Capital
punishment or death penalty is the penalty of death for a person
convicted of a serious crime. It is derived from the Latin word
‘capitalis’ which means ‘of the head.’ The penalty is so-called since
centuries ago beheading was the most frequent form of punishment for
serious crime. Among the current methods of implementing capital
punishment are firing squad, hanging, electrocution, gas chamber and
lethal injection.
Capital
Punishment is still being imposed in some states. Because we adhere to
the federalism as a form of government, our Constitution gives
sufficient freedom to the individual states to make to their own laws
and to determine the proper imposable penalty for their violations.
Thus, some states allow capital punishment and still impose it depending
on the nature of the crime committed.
A
review of the laws of the different states will reveal that 38 of these
states still impose capital punishment. On the other hand, 12 States
and the District of Columbia have abolished the capital punishment. (“US Supreme Court Rules on Death Penalty Sentencing” p.1)
It
bears stressing that as early as 1976, no less than the highest court
of this land, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the
imposition of capital punishment does not violate the constitution.
(Franklin E. Zimring, p. 143) It is not a cruel and inhuman punishment
as discussed in the case of Gregg v Georgia (428 US 153). Any question therefore on the constitutionality of the capital punishment is already well-settled.
The
only change in the past years among the states which impose it is the
movement towards a less painful and more humane executions. Firing
Squad, Hanging and Guillotine which were practiced before were gradually
replaced by electrocution and gas chamber. Now, most states use the
method of lethal injection which is perceived as the quickest, least
painful and most humane than the other methods of executions.
Arguments in Favor of Capital Punishment
There
are two opposing forces on the issue of capital punishment: a) the
abolitionists or those who argue in favor of the rejection of capital
punishment; b) the retentionists or those who argue in favor of the
propriety of capital punishment.
The
Retentionists rely on two main theories as justification for the
imposition of capital punishment: The Retributivism Theory and the
Utilitarianism Theory. According to the theory of Retributivism, the
imposition of capital punishment for certain crimes is allowed because
the convicted prisoner deserves it. This is also known as the doctrine
of ‘just desert’ which is founded on the “eye for an eye, tooth for a
tooth” philosophy. When a person causes damage to another, an imbalance
between the two parties is created and the imposition of capital
punishment against the wrongdoer removes the unfair advantage and
restores the balance.
The
advocates of the Retributivism Theory argue that no less than God
himself in the Old Testament institutionalized the legitimized the
imposition of capital punishment against a criminal offender. Consider
also this biblical passage in the Book of Exodus which confirms that
punishment is not immoral: “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman
and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the
offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the
court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for
life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn
for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” (Exodus 21:22-25.) This
only confirms that there is a biblical foundation for the imposition of
capital punishment.
The
advocates of capital punishment argue that their position on this issue
is founded on the Utilitarian Theory. They believe that we will have a
better and peaceful society if capital punishment is imposed.
According to them, based on the principle of utility, we must first
determine the consequences of carrying out the punishment. If
punishment will most likely produce benefit to the greater number of
people then there is no reason for not imposing it.
In
simpler terms, the idea is that if we are to weigh the positive effects
of punishment as against its negative effects and the positive effects
outweighs the negative ones then it has to be imposed. This theory
somewhat looks forward and considers the consequences of imprisonment to
the society.
Capital
punishment is considered beneficial for the society because it deters
and hinders the commission of more crimes by other persons. The idea is
that if the state imposes a stricter policy against crime it is a
manner of showing to the future offenders the kind of punishment they
will receive if they violate a certain law. It is also a declaration on
the part of the government that it is engaged in a war against crime
and against the violators of the law. Once the people who are
contemplating on committing crimes see that the commission of a crime
has serious consequences for him then this will have a positive effect
of deterring criminality. Although it may not altogether stop the crime
of murder it will however reduce it.
The
Utilitarians argue that the society will be benefited from the
execution of convicted murderers of the convicted prisoner because
executing a convicted offender will incapacitate him from further
committing a crime. When a person commits a crime, he is regarded as a
danger to the society. Thus he needs to be separated from the society
in order to prevent him from committing another crime. Capital
punishment is imposed to protect other members of the society.
This is a free Essay on Arguments in Favor of Capital Punishment. We are the most affordable and reliable essay writing company in the United States and the United Kingdom.
If you need help we will write well written Essay on Arguments in Favor
of Capital Punishment at very affordable costs starting at $7.50/page.
BUY ESSAY ON ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT NOW!
Student, wanted to spend time in outdoor but have to type essay? Don't panic, here is service for writing essays 1WS. Its always best,fast,cheap
ReplyDeleteI agree capital punishment is a good way to teach people some respect. I am tired of all this violence http://smartwriters.org/blog/how-to-write-argumentative-essay-about-abortion
ReplyDeleteI still disagree with this as death penalties have been going for a long time like thousands of years and there is still somuch shit going around.Taking a life doesn't teach people,it doesn't deter the,because they will find another way to do it and a life is precious and those who waste their precious lives,simply need their memory to be taken so they can start again.
ReplyDeleteFor the free robux generation then use free robux generater for the roblox robux game to play free to get free robux for the roblox free robux game to play online.
ReplyDeletemmorpg oyunlar
ReplyDeleteİNSTAGRAM TAKİPCİ SATİN AL
tiktok jeton hilesi
tiktok jeton hilesi
antalya saç ekimi
TAKİPÇİ SATIN AL
İNSTAGRAM TAKİPÇİ SATIN AL
Metin2 Pvp Serverlar
instagram takipçi satın al
Smm panel
ReplyDeletesmm panel
HTTPS://İSİLANLARİBLOG.COM/
instagram takipçi satın al
hirdavatciburada.com
Https://www.beyazesyateknikservisi.com.tr
servis
Tiktok jeton hile