Capital Punishment and the Deterrence Theory Capital Punishment Deters Crime 11/9/2012 Dr. Ji Seun Sohn Brooke Lee Capital Punishment and the Deterrence Theory: Capital Punishment Deters Crime Jerry Kilgore said in an editorial written for USA Today, “As a former prosecutor, former secretary of public safety and now attorney general, I believe that some crimes are so evil, some criminals so dangerous and some victims so tortured that executing the criminal is appropriate” (Kilgore, 2002). Capital punishment, or commonly referred to as the death penalty, is the most controversial of all of the disciplinary practices. Since it involves taking another human being’s life, this is not at all surprising. Since it is the most severe of all sentences, there have been countless efforts to abolish the death penalty, and in most of the industrialized nations, with the exception of Japan and the United States of America, these efforts have proved effective. In this paper, I will discuss the effect that capital punishment has on deterring criminal activity.
The History of Capital Punishment Capital punishment has been waging a war on ethical rights and wrongs ever since the Code of Hammurabi in 1750 BC. The Code of Hammurabi was created by Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylon (King, n.d.). The concept for these particular forms of punishments is “an eye for an eye”. The layout of the Code covers both civil and criminal law (King, n.d.). Although there are many pros and cons to the death penalty, you must weigh them all out to decide if you are for or against it.
Breanna Ellison English 150 11 February 2014 Should Felons Permanently Forfeit Their Right to Vote? Our country was founded on democracy; it is what sets us apart as a nation. How can we consider ourselves a true democracy when we don’t let certain members of our society have the right to vote and participate in that democracy? The answer is that we simply cannot. I believe that convicted felons should be allowed to vote upon release from prison because they exercise good judgment: in addition, withholding their rights to vote would be a violation of the United States Voting Rights act of 1965 and the eighth amendment of the Constitution.
In 1976, after the arrival of lethal injection and additional laws to protect the innocent, the Supreme Court reversed its decision and reinstated the death penalty. Many of the same arguments that were used to abolish the death penalty are still being asserted today. People favor capital punishment for numerous reasons. First, capital punishment is believed to deter crime. Criminals may think twice before committing crimes, knowing that their actions could cost them their lives.
Is Torture Ever Justified? Terrorism and Civil Liberties The Economist In this piece “Is Torture Ever Justified?” the issue of torture being used on enemies during interrogation is the focus and it seems to me the author argues that it is not justifiable but only in certain circumstances. I would argue with him on his claim, I do not feel that torture is ever justifiable regardless of how dire the situation. According to this article torture is banned from almost everything. There are treaties set in place such as the Geneva Conventions, the UN Convention against Torture that are against it “consider it along with genocide, torture is the only crime that every state must punish it no matter what”.
Crime is an inevitable part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and actions with which we deal with crime. From the time of Fourteenth Century crucifixion to Tenth Century British hanging to present-day American lethal injection, the death penalty has been apportioned to those who have committed a variety of offenses (“Death Penalty Information Center”). However, even though the death penalty seems to have been effective in the past, it does not mean it is still effective in modern times. Today, the death penalty is not only an extremely costly, unjustified, and discriminating form of capital punishment, but it is also an exceedingly immoral one that needs to be abolished immediately.
Today's system of capital punishment tolerates many inequalities and injustices. The common arguments for the death penalty are filled with holes. Imposing the death penalty is expensive and time consuming. Each year billions of dollars are spent to sentence criminals to death. Perhaps the most frequently raised argument against capital punishment is that of its cost.
Almost obvious to the concept of nation state is the idea of citizenship. This causes justice to be increasingly associated with equality and universality, which saw an emergence of the concept of natural rights. The death penalty became an increasingly unnecessary deterrent in prevention of minor crimes such as theft. The argument that deterrence, rather than retribution, is the main justification for punishment is a hallmark of the rational choice. Additionally, in countries like Britain, law enforcement officials became alarmed when juries tended to acquit non-violent felons rather than risk a conviction that could result in execution.
Under the Fourteenth Amendment, it prohibits the execution of mentally retarded people. The issue at hand is the standard of decency to help mark the progress of society. This issue will help determine which punishments can be sentenced with out it being cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court of the U.S. affirmed that it is cruel and unusual punishment to impose the death sentence on a juvenile who has committed a crime under the age of 18 through the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment (Cornell, 2009).The reasoning for the rejection of the death penalty on juveniles is that can not be classified as being the worst of offenders. Juveniles are way too vulnerable to conduct in behavior that is too immature and irresponsible (Cornell, 2009).
The death penalty is a source of divided opinion and controversy. Capital punishment is the most severe penalty in the US Judicial system. The death penalty is given for the most brutal crimes committed .People have been sentenced to death for many reasons. In America, 2 out of every 3 people support the death penalty. One of the functions of the criminal justice system is to administer a fair and just punishment for the crime committed by the suspect .Most Americans seem to agree with or oppose capital punishment on a case by case basis.