Preview

The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished as a Form of Punishment.

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2237 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished as a Form of Punishment.
Running head: The death penalty

The death penalty should be abolished as a form of punishment.
Johnathon Aaron
Excelsior

The death penalty should be abolished as a form of punishment.
This paper intends to shine some light on the death penalty in order to help the reader understand what issues face the system today and what problems can be corrected. This paper achieves this by: (1) pointing out the wrongful sentencing of innocent people and the use of DNA testing in attaining their freedom; (2) emphasizing the unjustness of the Capital Punishment system due to the arbitrary, racial and geographically biased nature of the process; And also (3) It shows that the evidence backing up deterrence as a major benefit of the death penalty is exaggerated and unsubstantiated. With a specific look at how “future dangerousness” plays a part in keeping the death penalty around and how to change that. Last it will look at the rising costs associated with Capital Punishment.
The death penalty risks too many innocent lives.
DNA testing is currently the single greatest savior of unjustly sentenced death row inmates. It aided in the exoneration of 133 prisoners between 1973 and 2009. (Schmalleger, 2011) But up until the 1960s DNA exoneration by science wasn’t even thought up. This leads us to wonder how many death row inmates are actually innocent today. In most cases, there is no DNA evidence left behind leaving only the account of eyewitnesses to validate the crime. The only issue with that is witnesses have been wrong before. One notable death row case involving an eyewitness’s misconception was DeLuna v. Texas 1983. Carlos DeLuna was wrongfully executed for killing a single mother at his local gas station even after the real killer, who bear a striking resemblance to DeLuna, was captured and placed in a cell underneath his own. The person who helped unwind this web of DeLuna is the notable Columbia law professor James Liebman. In 2001 one of Liebman’s study revealed


Bibliography: Greenfield, L. A. (1991). Capital Punishment 1990, 15. Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=131648 Hayes-Harb, R., & Masuda, K Schmalleger, F. (2011). Criminal Justice Today. Upper saddle river: prenice hall. Weber, A., & Cutler, A. (2004). Lexical competition in non-native spoken-word recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 50, 1-25. DOI: 10.1016/S0749-596X(03)00105-0. Furman v. Georgia 408 U.S. 238 (1972).
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Death Penalty
    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On Death Penalty

    The death penalty is a controversial topic that has existed since the beginning of civilization. The death penalty, and capital punishment are interchangeable terms that provide legalized murders at the hands of the government. This form of killing is permitted in approximately 38 states (Capital Punishment, 2011). The death penalty has been a way for humans to control one another throughout history. The death penalty is a chancy way of instilling justice. In addition, there is no guarantee that the person sentenced to death is completely innocent. For many years, the death penalty has been the cause of many innocent and untimely deaths. The death penalty is a final decision to a possible mistake. Also, the death penalty infringes on…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Cost of the Death Penalty
    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cost of the Death Penalty

    Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty, written by Mark Costanzo, neatly lists reasons for opposition, and abolishment of, the death penalty. Costanzo provides a review of the history of the death penalty, a review of how the death penalty process is working today, questions on whether or not if the death penalty is inhumane and cheaper than life imprisonment. He also questions if the death penalty is fairly applied and the impact, if any, that it has on deterrence. He closely examines the public's support of the death penalty and questions the morality of the death penalty. Finally, Costanzo provides his own resolution and alternative to the death penalty. Each of these items allows the reader an easy, and once again, neat view of how the death penalty can work against out society rather than for it.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Death Penalty
    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Death Penalty

    As a deterrent to crime, the death penalty has little effect because the chances of a murder being sentenced to death are slim to none. However the death penalty deters some people. As the Royal Commission (1948–1953) observed in its lengthy and thoughtful report, “We can number its failures, but we cannot number its successes.”23 We can never know how many people who would have otherwise committed murder stopped them only because society threatened death as punishment. The deterrence question, really, is not whether the death penalty deters—sometimes it surely does—but whether, on balance, it deters more effectively than life without parole. (D’elia).…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    How Does Capital Punishment Effect Crime Deterrence?
    • 3827 Words
    • 16 Pages

    How Does Capital Punishment Effect Crime Deterrence?

