Abolitionist Death Penalty

Human life is a God-given right and a freedom provided by our government; however, mankind selfishly steals that right from their own all too often. The death penalty is a morally acceptable and justifiable punishment for murder. Simply placing someone in prison is not the equivalent to stealing an innocent life. According to Casey Carmical, “The purpose of the death penalty is to bring the murderer to justice and to acknowledge the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life” (Capital Punishment Is Morally Justified). Although abolitionists argue that the death penalty is too expensive and violates human rights, the death penalty does save lives, deter murder rates, and is a morally correct punishment. The death penalty saves lives through the fact that “during the ten-year moratorium period (1967-1977), in which no executions took place in the United States, the number of murders doubled from the previous ten-year period, during which 289 executions took place” (The Death Penalty Saves Lives). In
Adversaries argue that the death penalty is a violation of human rights. According to, The Death Penalty Violates Human Rights, “The death penalty cannot be separated from the issue of human rights”. What about the violation of the victims’ human rights? Abolitionists also argue that the death penalty is no better than murder because the government is killing the criminals. “Just because two actins result in the same end does not make them morally equivalent. If it were so, legal incarceration would be kidnapping, lovemaking with rape, self-defense with battery, etc.” (Capital Punishment Is Morally Justified) Morality is defined as “the principles of right and wrong”, and as moral creatures, humans deserve praise for good deeds and punishment for bad ones. (Capital Punishment Is Morally Justified) An eye for an