What is the Death Penalty - 1655 Words

What is the death penalty? The answer is very simple; it is a punishment that someone receives if they do something really bad, such as murder, rape, etc. This answer, however, is leaning towards the side that the death penalty should still exist. How can this definition be paraphrased to fit the death penalty more accurately? An accurate definition would be: the government killing people that killed other people to stop people from killing other people. The question now is, is that logical? Is it logical to kill someone to prevent others from killing? No, it is not. The death penalty should be abolished because it is morally wrong and it is very expensive. Instead, the death penalty sentence should be changed to life in prison. There†¦show more content†¦Messerlie’s article shows why the death penalty for the terrorists is actually doing them a favor. â€Å"And consider terrorists. Do you think they’d rather suffer the humiliation of lifelong prison or be â⠂¬Ëœmartyred’ by a death sentence† (Messerlie)? Getting sentenced to life in prison would deter more terrorists than sentencing them with the death penalty. This is because when you become a martyr, you become a symbol for people, because you died for a cause you believe in. So if a terrorist is â€Å"martyred,† other terrorists that share the same beliefs will just strengthen their ideology. The death penalty also causes the public to pay more attention to the murderer than helping out the victim’s family. One example of this was during the execution of â€Å"Tookie† Williams. He was a member of the Crips gang, who was convicted of killing four people mercilessly. â€Å"†¦Some of whom he shot in the back and then laugh at the sounds they made as they died† (Messerli). This was a cruel and heartless man, who definitely deserved punishment. When he was sentenced to the death penalty, many protests broke out. â€Å"Candlelight vigils were held for him. Websites like saetookie.org sprang up. Protests and a media circus ensued trying to prevent the execution, which eventually did take place – 26 years after the crime itself!† (Messerli). All the focus was taken away from the families, from helping them through their loss, comforting them, toShow MoreRelated What Would be Your Candidates Position on the Death Penalty?3810 Words   |  16 PagesIf You Were Running a Political Campaign, What Would be Your Candidates Position on the Death Penalty? Abstract ... by taking the position of capital punishment reform, we feel that we can appease the most people. Our candidate would risk alienating some of the more moderate voters if we recommended a more radical stance. Our stance appeals to both sides because we do not abolish the death penalty outright, nor do we leave the capital punishment situation unchanged. We will appease thoseRead MoreEssay about What Effects the Death Penalty Causes to Society?582 Words   |  3 PagesWhat effects Death Punishment causes to society? My first instinct about the topic as a part of the society was â€Å"People, who private another person of his life, should not have any right to conserve his own life either†. Putting ourselves in the positions of the victims, the families’ victims and the fear caused to` society in general. Death punishment, gives closure to the people involved with the tragedy. It helps to the overpopulation problem in the prison system, instead keeping an internRead MoreEssay about The Death Penalty: What if Theyre Innocent?928 Words   |  4 PagesThe death penalty has been around for several around for several years but consists of flaws. The death penalty is costly, it does not deter crime, it has not ended wrongful executions, it goes against almost every religion, abuses human rights, has been persuaded by the types of jury, and can be affected by terrible lawyers. The first death penalty in the United States occurred in the early 1600’s. The colonies used public hangings as a deterrent for children and adults. A public sermon wouldRead MoreWhat Do You Think About The Juvenile Death Penalty? Many1622 Words   |  7 PagesWhat do you think about the juvenile death penalty? Many sides are against this kind of thing. They believe that juveniles are not fully matured and give in too easily to peer pressure. Juveniles are smart enough to know wrong from right even if they are getting pressured to do something. This essay is pro for death penalty for juveniles, because they can make their own decisions in their life. For starters this paper is going to give some information from people who think there should never beRead MoreDeath Penalty and the three Branches of Government Essay595 Words   |  3 Pagesabout the death penalty and how it associates with the three branches of government. I will also talk to you about how the death penalt y affected people’s lives from the past to present day. The death penalty is the process by which you are sentenced to death for a foul crime the person has committed, whether that crime is murder, espionage, treason, or military justice. Other crimes, like sexual crimes have death penalties for rape, adultery, incest, and sodomy while militaries death penalty crimesRead MorePersuasive Essay On The Death Penalty1403 Words   |  6 PagesDeath Penalty The reason the death penalty should not be allowed is because it is just an easy way to get out of what the person has done. If that person does a crime they should do the time no matter what they did. No one should not be able to get an easier way out of what they have done by getting the death penalty. Jail time could be sentenced for the rest of his or her life based on the crime committed, and that way they can sit in the jail cell and really think about what they did insteadRead MoreThe Death Penalty : A Method Of Crime Deterrence1292 Words   |  6 Pages2015 The Death Penalty Capital punishment often referred to as the death penalty has been used as a method of crime deterrence since the earliest societies it has been a controversial position amongst lawmakers for centuries. Capital punishment does not deter crime; instead, it encourages it. Today, only thirty-two states still use the death penalty because they believe that a state with the death penalty has higher murder rates than states without it (â€Å"States With and Without the Death Penalty†). MostRead MoreDeath Penalty1333 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Death Penalty: Yes or No? Amanda Nichole Hester ENG 2001 Instructor Gary Henry September 28, 2013 The debate over the death penalty has been looming over the United States of America for numerous years. The death penalty/ sentence has been around since 5th century B.C. The practice of sentencing someone to death dates back to when the colonists settled in the New World. The controversy that the death penalty has caused in the United States is startling withinRead MoreEssay on Death Penalty: Capital Punishment and Violent Crime1570 Words   |  7 PagesCapital Punishment and Violent Crime Hypothesis Most Americans are pro-death penalty, even though they dont really believe that it is an effective deterrent to violent crime. Those who are pro-death penalty will remain so, even if faced with the best arguments of anti-death penalty activists and told to assume the arguments were absolutely true. Violent crime Violent crime is a major problem in the United States. According to the ACLU, the violent crime rate rose sixty-one percentRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Justified1479 Words   |  6 PagesThe death penalty is what built our world today, its been used around our world for hundreds of years. The death penalties are what built our safe country by putting all the bad criminals to justice. It has always been part of our history and it always will be. According to deathpenaltyinfo.org, â€Å"Britain influenced America’s use for the death penalty more than any other country.† The first recorded execution in the United States was Captain George Kendall, and he was executed in Jamestown, Virginia