    Capital punishment in the United States does not ensure deterrence or punishment and can cost up to 10 times more than life in prison because of the prolonged process of execution. If the United States can shorten the time a defendant spends on death row, then it will no longer cost more than life imprisonment without parole. This paper discusses life on death row, the cost of incarceration and the average length of time a convicted felon spends in death row, the definition of punishment along with how crime deterrence is created. The way to reduce the cost of capital…

    • 3827 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Unjust Conviction
    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Unjust Conviction

    The most disturbing fact individuals are faced with today, is that innocent people have been sentenced to death, and lots of them. Statistics show that one hundred thirty people, wrongfully convicted people, were sentenced to death and were lucky to, eventually be exonerated and released. It is also said that DNA, can’t guarantee the court system won’t execute innocent people(Schabas23). Obviously, if someone is convicted and later found innocent a judge can release him/ her from prison, but unfortunately not from the grave. Twenty-one inmates have been released since 1993, including seven from the state of Illinois alone(Banner7). Many of these cases were discovered not because of the normal appeals process, but as a result of many new scientific techniques, investigations, and the dedicated work of multiple attorneys. In 1993, the Death Penalty Information Center was asked by…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Is the Death Penalty Applied Fairly?
    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Is the Death Penalty Applied Fairly?

    Capital punishment has been used around the world for many thousands of years as a way of enforcing justice when someone has done wrong by what standards that the cultures have. Over the past few centuries capital punishment has started to be questioned by many people in Europe and in the United States. Many people who support the death penalty cite reasons such as deterrence and not wanting to spend money a person who will never be a productive member of society again. Many who are in opposition to the death penalty say that the death penalty is killing innocent people and is actually not saving any money at all and that it is in fact costing too much and that it is wrong to simply kill someone who commits a crime. There are also questions to the fairness of the death penalty and many who question if it is being applied fairly. Both sides of the debate over the morality and legitimacy of capital punishment will be presented in this paper with this author taking one side. While the thought of having someone put to death is not something that anyone would like, the death penalty is the only way for ultimate justice to be administered for victims provided that it is fairly administered.…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Capital Punishment Is Dead Wrong Analysis
    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Capital Punishment Is Dead Wrong Analysis

    The death penalty is a major topic for debate Shannon Rafferty defends in her portfolio published by Penn State entitled “Death Penalty Persuasive Essay.” She believes the penalty should be allowed because it functions as a deterrent, it provides society retribution and it is morally just. Olivia H. disagrees with use of the death penalty in her essay “Capital Punishment Is Dead wrong.” She tells about the risk of punishing the innocent, and how the states are doing irreversible acts of crime. As the authors disagree about whether the death penalty should be allowed, they have some common ground when it comes to admitting the potential for human error and in both disagreeing to the use of barbaric punishments by the government.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Analysis of Death and Justice, by Edward Koch
    • 1282 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Analysis of Death and Justice, by Edward Koch

    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.…

    • 1282 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Death Penalty; Right or Wrong?
    • 2173 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Death Penalty; Right or Wrong?

    The death penalty has been an issue that has continually caused tension in today’s society. The main discussion over this is whether or not the death penalty serves as a valid and justified form of punishment. We have reached the point where if the topic is brought up, extremists on both sides immediately begin to argue the matter. One side says increase in crime rate, the other says failure to discourage crime; one says failure to rehabilitate, the other says it saves lives; one says justice and retribution, the other says revenge. As a society we know that crime is a major part of our lives, and we are all aware that something must be done about it. The only problem now is coming together and finding common ground as to how we solve it. The death penalty has been applied by many parts of the world, from the ancient times of Babylon to present day America. More than an estimated 15, 269 Americans have been executed since the inception of the death penalty dating back to colonial times. History has shown us that capital punishment, whose definition is the use of death as a legally sanctioned punishment, is a very efficient and acceptable means of reducing crime.…

    • 2173 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Irony of Capital Punishment
    • 2209 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Irony of Capital Punishment

