Phil 1112 Death Penalty

Phil 1112: Death Penalty Essay “An eye for an eye,” right? As fair as America tries to be, sometimes we also have to remember that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Many people rave about how the death penalty is an unjust punishment and that we can do without it; the idea of killing someone so that the punishment fits the crime is what shows how our world and societies are just as cruel as the criminals in it. The death penalty debate is a dispute that is learning to become more immoral and becoming a less used tactic when penalizing criminals. This problem has decreased significantly over the last couple decades but the controversy is still up in the air nearly everywhere. Additionally, much of the controversy has a heavy influence on biomedical research due to the fact that lethal injection is highly used for execution purposes. Currently many professionals are looking for other forms of punishment, yet there are still many people who believe that this is a fair and equal punishment. Regardless of which side one is on, both perspectives offer good reasoning to why or why not the death penalty should continue to stay in effect. Althought I do not agree with the death many and it’s many consequences, I understand the reason for it being so controversial. The dictionary defines the death penalty as punishment for someone convicted of a capital crime. Dating back to centuries ago, any capital crime such as murder, rape, drug trafficking were not tolerated by any means and were immediately sentenced to death. “An eye for an eye” was the typical argument that defended the side that the punishment should equal the crime. In an article written by Louis Pojman, he defends the death penalty with his own “eye for an eye” theory. His reasoning is that he believes humans are logical creatures who make the logical choice to commit a muder, therefore giving up their right to live. Pojman argues that the death penalty is a good deterrent for potential

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