The Effect of Capital Punishment on Reducing Violent Crimes

 Julia Riesenbach Professor Billingsley SOC210 November 27, 2018 The Effect of Capital Punishment on Violent Crimes Introduction This research paper examines capital punishment and to what extent criminals consider it before committing a violent crime.  There is a common belief that people in society may think twice about a horrendous act of violence if … Read more

What the Guillotine brought to death penalties worldwide.

 Athena Critides Mrs. Kuiper Foundations of European History December 11, 2018 How the Guillotine Influenced Death Penalties Around the World     The guillotine was and has been consistently used as a symbol of fear throughout time. It appears in today’s world because even though it has long since outlawed in France and modern … Read more

Replace Death Penalty with Life Without Parole in 31 U.S. States: Financial & Emotional Benefits

 Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense (Hood, 2017). Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is legal in 31 of the 50 U.S. states (Death Penalty Fast Facts, 2018). As of 2017, 106 … Read more

Racial Disparities of the Death Penalty in the US: An Analysis

 Gabbidon, S. L., & Greene, H. T. (2016). Race and Crime (Fourth ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE. In all the industrialized nations, America remains one of the few that use the death penalty. European nations such as Italy (1944), Britain (1969), Spain (1978), and France (1981) have abolished the death penalty (Zimring, 2003). Zimring tries … Read more

Examine Pros & Cons of Death Penalty in US Criminal Justice System

 The death penalty is a highly questionable use of punishment in our criminal justice system in the United States of America.  Certain states view this harsh punishment for criminals as deplorable, while on the other hand certain states are not for the death penalty.  The death penalty is the harshest punishment any criminal can … Read more

Religion’s Role in Death Penalty Viewpoints Around the World

 Religion plays a substantial role concerning how the death penalty is viewed and used in different countries. While the United States is a melting pot of religions, Christianity is the most predominant. The U.S. still uses capital punishment, but the population’s opinion is divided. Christians tend to justify their stance on the death penalty–whether … Read more

Death penalty perspectives – deterrence and morality

The death penalty is a very controversial issue in the United States because there are multiple perspectives to look at it through and through the end it’s either you’re for or against the death penalty. While there are many supporters of it, there is also a large amount of opposition. Currently, there are thirty-three states … Read more

The Death Penalty and the 2016 General Election

The death penalty has long been a controversial issue of much debate among the American public. It has drawn support as well as opposition across the ideological spectrum, often resulting in contentious viewpoints. It is generally known that support or opposition to the death penalty aligns with ideological position. Unnever (2010) indicates that “conservatives are … Read more

Can capital punishment can be justified on moral grounds?

Utrum Whether or not it is the case that capital punishment can be justified on moral grounds. Videtur It seems to be the case that capital punishment can be justified on moral grounds as it does more good than harm. In John Stuart Mill’s “Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment,” he argues that capital punishment … Read more

History of the electric chair

The electric chair was invented by Dr. Alfred P. Southwick who was a steam-boat engineer, dentist and inventor from Buffalo, New York. In 1881 he conceived the idea of the electric chair after he had heard about an accident happen that resulted in an electrocution of a person, he then found this as a humane … Read more

The Death Penalty in the United States

Introduction Throughout history, as the world started to evolve, many different forms of punishment have been created to discourage criminal acts. The death penalty is probably one of the oldest forms of sentences employed to deter crime. Its first legal allusions date back to the Code of Hammurabi in 1750 B.C. when twenty-five crimes, such … Read more

Capital punishment should be allowed in the United States

No country incarcerates more people than the United States (U.S.). According to Prison Policy the U.S. American Criminal justice system holds more than 2.3 million people in prisons, jails, and correctional facilities. Due to the amount of prisoners, prison overcrowding has become a rising issue threatening the public safety as well as the state budget (Alec). … Read more

Moral Decisions – Capital Punishment

How to get away with murder? Well, it’s really not that difficult… Capital punishment. The ultimate crime delivers the ultimate punishment. Currently, 58 countries around the world use the death penalty as a means of punishment. Human life is regarded as sacrosanct and many people believe this. So how is killing the killer morally acceptable? … Read more

The death penalty – expensive and ineffective

The death penalty enacts the very behavior it seeks to prevent. It teaches us that it is acceptable to kill, as long as the state is the one killing. By answering violence with counter-violence, capital punishment goes against everything it claims to stand for. American novelist Wendell Berry once said “violence breeds violence. Acts of … Read more

The death penalty discriminates, and doesn’t reduce murder

The Eighth Amendment states that Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. When define means that the amendment is meant to safeguard Americans against excessive punishments. The Death Penalty in a way violates the Eighth Amendment since the Amendment is meant to protect a citizen from … Read more

The death penalty: what is its place in our modern society?

