Views of the Death Penalty
Capital Punishment has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. The Babylonian Hammurabi Code (ca. 1700 BC) decreed death sentences for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer. Egyptians could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites (2.). In this country, although laws governing the application of the death penalty have undergone many changes since biblical times, the punishment endures and controversy has never been greater. However, in recent times opponents have shown the death penalty to be racist, irrational, in violation of the United States Constitution as "...cruel and unusual punishment", and economically unsound. Capital punishment is racist and discriminates against the poor. About forty percent of death-row inmates are black, whereas only eight percent of the population as a whole is black (1.). In some cases, black defendants were four to six times more likely to receive death sentences than white defendants who had similar criminal histories. Studies show that the chance for a death sentence is up to five to ten times greater in cases with white victims than black victims (1.). The poor are also
2. The Gas Chamber (used in few states): The prisoner is strapped to a chair while sodium cyanide is dropped into a pool of sulfuric acid creating a poisonous cyanide gas. This deadly gas causes the prisoner to writhe, shake, and vomit as he gasps for air for the few minutes it takes for him to die. The death penalty violates constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. I believe the methods of execution used in this country are a prime example. Also, hangings are still used in a few states and a firing squad is still an option in Utah. I'm sure that the supporters of capital punishment would point out that these prisoners are not innocent people and have themselves committed cruel and heinous crimes. However, as a society we should not let ourselves and especially our government sink to the level of these individuals. 2. Long, Robert Emmet. Criminal Sentencing. New York, NY: H.W. Company, 1995. 3. Carlton, James. America on Trial. New York, NY: H.W. Company, 1995. 1. Flanders, Stephen A. Capitol Punishment. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1991
Some common words found in the essay are:
United Constitution, Utah I'm, Carlton Capital, Hammurabi Code, Electric Chair, Gas Chamber, Lethal Injection, death penalty, HW Company, Capital Punishment, capital punishment, NY File, york ny, prisoner strapped, unusual punishment, cruel unusual punishment, cruel unusual, racist irrational violation, racist irrational, penalty racist, shown death, recent times, death penalty racist, penalty racist irrational, shown death penalty,
Approximate Word count = 908
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
