Capital Punishment

A detailed Summary of Capital Punishment

Many people will argue that capital punishment is inappropriate as a proper means of punishment for murder and rape. The truth is the death penalty is the most effective form of retributive justice for those crimes. The death penalty is a fitting punishment for violent crime because executions maximize public safety through a form of incapacitation and deterrence. The death penalty has been around since the days of Moses and it is still around today. The reason for this is simply because it works. The Jews believe that the death penalty was God-given and therefore a necessary part of their religious and judicial system. The Jews use the death penalty to punish such grotesque offenses as bestiality and incest to somewhat minute charges of striking, cursing, or mere disobedience to one's parents. The methods the Jewish people use to inflict capital punishment are as varied as the crimes for which it is used: Stoning, burning, hanging, beheading, and several more less popular methods. If we look at the Roman Empire we see that crucifixion was a popular mode of execution because, not only did it get rid of the problem, it also punished the criminal with a great deal of torture. Crucifixion is probably the most cruel way to execute som

r society is not civilized. If it were, then there would be no murder and rape and no need for capital punishment. Some people say that the death penalty does not really deter crime. This can not be proven. It is impossible to know what person is deterred from criminal activities. Some people are so crazy that nothing can discourage them from committing a crime. Protesters of capital punishment say that since it is illegal for regular citizens to commit murder then the state government should not be allowed to put someone to death. They even go so far as to give it a name: "Judicial homicide." (Cox 2) The people, of the people, and for the people elect the state government. It clearly has more rights than its citizens because the state government has to make decisions that effect an entire people. Besides, if the citizens truly wanted a change, they could petition or vote the lawmakers out of office. Some people think that when the death penalty is involved in a trial that the verdict is automatically going to be guilty just because people are bloodthirsty and looking for a slaughter. This is a blatant lie. All trials in the United States of America are carried out via due process of the law, guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment. Most importantly, the Supreme Court declared capital punishment did not violate the Eighth Amendment. This means that the people that were elected by the citizens of the United States to interpret the law have found no reason to say that the death penalty should not be used. Supreme Court Justices have devoted their lives to studying the law and the effects of law on history, government, nations, and people and they are the ones who can best decide if a certain law is acceptable to the people it governs. There are some irrational and radical people that believe that everyone should have their rights no matter what they do. Some acts of violence are so cruel and inhuman that the individual who committed those crimes should

eone and therefore one of the most effective ways to deter crime. Crucifixion involved hanging a person to a device called a cross. The person first had to carry his cross through his hometown and to the place of his death. This further helped to deter crime since few people want their family and friends to witness such a humiliating experience. The criminal was then tied or nailed to the cross with his knees bent. The cross was then lifted up and set into a hole in the ground. This force would dislocate every joint in the body of the criminal. While the criminal hanged there, he could push himself up on a foot pedestal so that he could breathe. Eventually the man grew tired, suffocated, and died. The French government wanted a much quicker, cleaner, and simpler way to carry out the death penalty. A doctor by the name of Joseph Guillotin suggested the use of the guillotine in 1792 and, hence, it bares his name. The death penalty has almost always been a part of the American judicial system. Although the methods of inflicting the death penalty have changed since America began, the need for punishing lawbreakers has not. While the firing squad and hanging were used before the turn of the century, more modern executions are now common. These modern methods include the gas chamber, the electric chair, and the lethal injection. The lethal injection is the most widely used form of execution in the United States. Political leaders know the advantages of capital punishment are

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Approximate Word count = 2319
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

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