The Death Penalty 2
Every since its first use in 1750b.c. the death penalty has been surrounded by controversy. Its use can be seen all over the world and its suggested in the bible, even though ironically the bible also states "thou shall not kill." Today it is used in the United States as punishment for certain crimes including: first degree murder, multiple murders and some rape cases. Currently in the United States there is around four thousand people on death row in the 38 states that employ the death penalty. Over four hundred have been executed since the supreme courts ruling in 1976. Today now, more than ever there is greater push to ban the death penalty simply because of the fact that its blatantly taking human life. Many groups such as The American Civil Liberties Union, The Friends Coalition Against The Death Penalty, and Amnesty International have been working to pass legislation to put a world-wide ban on the death penalty. They raise many good points as to why not only we as a country, but we as a world, should push harder to ban the death penalty. One of the main arguments that death penalty supporters make is that its cheaper to execute a prisoner than to keep them in jail for the rest of their life paying around forty-thou
Throughout the past the death penalty has been a common practice. In recent years we have started to rethink this practice and the principles behind the killing of prisoners. It has been determined that this practice does not save tax payers any money, does not deter would be criminals from committing murders, is racist in deciding who dies, sometimes executes innocent people and is cruel and unusual punishment. This practice must be stopped but at the same time we must make the sentences of our legal system stand. When a jury passes the verdict of life in prison we must make sure that criminal stays in prison for life so they cannot commit another crime. Proponents of the death penalty believe that in executing a convicted murderer it deters would be murderers from committing a murder. Studies have shown that this is not the case. One large argument against the deterrence theory is that the United States has the death penalty and the United States also has one of the highest crime rates in the Western Hemisphere. During the 1980s states with the death penalty had an average homicide rate of 7.5 criminal homicides per one hundred thousand. States without the death penalty averaged a lower 7.4 rate of criminal homicides per one hundred thousand . So there were in fact more murders in states that use the death penalty. In a pole of police chiefs and sheriffs across the nation they ranked capital punishment as the last way of reducing violent crimes. A small twenty six percent thought that the death penalty actually reduces the number of homicides per year . FBI Uniform Crime Reports also show virtually no change in the murder rate since the reinstation of the death penalty in 1976 . States that have the death penalty actually have a higher number of homicides than states that do not have the death penalty. More proof against the deterrence theory is that states that abolish and then reintroduce the death penalty do not significantly change the murder rate. There is also no change in the rate of a homicide in a city or a state after an execution occurs there, as one would believe . These figures show that the death penalty does not substantially deter would be criminals from committing crimes. Studies show that the American people are for an end to the death penalty. The percentage of people opposed to it has almost dropped to the level that in 1966 caused a halt in executions until a rise in opinion ten years later. 44% prefer alternate sentencing to 41% who still back the death penalty (15% undecided). This drop can be attributed to recurring problems, including the possibility of race playing a role in a conviction, the possibility of innocence, high costs and even the idea that it does not do what it is supposed to do and that is deter crime. All of which studies show are legitimated concerns. People are also afraid of dangerous murders/rapists getting out on parole. Their fears have been stirred by the numerous atte
Some common words found in the essay are:
North Carolina, Assemblyman Erie, Studies American, Crime Reports, Jessie Tafero, Western Hemisphere, Sirhan Sirhan, Defenders Association, Amnesty International, death penalty, David Baldus, death row, executing innocent person, rest life, innocent person, unusual punishment, ban death, people death, executing innocent, cruel unusual, cruel unusual punishment, ban death penalty, life parole, person accused murdering, change murder rate,
Approximate Word count = 2002
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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