Identification of Issue and Justification The use of the death penalty is embedded throughout history, but what is its place in our modern society? Despite the development of more liberal ideas, capital punishment, which is a direct violation of human rights, is still a feature of many justice systems around the world today. After completing … Read more

The Origin of Capital Punishment

There are several forms of punishment that incarcerated people are prosecuted with. One of the harshest punishments would be capital punishment, which is also known as the death penalty. According to collinsdictionary.com, capital punishment is a punishment which involves the legal killing of a person who has committed a serious crime such as murder. Some … Read more

Why does the death penalty exist in countries claiming to protect and respect human rights?

” The death penalty is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution to it.” Death penalty in a today’s world is a very controversial subject. It is mostly banned and not used in practice, but some countries still retain the right to punish its citizens in such a way, some of which … Read more

Is There a Better Alternative to Capital Punishment?

In April 2014, an Oklahoma death row inmate suffered 40 minutes of suffering agony after being injected with a serum that was supposed to cause a quick and painless death.  Instead, Clayton Lockett writhed on the gurney in agony while in front of petrified witnesses and then even gasped and spoke after being pronounced unconscious … Read more

The death penalty through history

Throughout history many saints have been unfairly martyred for bad reasons. If the death penalty was not legal these people would have lived out great and long lives. Even Jesus was sentenced to death and his ministry ended quickly. It is not up to us to decide who should live and who should die. As … Read more

Has the time come to revisit capital punishment?

When the subject of capital punishment comes about, like many other topics in today’s society, most people have an immediate, strong opinion on the matter.  With recent “botched” executions, has the time come to revisit capital punishment in order prevent cruel and unusual punishment, or is death a diplomatic solution that adequately punishes these foul … Read more

Changes in the death penalty in the US from 1950s – present day

In the United States, Governments choose to assign the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, to people who commit murder or other capital crimes (1); However, due to the fact that the eighth amendment and the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment ban cruel or unusual punishment being inflicted for state crimes, there … Read more

Should Capital Punishment Be Reinstated in UK? Research Reflection and Analysis

 Introduction The question I am researching for my extended project is, ‘Should capital punishment be reinstated in the United Kingdom now we are no longer under European law?’ The reason I chose this question for my project is because I have always enjoyed debating the topic of Capital Punishment and finding out what the … Read more

The Adverse Effects of Capital Punishment on Individuals and Society

 Thesis: Capital punishment can adversely affect numerous people, for example, junior, judges, representative, and killers. The death penalty targets non-white individuals, is in powerful, and make a negative effect on every one of the individuals who take an interest. Yet in addition thinks about bondage, isolation, and the Jim Crow law. Albeit the death … Read more

Is it ever morally right to kill a human being? Exploring the logic behind supporting the death penalty

 Paste your essay in here…Is it ever morally right to kill a human being? Most people would answer no. However, according to a recent study, 54% of Americans believe there should be a death penalty (www.washingtonpost.com). If it’s morally wrong to kill a human being, what is the logic that would lead more than … Read more

What factors have influenced peoples’ opinions on the death penalty?

Several topics surrounding the death penalty are involved in controversial debates today. One that dominates media headlines today is racial discrimination. In America’s capital for the death penalty, Houston, Texas, black defendants facing trial are three times more likely to receive death sentences than whites. Studies show that “Harris County, the ground zero of the … Read more

The death penalty – Furman v. Georgia

The Death Penalty has been around for a good part of human history. Essentially, the idea was established in a set of laws by the Code of Hammurabi in eighteenth century B.C. Through history, executions included but were not limited to; crucifixion, drowning, hanging, guillotine, impalement, and other methods. In tenth century A.D., hanging became … Read more

About the Death Penalty

How many countries still have the death penalty?

