Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment
Capital punishment is a subject you can always count on for a lively discussion with plenty of opinions and lots of questions. "Capital Punishment is a term which indicates muddled thinking. The dilemma of kill or be killed, which confronts civilized society daily and inexorably, is bedeviled by the jumble of panic, superstition, and angry resentment we call punishment, expiation, propitiatory blood sacrifice, justice, and many other imposing names. The dilemma is a hard fact which must be faced and organized." (1) In today's world, terrible crimes are being committed daily. Many believe that these criminals deserve one fate: death. Capital punishment, the death penalty, is the maximum penalty used in punishing people who kill another human being - and is a very controversial method of punishment. Criminals guilty of murder receive a verdict of capital punishment. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with an intentional or criminal intent. First-degree murder is usually premeditated or by deliberate design. In most states, a person convicted of first-degree murder can be sentenced to the death penalty. Debate over the merits of capital punishm
Those against capital punishment state that society cannot allow brutalities of criminal violence to set limits of appropriate punishment. According to opponents, premeditated murder by the state is wrong. Abolitionist use the quote, "Judge not, that you be not judged" to say the death penalty goes against the Christian values since we have to judge to sentence someone to death. Many will refuse to sit on juries that may have to enforce the death penalty as a maximum penalty for the crime committed. But, if you look at the entire picture of what Jesus was saying in Matthew 5: 17-19, we find that Jesus was speaking to the hypocrite. For example, if I cheat, and I see someone else cheating, I cannot judge him or her for cheating. I would be a hypocrite. First, I myself must stop cheating before I could judge the other person. That is called judging in a fair manner, and not being hypocritical. Christians should take the entire scope of the Bible into account when they quote certain passages lest they make the passage look like a hypothetical contradiction. There is a popular saying that only God has the right to take the life of a human being. But, nowhere in the Bible does this statement meet confirmation. God states in Genesis 9: 6, "Whoever sheds Man's blood, by Man his blood shall be shed." He also states in Numbers 35: 31, "Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be surely put to death." (5) A Non-Pacifist Argument Against Capital Punishment, Roy Weatherford acting rationally, so as to be able to weigh such things as consequences, taken that of another is to show want of regard for human life. We show, on the (6) The Coastal Post - May, 1997, Abolish Capital Punishment, Rob Phillips
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3239
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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