The document discusses capital punishment, defining it as the legal execution of individuals for serious crimes, with common methods including lethal injection and electrocution. It presents arguments both for and against the death penalty, highlighting its potential deterrent effects and economic considerations, while also addressing ethical concerns, wrongful convictions, and the lengthy and costly appeal processes involved. Ultimately, the text argues that capital punishment is unjust, ineffective, and should be abolished due to its moral implications and risks to innocent lives.

1. Essay on Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment
The definition of capital punishment is the legal punishment of death for violating criminal law. The
person who gets capital punishment is the ones who committed serious crimes. Methods of capital
punishment throughout the world are by stoning, beheading, hanging, electrocution, lethal injection
and shooting. The two most common methods capital punishment use in the United States are lethal
injection and electrocution.
The lethal injection is the most used form of capital punishment. It's an intravenous shot that kills the
criminal quick and painless. When capital punishment is done by electrocution the criminal is
strapped to a chair that a volts of electricity is pass through.
In America if all people agree...show more content...
The first pros of capital punishment are that it works as deterrence against major crimes. The death
penalty is a punishment that creates fear in the mind of any sane person. Most criminals would think
twice if they knew their own lives were at stake. Although there is no statistical evidence that death
penalty deters crime, we have to agree that most of us fear death.
The most conclusive evidence that criminals fear the death penalty more than life without parole is
provided by convicted capital murderers and their attorneys. 99.9% of all convicted capital murderers
and their attorneys argue for life, not death, in the punishment phase of their trial. (prodeathpenalty)
A Second pro is that a criminal that is executed can't another crime or escape. A dead criminal can
no longer commit a crime, and therefore the danger to the public is permanently removed.
A third pro of capital punishment is that it's more economical. Why should money be spent on a
criminal when it could be spent on education, the sick, or the needy? The only reason why it is so
expensive to execute an individual, is because of the numerous appeal processes. (~ab2166)
Another pro is that the retribution to the family and loves ones of the victims is payed. Endless
stress and anxiety plague the families of the victims and executions puts all those stresses to rest
better than life–long imprisonment or
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2. Is Capital Punishment Ethical? Essay
Capital punishment is a difficult subject for a lot of people because many question whether or not
it is ethical to kill a convicted criminal. In order to critically analyze whether or not it is ethical, I
will look at the issue using a utilitarianism approach because in order to get a good grasp of this
topic we need to look at how the decision will impact us in the future. The utilitarianism approach
will help us to examine this issue and see what some of the consequences are with this topic of
capital punishment. For years, capital punishment has been used against criminals and continues to
be used today, but lately this type of punishment has come into question because of the ethical
question.
On the one hand, people who oppose the...show more content...
Clarify Concepts Before jumping right into the topic, it is important to clarify a few key concepts
and words that are often used when discussing capital punishment. Capital punishment refers to the
concept of ending a suspected criminals life, and the methods that are typically used are: lethal
injection, gas chamber, and the electric chair. The two most commonly used are lethal injection and
the gas chamber. Neither act is considered better or worse, because ultimately they end with the same
result. However, the alternative to these types of punishment is long–term imprisonment. Many
anti–death penalty advocates argue that long–term imprisonment is by far the best course of action,
because it allows for the possibility that if a mistake was made in the conviction of the suspect, they
would be able to correct it without ending the life of an innocent person.
Identify the Problem Now, in order to truly look at the topic at hand, I feel that it is necessary to
examine a few different viewpoints when it comes to this ethical issue. These viewpoints are called
deontological, and utilitarianism. Each approach provides a unique look in the idea of capital
punishment and will help to look at the consequences at the present time, as well as in the future.
