There has been many controversies in the history of the United Stats, ranging from abortion to gun control, but capital punishment has been one of the most hotly contested issues in recent decades. Today's system of capital punishment is frought with inequalities. The commonly offered arguments for the death penalty are filled with holes. "It was a deterrent. It removed killers. It was the ultimate punishment. It is biblical. It satisfied the public's need for retribution. It relieved the anguish of the victim's family." (Grisham 120) Realistically, imposing the death penalty is expensive and time consuming. Retroactively, it has yet to be proven as a deterrent. Morally is a continuation of the cycle of violence and "...degrades all who are involved in its enforcement, as well as its victim." ( Stewart 1 ) The usual alternative to the death penalty is life-long imprisonment.

Perhaps the most frequent argument for capital punishment is that of deterrence. The prevailing thought is that imposition of the death penalty will act to dissuade other criminals from committing violent acts. Numerous studies have been created attempting to prove this belief; however, "all the evidence taken toge

In earlier times - where capital punishment was common, the value of life was less, and societies were more barbaric - capital punishment was probably quite acceptable. However, in today's society, which is becoming ever more increasingly humanitarian, and individual rights and due process of justice are held in high accord, the death penalty is becoming an unrealistic form of punishment. Also, with ever present possibility of mistaken execution, then will remain the question of innocence of those put to death. Finally, man is not a divine being. He does not have the right to inflict mortal punishment in the name of society's welfare when there are suitable substitutes that require fewer resources. I ask society, "...Why don't we stop the killing?" (Grisham 404)

"Revenge is an unworthy motive for our society to pursue." (Whittier 1) In our society, there is a great expectation placed on the family on the victim to pursue vengeance to the highest degree - the death penalty. Pat Bane, executive director of the Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation (MVFR), stated, "one parent told me that people made her feel like she was betraying her son because she did not want to kill the person who murdered him." (Frame 50) This creates a dilemma of morality. If anything, by forcing families to seek the death penalty, their own consciences will be burdened by the death of the killer. Furthermore, "killing him will not bring back your son." (Grisham 402) At some point, man must stop the violence. Seeking temporary gratification is not a logical basis for whether the death penalty should be imposed. Granted, revenge is easily confused with retribution, and most would agree that the punishment should fit the crime, but can society really justify m!

ther makes it hard to be confident that capital punishment deters more than long prison terms do." (Cavanagh 4) Going ever father, Bryan Stevenson, the executive director of the Montgomery based Equal Justice Initiative, has stated that "...people are increasingly realizing that the more we resort to killing as a legitimate response to our frustration and anger with violence, the more violent our society becomes... We could execute all three thousand people on death row, and most people would not feel any safer tomorrow." (Frame 51) In addition, with the growing humanitarianism of modern society, the number of inmates actually put to death is substantially lower than fif!

urdering someone else simply on the basis that they deserved it? Government has the right and duty to protect the greater good against people, who jeopardize the welfare of society, but a killer can be sentenced to life without chance of parole and society will be just as safe as if he had been executed.

Throughout history, governments have been extremely inventive in d

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1885
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)