murder. There have been many comparisons of crime rates of death penalty states to non-death penalty states. ... In 1976 Canada got rid of the death penalty. ... Zimmy) Time magazine, 1997 said 52% of Americans do not believe the death penalty deters people from committing crime. ...
Capital Punishment Capital Punishment is the lawful procedure of the death penalty. ... In the 1500's in England, only in major crimes was the death penalty used. ... Since 1973, about 6,000 people have been sentenced to the death penalty in America. ... In the end the death penalty is a very controversial issue. ... But the fact remains that the death penalty is final. ...
The predictable result is that more and more crimes will result in murder because Americans have not grasped what it means to live without the death penalty (Tucker 2). ... The death penalty protects society because if the murderers are executed, they are no longer on the streets (The Death Penalty). ... Why the society defends the death penalty. ... Arguments of those who oppose the death penalty. ... Concluding thoughts of reinstating the death penalty....
The Death Penalty: Right or Wrong? ... "The Death Penalty Information Center has found that 77 percent of Americans favor capital punishment. But when the same people are asked whether they think murderers should be given the death penalty or life in prison without parole, slightly more Americans choose prison (44 percent) than death (41 percent) (The Economist). ... If trial is swiftly followed by execution, they reckon, Americans will turn against the death penalty. ... Does death penalty deter crime? ...