    Capital punishment has been a part of our justice system since the beginning. For many years the controversy of the death penalty has created social issues that question the validity and fairness based on concerns of moral and human rights. Even though many other nations use this form of justice, the fact that the United States views itself as a leader of human rights brings question to whether we are practicing what we preach. Nevertheless, the majority of US citizens are in support of the death penalty but does that make it rational? In the following paragraphs I will discuss my opinions on capital punishment and talk about issues concerning the death penalty as a deterrent to crime, should it be abolished and whether should youths convicted of violent crimes receive the death penalty. I will also explain how the irony of capital punishment makes it an issue of ethics having that both sides of this issue have valid positions that will keep the idea that as long as there is crime, capital punishment is here to stay whether we like it or not.…

    • 2209 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    History Of Capital Punishment In The United States
    • 1629 Words
    • 7 Pages

    History Of Capital Punishment In The United States

    Capital punishment has been a topic that has been talked about for ages. It has been an issue in the adjudication process since the first execution took place in the United States of America in 1608 (Schneider & Smykia, 1991). Today, cases are being brought before the courts constantly, and they are forced to decide what exactly is “cruel and unusual punishment” in accordance with the eighth amendment. This paper will be looking at how the death penalty has evolved and developed in the United States. It will also be evaluating the effects of the death penalty and looking at the issues that are being faced today in regards to capital punishment. Also, does the death penalty have a place in the future for America?…

    • 1629 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?
    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

    In the United States all 50 states have some form of the death penalty. 35+ states use lethal injection, 9 use electrocution, 11 use the gas chamber, 3 use hanging and 3 use a firing squad (Methods). In Ohio we use lethal injection as a sole method and in 2009 Ohio adopted a one-drug protocol using only sodium pentathol (Methods). People on death row are usually put there for committing violent crimes. Ohio currently has 142 people on death row, which is down from 147 a year ago (Beyerlein 8A). The question we are faced with is should Ohio abolish the death penalty? The death penalty in Ohio should be abolished and in all 33 states that use it because any way you look at it, it’s still taking someone’s life.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Death Penalty Should Be Illegal
    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Death Penalty Should Be Illegal

    Innocent people are too often sentenced to death. Since 1973, over 130 people have been released from death rows in states that support the death penalty because of innocence. Nationally, at least one person is exonerated for every 10 that are executed. In 1983, Carlos DeLuna was convicted for a stabbing in a Texas Convenience store, supposedly killed the store clerk Wanda Lopez. After his execution in 1989, new evidence uncovered by reporters Maurice Possley and Steve Mills cast doubt on DeLuna’s guilt and points to another man with similar…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    DNA Typing And Distinctive Patterns In Crime
    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages

    DNA Typing And Distinctive Patterns In Crime

    There are many cases that innocent people are incarcerated, or even executed, because of errors in the criminal justice system (Taupin, 2014). Some of these cases happened when DNA testing was not available, and others were caused by human and systematic errors. For example as Dr. Michael Naughton, founder of the UK Innocence Project, a nonprofit advocacy group that works to free the wrongly convicted, said,” People think that miscarriages of justice are rare and exceptional . . . But every single day, people are overturning convictions for criminal offences. Miscarriages of justice are routine, even mundane features of the criminal justice system” (Goldhill, 2014, p.1).The frequent and common instances of errors in the criminal justice system only further highlight the benefits of using DNA evidence. For example, DNA evidence has saved the lives of those on death row and freed others from long prison terms. Since the first convicted inmate was exonerated using DNA evidence in 1989, there have been over 300 DNA exonerations nationwide, with the vast majority since ending in freedom for the convicted (Piven, 2014). In addition to its potential to free the innocent, DNA testing can help identify a crime’s true culprit as nearly half of DNA exoneration cases lead to someone other than the falsely convicted individual (Goldhill,…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Should Capital Punishment to Be Abolished or Not
    • 2971 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Should Capital Punishment to Be Abolished or Not

    Capital punishment is a barbarous survival from a less enlightened and refined age; it is incongruous and incompatible with our present standard of civilization and humanity. It has been abolished by many states and countries, and we must look forward to the day when the other governments will follow suit…

    • 2971 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics