The Death Penalty

A detailed Summary of The Death Penalty


Mencken believes that if a criminal kills a man, that criminal deserves to be sentenced to death if he is found guilty. Mencken argues that the only thing that is cruel about the death penalty is the way that the process is dragged out. Mencken claims that dragging the punishment process out hurts not only the guilty, but the victims of the crimes as well. Mencken wants the reader to be aware of the torture that both parties undergo. The goal of Mencken's argument is to force the reader to re-think what is really cruel.

Mencken argues that a prisoner has the right to a speedy execution, just like they have the right to a speedy trial, " The real objection to capital punishment doesn't lie against the actual extermination of the condemned, but against the brutal American habit of putting it off so long." Mencken points out that it is crueler to put a man in jail with the knowledge that he will die than it is to hang the criminal immediately. "But it is one thing to die, and quite another to lie for long months and even years under the shadow of death. No sane man would choose such


Mencken argues that all victims require a katharsis for closure, that in order for their inner turmoil to be resolved, they require a "healthy letting off a steam." Mencken states that people require some form of revenge before they can be satisfied. " The thing they crave primarily is the satisfaction of seeing the criminal actual before them suffer as he made them suffer. What they want is the peace of mind that goes with the feeling that accounts are squared." The victims of a crime can not be content until they know that the person that wronged them has been punished. Katharsis is required for the victim to attain peace of mind. "Until they get that satisfaction they are in a state of emotional tension, and hence unhappy. The instant they get it they are comfortable. I do not argue that this yearning is noble; I simply argue that it is almost universal among human beings." According to Mencken, this desire for recompense can not be ignored, he believes that it is a fundamental aspect of human nature. " What I contend is that one of the prime objects of all judicial punishments

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Approximate Word count = 732
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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