The question of whether it is ethically acceptable to take the life of someone is at the heart
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3. capital punishment Essay
The Ineffectiveness of Capital Punishment
For many years, capital punishment has been in use, but it is not been effective. Theodore Robert
Bundy in 1978, slipped into a Tallahassee sorority house and bludgeoned two sleeping women to
death, then killed a 12–year–old girl in Lake City. He was sentenced to three concurrent death
sentences in 1979. Nine years later, Bundy is alive and well on the Death Row (Von Drehle 1A). A
prisoner sentenced to death spends an average of 10 years, nationally, on death row waiting for their
execution. More than 2,100 people live on America's death Rows. At the current execution rate, it
would take eighty–two years to kill them all. Death Row is going to get bigger, the wait...show more
content...
Half of all death sentences are overturned on appeal, usually after several years of expensive
lawsuits and rigorous legal proceedings. For every actual execution in America, courts sentence
thirteen more people to die. Experts are coming to a conclusion that little or nothing can be done to
fix the system if it continues to allow the legal processes concerning the death penalty continue as
they are.
According to a study prepared for the Federal Judiciary Committee, the number of capital punishment
cases on appeal in the federal courts will be more than tripled in the next two years if the system
continue to operate as it does now. The study concluded that the lawyers needed to handle theses
appeals would cost the nation's taxpayers over thirty million dollars a year. California has 234
prisoners on the Death Row, the third largest population of convicts awaiting execution in the
country. Its last execution was 1967. However, the tax–funded budget for defense attorneys is more
that two million dollars a year, which, again, is actually funded by the citizens of that state.
Capital Punishment is cruel and inhumane. It is a slow process to complete, in terms of actually
getting the convict executed, as it is known to take years before the actual day of execution.
Prisoners stay in their cells for about 10 years, courtesy of the tax paying citizens of their respective
states, waiting for their death.
The death
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4. Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment
Murder, a common occurrence in American society, is thought of as a horrible, reprehensible
atrocity. Why then, is it thought of differently when the state government arranges and executes a
human being, the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed
and studied for many years, exposing several inequities and weaknesses, showing the need for the
death penalty to be abolished.
Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weak and deficient. A common
misconception of the death penalty is that the cost to execute a convicted criminal is cheaper than to
place a convict in prison for life without parole. Due to the United States judicial system, the process
of appeals,...show more content...
Whatever they need, they can get (Cummings).
In addition to being racially prejudiced, capital punishment places innocent lives at risk. Recently
in Chicago, a black man was released from death row after nearly sixteen years in prison. This
man, Anthony Porter, came within two days of receiving a lethal injection, until the courts finally
agreed hearing on his mental capacity. Porter was very lucky to receive an excellent attorney
who managed to prove that Porter was innocent and led the police to a prisoner in Milwaukee
who confessed (Kile). This shows the importance of the appeal process found in the courts, which
serve to protect the lives of innocent citizens of the United States of America. A writer for The
Christian Century writes, "Porter's case brings to light the very real danger that overzealous
prosecutors, sloppy legal work and poor legal defense teams will send people to their deaths for
crimes they didn't commit," (Kile). If Porter had an equipped defense attorney from the start,
he would never have been to prison and nearly killed. Ryan Cummings of The Economist observed
that more crimes are punishable by execution, more states have adopted the death penalty and the
appeals process has been shortened. The overall expansion of capital punishment endangers innocent
lives. Cumulatively, there is now less time and fewer tools to save innocent men and women
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5. Capital Punishment Essay
Capital Punishment
Works Cited Not Included
Capital Punishment was basically thought of for the good of society. The objective of Capital
Punishment is to stop people from committing violent and offensive acts. Capital Punishment or the
death penalty has failed however, to prevent or discourage crime. Moreover, it is cruel and gruesome.
At present there are five methods of execution. The most commonly used form of execution is by
lethal injection. In this method the convict is first injected with sodium thiopental, which puts him
to sleep, then he is injected with pavulon, which finally kills him. The next most common method of
execution used is electrocution in which the person is tied with leather straps to a chair and...show
more content...
