Capital Punishment
The most severe of all sentences is death. Also known as the death penalty, capital punishment this is the most severe form of punishment permitted in the Unite States. It has been banned in many countries. The United States, however, made an earlier move to eliminate capital punishment but it has been reversed and more and more states are resorting to capital punishment for serious offenses such as murder. An eye for and eye is a famous line for punishment and even the Bible mentions it. People have been using it regularly for centuries. We use it in reference to burglary, adultery, love and many other crimes. However, some people use it on a different level. Some people try to use it in reference to death. This raises and important question; do we really have the right to kill those who have killed? Today, there is a big controversy over capital punishment whether or not it works, or if it is morally right. We have a certain privilege on our own lives, but do the lives of others belong to us as well? Do we have the right to decide whether another person can or cannot live? We find someone guilty of murder and sentence them to death, doesn't that make us murderers as well? Can anything justify these acts?
Use of the death penalty has declined throughout the industrial Western World since the 19th century. In 1972, there was a movement in America to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional. This was evident in the court case of Furman v. Georgia, which declared the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment. However, this was erased after a supreme court decision in 1975, Gregg v. Georgia, which stated capital punishment did not violate the eighth Amendment. Executions were allowed once again under state supervision. (Van der Haag, 1975, 3-4) Electrodes are placed around a band around the head, then jolts of 4-8 amperes at voltage between 500 and 2000 volts are applied at half a minute at a time. The newest forms of execution are Lethal Injection where a lethal poison is injected into the prisoners arm or the Gas Chamber where the prisoner is placed in a room with Sodium Cyanide crystals and left to die. (Meltser, 1973, 21-26) Of course, a person may think it is immoral to kill someone no matter what they have done. When I say it is justice to take the life in turn for the taking of another life, it could be argued that a criminal is not able to learn a lesson since he dies as an immediate result of the punishment. How can this be called punishment if no lesson is taught? In my opinion, the only way for justice to be served is to have the criminal pay with their life, " an eye for an eye." Many people believe that capital punishment does not belong in a civilized society. I believe it is needed because we do not live in a civilized society, if we did there would be no crime. We live in a day and age where killing happens everyday, and many get away with it. Those who do get caught, don't stay in a jail cell for the rest of their live. If we could rig our streets of murderers, it could mean a safer place for everyone. Men and women could feel safer jogging or doing errands at night. Single women could feel safer in their homes. Children could feel safe playing in their yards. No executed murderer has ever killed again.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2173
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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