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Saying No to the Death Penalty

Each one was replaced by the next as a way to make executing a prisoner more humane. .
             Capital punishment has been a controversial topic since the first execution occurred in the 1600's. Many people believe wholeheartedly that the death penalty is proper punishment for certain crimes. Those who believe in capital punishment believe retribution for certain crimes can only be obtained by the Old Testament justice of an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. Those that believe in capital punishment firmly believe that they are fulfilling a moral obligation to protect lives by taking a life. Taking the life of an accused person is considered to be the only way to ensure they will no longer be a threat to society (Akorra 2014).
             People will always have different opinions and views on how society should operate on all different levels. Capital punishment is no different and the pros and cons are constantly compared. However, the cons significantly outweigh the pros regarding the use of capital punishment. First of all, innocent people have been sentenced to death and some have been put to death for a crime they did not commit. At least ten people since 1976 are thought to have been innocent (listverse) and 18 people have been exonerated thanks to the science of DNA analysis (the innocence project). The justice system is filled with flaws and imperfection is expected because people make mistakes. However, condemning innocent people to death is something this country should be mortified and embarrassed by. Abolishing the death penalty cannot ensure innocent people will not be convicted and sentenced to jail time. However, a person sitting in prison alive has a chance to prove their innocence whereas someone who is put to death is not afforded that option. .
             When a person takes another person's life the victim's family is subjected to a devastating amount of pain and grief. The initial reaction more often than not is one of anger and a great desire for revenge.


Essays Related to Saying No to the Death Penalty

1. Death Penalty

I am against the death penalty. ... "the death penalty has no deterrent effect on most murders because people commit murders largely in the heat of passion and/or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, giving little thought to the possible consequences of their acts" (Lenhoff 6-7). ... 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." ...

  • Word Count: 900
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Death Penalty

(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...

  • Word Count: 641
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. ABOLISING DEATH PENALTY

The Death Penalty I. ... The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. ... 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. ... When the death penalty exists as a punishment, there is no way to 100% sure that the person to be executed is really guilty. The death penalty is final, irrevocable. ...

  • Word Count: 914
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Death Penilty Right Or Wrong

The Death Penalty: Right or Wrong? ... One big person in life that says no is Pope John Paul II. ... They are saying that one in every seven prisoners on death row is innocent. ... In the later 1800's it was no longer held in public and was made so that only the more serious offenders would be put to death. ... Does death penalty deter crime? ...

  • Word Count: 2268
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: High School

5. retarded: no death penalty

Mentally retarded people should not be given the death penalty because of their diminished capacity to understand. ... Yet juries and judges have given the death penalty to many people who have no idea what is going on around them. ... Defenders of the death penalty think that being stupid should not excuse one from a penalty for what they did (Wilson 1). ... Most of the American population favor the death penalty, but about 70 percent don't support killing mentally retarded people (Catania 2). ... He also has been quoted in saying that "Texas has never executed a mentally retarded ...

  • Word Count: 1426
  • Approx Pages: 6

6. The Death Penalty

One of these controversies that carries subtantial weight today is that of the death penalty. The death penalty should be abolished because it is a risky punishment in which the final judgement is made by a human jury, and it takes away a person's right to live. What I mean when I say that the death penalty is a risky punishment is that the judgement made could be wrong, therefore killing an innocent person. ... The death penalty is risky, the judgement is made by a human jury, and takes away a basic human right. Therefore, the rules of the death penalty should be changed, if not abo...

  • Word Count: 312
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Death Penalty

The Death Penalty Is the Death Penalty an effective punishment? ... I think a functionalist would support the Death Penalty saying that it would help reinforce normal behavior in society. ... More than half of the states now have the Death Penalty, but who's to say that the Death rate will go up or down in any state because that state is supportive of the Death Penalty or not. No matter where you are or what state you are in there is going to be death whether it is someone killing someone else or it is someone being punished to Death. ... No I don't think people will automati...

  • Word Count: 718
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Death Penalty

The death penalty has been used for over 500 years. ... The death penalty is immoral because of many reasons. ... This verse really is saying that people should turn the other way and not take things into their own hands. No one should be sent to death by a jury or judge that does not know one thing about the person except for the crime that was committed. ... Various state governments estimate that a death penalty case can cost between $1 to $7 million dollars, compared to a trial and conviction of life imprisonment that would cost no more than $500,000. ...

  • Word Count: 690
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

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