Of the 195 independent states that are UN members or have UN observer status:

  • 54 still have the death penalty in law and practice.
  • 26 have abolished it de facto, i.e. whilst it may still exist in law, they have not executed anyone in the last decade.
  • 7 have abolished it de facto, but have retained it for exceptional or special circumstances (such as crimes committed in wartime).
  • 108 have abolished it for all crimes.

Of the 35 independent states in the Americas that are UN members:

  • 12 have retained the death sentence in both law and practice.
  • 1 has retained it for ordinary crimes in some areas and also retained it nationwide for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.
  • 1 has abolished it de facto, i.e. whilst it may still exist in law, they have not executed anyone in the last decade.
  • 5 retained it for crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.
  • 16 have abolished it.

(as of 29.01.22 – check here)

What are some arguments against the death penalty?

Some common arguments against the death penalty include:

  • Cost – it is usually more expensive to implement the death penalty than to send someone to prison for life.
  • Wrongful conviction – for example, since 1973, at least 186 people who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated. If the death penalty is carried out, the individual is permanently deprived of the opportunity to benefit from new evidence or new laws that might warrant the reversal of a conviction, or the setting aside of their death sentence.
  • Ineffective – it is supposed to deter crime but it does not. A survey of police chiefs found they rank the death penalty lowest among ways to reduce violent crime. Further, the FBI has found the states with the death penalty have the highest murder rates.
  • Not much of a punishment – whilst some might consider that the death penalty is a life for a life (or an ‘eye for an eye’), the lethal injection process is usually fairly painless and might be considered less of a punishment than life in prison.
  • Botched executions – there are plenty of examples of botched executions, even with the modern-day lethal injection methods. These may be considered inhumane.
  • Discriminationpeople of colour are far more likely to be executed than white people, especially if the victim is white.
  • No equality – the outcome of the case and therefore the sentence can depend a great deal on factors such as the quality of representation in court, which may be less effective for poorer defendants. Uneducated or intellectually disabled defendants may may also fare worse. Whilst it would seem obviously unconstitutional to execute a intellectually disabled person, the courts nonetheless can and do permit this.
  • It has no place in our modern society – the death penalty dates back to times when slavery, branding, and other corporal punishments were commonplace.
  • It shows a lack of respect for life – some believe that since life is precious and death irrevocable, all murder is abhorrent, including state-authorised killings.

Writing an essay about the death penalty

The death penalty is a highly controversial topic that has been debated for centuries. It is a form of punishment for a criminal offense that results in the death of the criminal. It has been used in many societies throughout history, but it is still a hotly debated issue today. In this section, we will discuss the most important issues surrounding the death penalty that should be incorporated into any essay on the topic, including its morality, its effectiveness, and the alternatives.

First, let’s start with the morality of the death penalty. Is it morally just to take a life in order to punish someone for a crime? This is a difficult question to answer, as there are many different opinions on the matter. Some argue that it is necessary in order to deter crime and protect society. Others argue that it is a cruel and unusual punishment that goes against the human right to life.

The second issue that needs to be discussed is the effectiveness of the death penalty. Does it actually deter crime? Studies have shown that the death penalty does not have a significant effect on crime rates, so it may not be an effective form of punishment. Additionally, there is a risk of executing innocent people if the death penalty is used. This could lead to irreversible and tragic consequences that cannot be taken back.

The third issue to consider is the availability of alternatives to the death penalty. There are other forms of punishment that can be used to punish criminals that do not involve taking a life. For example, life imprisonment is a form of punishment that can be used to keep criminals off the streets without ending their lives. Other forms of punishment include fines, community service, and rehabilitation programs.

Finally, we need to discuss the financial costs of the death penalty. Executing a criminal is often more expensive than simply imprisoning them for life. This is because the process of carrying out the death penalty involves significant costs for the court system, and there is also the risk of costly appeals. In addition, the death penalty can cause emotional and financial costs for the families of the victims and the executed criminals.

These are the most important issues that should be discussed in an essay about the death penalty. Each of these topics is highly contested and deserves to be examined in detail. The essay should look at both sides of the argument and consider how the death penalty may or may not be beneficial to society. Additionally, the essay should explore the alternatives to the death penalty and the financial costs associated with it.