Capital punishment in the United States is a problem that cannot be ignored. It is the legalized taking of another's life, and not a good way to punish criminals. The death penalty has no place in an advanced society like the USA. It should be abolished. One can easily see that the death penalty is not a good solution to the crime problem within this county. "Why, when we have bravely and nobly progressed so far in the recent past to create a decent, humane society, must we perpetuate the senseless barbarism of official murder (Fortas 8)?" Among advanced nations, the United States remains the chief advocate for capital punishment (Clarck 315). Evidence against it shows that it is ineffective in deterring criminals from murder, and is cruel and unfair to the supposedly guilty. Not only is capital punishment and unfair form of justice to criminals, it is a much larger burden on taxpayers, who pay more money to have someone executed than a life sentence in prison. These arguments alone stand their ground in support of abolition of the death penalty.
A point of interest that must be addressed when speaking of capital punishment is the situation that is currently taking place in Illinois. Governor George Ryan imposed a moratorium (freeze/hold) on the state's death penalty. All lethal injections will be postponed indefinitely pending an investigation into why more executions have been overturned than carried out since 1977, when Illinois reinstated capital punishment. The Republican governor will create a special panel to study the state's capital punishment system in general and determine what happened in the 13 specific cases in which men were wrongly convicted. "We have now freed more people than we have put to death under our system - 13 people have been exonerated and 12 have been put to death," Ryan says. "There is a flaw in the system, without question, and it needs to be studied.
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 Three years later in 2009, New Mexico repealed the death penalty.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. ...
The death penalty protects society because if the murderers are executed, they are no longer on the streets (The Death Penalty). ... Studies show that by increasing the death penalty by one percent, it would prevent one hundred and five murders (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....
