Essay On Should The Us Government Use The Death Penalty As A Form Of Punishment

The death penalty goes far back into history, across many different civilizations, and many different cultures. It has been around since the beginnings of colonial America, and was very different compared to todays standards. “In colonial America, criminals

The University of Texas-Pan American Essay #2 Anna Salkinder LSPI July 27, 2015 The death penalty has been a major topic of debate in the United States as well as various parts of the world for numerous years. At this time, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal. Nineteen states have completely abolished it (“States with and without The Death Penalty”). Since its initial development back in the 1600’s, the death penalty has taken a different course in the way it is utilized. In its early days, the death penalty was greatly used and implemented for several offenses.

Hanging was the main method of execution in America until the electric chair was invented in 1890. Then came gas chambers and lethal injection in the 1920s and 1970s respectively. There were downsides to all of these methods of execution including decapitation for hanging, heads catching on fire with the electric chair, and expenses for lethal injection. The Supreme Court halted all executions for four years in 1972 because of an abolitionist group protesting possibly discriminatory convictions. After this, lethal injection was invented and adopted by many U.S. states.

People disagree on many aspects of the death penalty for several different reasons like moral and religious differences. When considering capital punishment, people’s opinions

The death penalty has always been one of the most highly debated consequence in the United States. Although some people will say you get what you deserve, is it really necessary for the United States to go to this extreme? Or are they taking it too far? The death penalty is as follows per death penalty.procon.org "Also called capital punishment - Execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. Capital punishment should be distinguished from extrajudicial executions carried out without due process of law.

In “The Encyclopedia of American Law Enforcement” it claims that capital punishment is, “ranked among the oldest punishments imposed for criminal behavior”(Capital 58). According to the article, “The History of The Death Penalty” the first laws regarding legalized executions can be traced back as far as 18th century B.C. During a period starting in the 17th century B.C. all crimes were punishable by death; some methods of punishment even included, burning to death, crucifixion, drowning and impalement. However, in the tenth century of this millennium hanging became the age standard of execution.

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal process in which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime by the government of a nation. The United States is in the minority group of nations that uses the death penalty. There are thirty-three states that allow capital punishment and seventeen states that abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). The morality of the death penalty has been debated for many years. Some people want capital punishment to be abolished due to how it can cost a lot more than life imprisonment without parole, how they think it is immoral to kill, and how innocent people can be put to death.

While there are far more subjects to discuss regarding to this issue, I feel it necessary to state that I believe the death penalty should exist in a perfect society. I believe that certain crimes and certain situations warrant the punishment of death. However, the our society is not perfect. The justice system has failed to fairly use this punishment in far too many instances, and concludes that they cannot justly wield this

Rough Draft Is the death penalty an effective and justified punishment? This is a topic many Americans have discussed for a long time, and has caused much controversy. Both sides have their pros and cons, and they will be discussed. The first point that many people have about capital punishment is that it’s unconstitutional.

Framing Truths How do we know what is true? How do we know if a man sentenced to death was truly a murderer? A question echoed by thousands of people revolting against the death penalty as the story of Todd Willingham made it to the headlines. In The New Yorker, under the title of Trial by Fire, came the terrifying enigma: “Did Texas execute an innocent man?” followed by a thorough listing of the evidence that was used to convict Willingham of setting his house on fire and resulting in the death of his three children, and how they were later disproved. There is a great misconception about the source of controversy in issues like these.

Although the death penalty may bring some closure to families of the victims and even the victims themselves it still should be abolished because the negatives outweigh the positives. People could be murdered by the state even if they are innocent. They are taking away any chance these people have at a normal life even though it's a life that they deserve and did nothing to have it taken away. 6. Conclusion

The death penalty, is the loss of life, which is induced by different tactics. The most common methods in the United States is lethal injection, hanging, firing squad, and the electric chair. The most chosen method by inmates is lethal injection. Lethal injection consists of the inmate being strapped to an operating table or gurney and a trained medical doctor will place two needles into the veins of the arms(Death Penalty Information Center).

The major reason why the death penalty should be abolished is that the cost of the death penalty is too much and the USA is in debt to many other countries. What this means is that the death penalty should be abolished and also the cost death penalty is more than the cost of maximum sentence life in prison. According to J. Marceau and H. Whitson, “The Cost of Colorado’s Death penalty,” 3 Univ. of Denver Criminal Law Review “A new study of the cost of the death penalty in Colorado revealed that capital proceedings require six times more days in court and

Death Penalty According to the 2010 Gallup Poll, 64% of the United State of America are supporting the death penalty, I as an American am part of that 36% that is against it. I do not believe that we as human being should determine whether another person should live or die. A second reason that I am against the death penalty is for the reason that the accused person could be innocent and normally the accused person only has one court presentation and is only judged by the judge not a jury of their peer, and is sent to death row where they pay for a crime that they haven’t done. My final reason that i do not believe that the death penalty should count as a punishment for the American people is because, a person that has done a massive massacre shouldn’t just be able to leave the world just like that without paying and suffering for what they have done, Or should the death punishment continue as it is for it has a great benefit to us as citizens of the United States.

Capital punishment has been in this nation long before it even became the United States. On 1608, in the British American colonies now known as the United States, the first ever recorded execution happen. Ron Fridell stated that Captain George Kendall was executed for the capital crime of treason in Jamestown colony of Virginia; Kendall would spy on the colonist for Spain. Today people are given the death penalty, a punishment given for the result of a murder. Before, early colonist was hanged for trading with Native-Americans or simply stealing chickens, people were executed for minor crimes as it would disturb the peace of another colonist (Fridell, 2004 page 12).