Capital Punishment is not an appropriate way to punish any criminal because no one should have
right to take another human's life, be it good or for the bad. Therefore, the state or the government
should not posses that right. Therefore it should be abolished. it is unfair , unjust and immoral
punishment; risk of being killed an innocent is not ruled out. Capital Punishment is more expensive
than life imprisonment. Capital Punishment is cheapens the value of human life; Racism exists in
Capital punishment. Capital punishment is a highly controversial and emotional subject. Thus it
should be abolished.
Capital Punishment is unfair, unjust and immoral. "Elementary justice requires that the judicial
functions of trial and sentencing be conducted with fundamental fairness, especially where the
irreversible sanction of the death penalty in this world". (Bedau) There has been good number of
evidence to show that courts have been biased, unfair, and some extent discriminative or racially
biased. Capital Punishment is unjust to the mentally ill people as well. The people who are legally
classified, as mentally retarded should not be executed for their actions because these people do not
know what they are doing, and the court system should not take their life away. According to
Amnesty international " At least 45 people diagnosed as mentally ill or with mentally retardation
have been executed in the US since
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6. Capital Punishment Essay
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment is a very controversial issue, but it is a just penalty for murderers. Murderers
forfeit their lives for taking the life of another. Capital punishment deters criminals from committing
violet crimes. Incapacitating criminals is also another form of deterrence. The death penalty removes
harmful criminals from society. In doing this, people can feel much safer knowing that there is one
less criminal on the streets. The death penalty is also more economical than life without parole.
Capital punishment is good for society, and should be used in a more timely manner.
Punishment is used to decrease a person's actions. The severity of the punishment depends on the
severity of the crime....show more content...
The death penalty makes more sense economically than life without parole. Life without parole is
more costly to the taxpayers. The taxpayers pay for the housing of the prisoners and for the food.
The numerous court appeals also waste many hours and lots of money. By doing this, America
encourages people to commit serious crimes because the criminals know that they will have food to
eat and a bed to sleep in. I believe that the prisoners do not get what they deserve.
The death penalty prevents criminals from committing anymore crimes. Life without parole
cannot keep criminals from murdering the prison guards, or even other inmates. This also cannot
deter people from taking hostages to try to escape. The people that are in prison for life have nothing
to lose. No matter how good the security is there will always be someone who tries to escape.
Occasionally, some of the people will be successful at it. If you are in jail for life then you have
endless time to come up with a plan to escape.
Another argument for capital punishment is for vengeance/justice. Many people feel that killing
convicted murderers will satisfy their need for justice and/or vengeance. They feel that certain crimes
are so heinous that executing the criminal is the only reasonable response (Robinson 1).
One reason why people are opposed to capital punishment is because of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament). Some
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7. Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the toughest form of punishment enforced
today in the United States. According to the online Webster dictionary, capital punishment is defined
as "the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a
capital offence or a capital crime" (1). In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use
is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principally, treason and premeditated
murder. In the 38 U.S. states and within the federal government currently upholding and enforcing
death penalty statutes, this method of punishment varies quite differently amongst them. It is a
controversial issue...show more content...
The crime rate is lower in the states that do not invoke capital punishment, but as Walter Burns stated
"the number of murders tend to rise with the crime rate in general–and not only in America (4).
Capital punishment is maintained to hopefully show criminals that when they kill they will
eventually meet the same fate. By enforcing the death penalty, the government could be trying to
scare criminals from their crimes, and in some cases it has worked. When the death penalty was
restored in Kansas, for example, the homicide rate dropped considerably (7). According to research
done by Bedau, the crime rate continued to soar between 1960–1969, when capital punishment was
rarely being used in most states (7). As a whole, capital punishment has worked to lower homicidal
crimes and deter criminals from illegal actions. Capital punishment could help to keep repeat
offenders off the streets. In some states the common belief is that imprisoning the murders of
society in penitentiaries will keep them from killing again, but this is not true. Even when criminals
are imprisoned, their killing can still continue. Bedau did a survey of all the male inmates in state
penitentiaries during the year of 1973. He came to the conclusion that after the men were
imprisoned for one year, at least sixteen homicides were reported (7). In effect, the
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