Capital Punishment
After centuries of nearly universal implementation, the death penalty
remains a deeply debated political issue. While one execution takes place, other
murders occur, and the question still stands: Will the death penalty safeguard
society and deter murder, or will it not? The death penalty cannot be considered
a proper economical and moral means of punishment to deter those who might
commit capital offenses, or can it?
In the past, capital punishment horrified people, which deterred them
from committing crime. In England, the country from which the United States
adopted the death penalty, the death penalty was imposed for a rather large
number of offenses in an effort to discourage people ...
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because government today uses more "humane" methods of execution,
rather than the brutal punishment that history portrayed.
People who oppose the death penalty say that "there is no evidence that
the murder rate fluctuates according to the frequency with which the death
penalty is used" (Masur 153). It is more likely that the convict would be
paroled instead of being executed because of the present practice of allowing
unlimited appeals. Convicted criminals are not exposed to cruel punishment, but
rather given a long waiting period. If the criminal is put to death, it is
usually done as mercifully as possible.
One problem with the death penalty, presently, is that crime is not
decreasing, but rather increasing. If capital punishment is supposed to deter
crimes such as murder, it is not serving its purpose. Even philosophers, such as
Beccaria, Voltaire, and Bentham of the Enlightenment Period, argued that "the
death penalty was needlessly cruel, overrated as a deterent, and ...
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addition to the courts appeals, the cost of an average of $180,000
per case, the $150,000 prison cost also escalates the economic burden to the
state. This cost does not include the $21,000 execution cost or the $19,500
needed for extra security (Van den Haag 123). To have a death row prisoner means
that the state must provide police, fire, and public safety protection. They
also require special housing units, extra guards, food, and around-the-clock
security (Van den Haag 123).
To cut down costs, several alternatives to the death penalty have been
discussed by public officials. One alternative is to sentence criminals to life
imprison without possibility of parole instead of ...
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Capital Punishment. (2008, September 25). Retrieved November 30, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Capital-Punishment/90459
"Capital Punishment." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 25 Sep. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Capital-Punishment/90459>
"Capital Punishment." Essayworld.com. September 25, 2008. Accessed November 30, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Capital-Punishment/90459.
"Capital Punishment." Essayworld.com. September 25, 2008. Accessed November 30, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Capital-Punishment/90459.
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