Analysis of Death and Justice, by Edward Koch
Analysis of Death and Justice by Edward I. Koch
13 October 2013
In his essay Death and Justice, Edward Koch argues in support of capital punishment, he believes it is just and it saves lives. He successfully delivers an argument laced with true and vivid examples of unforgettable murderous events. His intended audience consists of the opposing voters and readers of the New Republic, the political magazine that published his essay. Prior to reading Edward Koch’s essay I was sure that I would disagree but it became clear to me that he is right. There are seven commonly held views against the death penalty that Koch argues against in his essay. In what follows I discuss a few of his arguments and show that the death penalty is the most viable approach to deal with convicted murderers.
Koch’s has a long history in the political arena. He served as: mayor, district leader, lawyer, congressman and councilman. His years of public service offered his audience a sense of trust and credibility toward his views. He begins by assuring those opposed to the death penalty, that he has studied, listened and considered their views completely, but he still believes in the death penalty as a means to the practice of social justice. His values and beliefs, nonetheless, are for protecting the precious lives of the innocent and upholding justice in our society. Overall his essay is a keen definition of social and humanitarian justice.
Koch’s intellectual strategy works on the emotional, rational and logical aspects of human thinking and deduction. For example, he brilliantly disables the alignment and compassion one might hear in a convicted murderer’s pleading words as he faces execution, “killing is wrong…. It was wrong when I did it and it is wrong when you do it”. (para 1) For some people this quote from a convicted murderer seems to compel a sense of obligation to all life, yet Koch creates a severance from this idea by stating that “It is a curiosity of
13 October 2013
In his essay Death and Justice, Edward Koch argues in support of capital punishment, he believes it is just and it saves lives. He successfully delivers an argument laced with true and vivid examples of unforgettable murderous events. His intended audience consists of the opposing voters and readers of the New Republic, the political magazine that published his essay. Prior to reading Edward Koch’s essay I was sure that I would disagree but it became clear to me that he is right. There are seven commonly held views against the death penalty that Koch argues against in his essay. In what follows I discuss a few of his arguments and show that the death penalty is the most viable approach to deal with convicted murderers.
Koch’s has a long history in the political arena. He served as: mayor, district leader, lawyer, congressman and councilman. His years of public service offered his audience a sense of trust and credibility toward his views. He begins by assuring those opposed to the death penalty, that he has studied, listened and considered their views completely, but he still believes in the death penalty as a means to the practice of social justice. His values and beliefs, nonetheless, are for protecting the precious lives of the innocent and upholding justice in our society. Overall his essay is a keen definition of social and humanitarian justice.
Koch’s intellectual strategy works on the emotional, rational and logical aspects of human thinking and deduction. For example, he brilliantly disables the alignment and compassion one might hear in a convicted murderer’s pleading words as he faces execution, “killing is wrong…. It was wrong when I did it and it is wrong when you do it”. (para 1) For some people this quote from a convicted murderer seems to compel a sense of obligation to all life, yet Koch creates a severance from this idea by stating that “It is a curiosity of