Persuasive Speech:
Why I Believe the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished Hello, everyone. My name is Devlin O’Connell and I am going to be speaking to you today about why I believe the death penalty should be abolished. There are three factors that I base this argument off which surround ethics, efficiency, and expenditure. In relationship to ethics, I would like to begin with a quote by human rights activist, Desmond Tutu, “To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.” Capital Punishment, also known as the Death Penalty, is described as a government practice where a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for crimes such as murder, treason, espionage, and genocide. While it may seem unlikely that many people would be convicted of a few of the latter crimes, there were nearly 3,000 people on death row in the last year. Of those 3,000 people, 117 were found to be innocent. It is predicted that at least 3% more of those sentenced would have been exonerated with enough time and resources. Let that sink in. An untold number of innocent people have been executed. As it is, many relatives of victims have said that they do not wish for their relative’s killer to be put to death. Circling back to Tutu’s quote, the government is not providing these families with justice – but with revenge.
We are “perpetuating a cycle of violence unworthy of a civilized society,” to quote Bernice King, “retribution cannot light the way to the genuine healing that
In this paper I will be discussing everything you need to know about the death penalty such as its pros and cons. While the innocent can be killed, the death penalty has its pros because it prevents them from killing again if they are released or have escaped from prison, it helps overpopulated prisons, and it can help victims’ families get justice and closure. Not only can the innocent be killed, but in the past the death penalty was very inhumane. To some its feels right but to others they feel like 2 wrongs don’t make a right. Most people think that the defendant deserves the death penalty, but what does the defendants’ family think?
The death penalty sometimes also known as capital punishment or execution, is the sentence of death brought on by courts as punishment for a serious crime people who receive the death penalty typically are convicted of murder and similar capital crimes like aggravated murder or felony murder (What is the death penalty). In Canada, there is no death penalty, where in America there is one. The most common form of the death penalty is by lethal injection which is done in 33 states (Methods of execution).
Capital punishment is a difficult subject for a lot of people because many question whether or not it is ethical to kill a convicted criminal. In order to critically analyze whether or not it is ethical, I will look at the issue using a utilitarianism approach because in order to get a good grasp of this topic we need to look at how the decision will impact us in the future. The utilitarianism approach will help us to examine this issue and see what some of the consequences are with this topic of capital punishment. For years, capital punishment has been used against criminals and continues to be used today, but lately this type of punishment has come into question because of the ethical question.
The mother of a murder victim has stated “Responding to one killing with another killing does not [honour] my daughter”(Source F). The killing of another person doesn’t mean we should kill another for justice. In reality, the death sentences is based on emotional reactions as we try to sympathise with the victims. This should not be the way cases should be run, since they should be based off factual evidence. Society needs to realise that “The standard for depriving one of life should be higher than any other legal action”(Source C). The loss of a life is a difficult choice to make as a society, even if it’s the judgement of a criminal. However, we are no better than the criminal if we kill them as well. People need to learn from its mistakes, as well as help others learn from their
The death penalty, or capital punishment, refers to a death to a person by a state for their crimes; where the executive branch made an attempt to address the considered but was unsuccessful, where the Legislative branch talks about and try to modify the death penalty, where the supreme court is handling the cases in trail.
Society needs to change the eye for an eye mentality in order for civilization to advance past the revenge philosophy that leads to an endless cycle of violence (ACLU, 2012). The American Civil Liberties Union (2012) says that capital punishment is a violation of civil liberties and goes against everything that our democratic system stands for. The death penalty system in the United States is applied in an unfair manner against people based on how much money they have and the race of the victim (ACLU, 2012). African Americans are more likely to be executed than white people, especially if their victim was white (ACLU, 2012).
In the United States, the use of the death penalty continues to be a controversial issue. Every election year, politicians, wishing to appeal to the moral sentiments of voters, routinely compete with each other as to who will be toughest in extending the death penalty to those persons who have been convicted of first-degree murder. Both proponents and opponents of capital punishment present compelling arguments to support their claims. Often their arguments are made on different interpretations of what is moral in a just society. In this essay, I intend to present major arguments of those who support the death penalty and those who are opposed to state sanctioned executions application . However, I do intend to fairly and accurately
Capital punishment is a custom in which prisoners are executed in accordance with judicial practice when they are convicted of committing a “capital crime.” Capital crimes are crimes considered so atrocious that they should
II. Second Main Point: The excessive cost of execution is also a reason for the death penalty to be abolished. To keep a man in prison for one 's whole life cost less than executing him. A state would save millions of dollars if they did away with death row and executions.
A. Attention Getter: Thou shall not kill, only one of the ten commandments that some individuals unfortunately can not seem to uphold. What would the world look like if we did not have an “eye for an eye” mentality? The debate about whether or not capital punishment is ethical or immoral is significant because our country is spending unnecessary amounts on death penalty executions, in which citizens do not know enough about the subject matter to disagree or protest its use. While tax payers are paying for this procedure, the death penalty poses many moral insurrections.
Well First let me explain what capital punishment is. Capital punishment, the death penalty, or the execution of somebody is the infliction of death upon a person by a judicial process as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences.
From an early age, children are taught that murder is morally wrong. In today’s complex society that is impeded by unsettling periods of civil unrest, it is an expectation for everyone to acknowledge and accept that murder is one of the worst crimes individuals can commit. Perhaps it can be said that the death penalty is one of our legal system’s biggest contradictions of itself, as, if someone commits murder (or another heinous crime of that caliber), such ‘murderers’ will, in states that have capital punishment laws, be sent to Death Row and ultimately murdered in order to prevent potential future crimes by such perpetrators. I believe that the death penalty is wrong not only as it is immoral to take a life, but also, such ineffective laws waste money and do not deter crime.
Comrade judges and layers: I am overjoyed to be here with you today. However, today is not a particularly joyous occasion. Today we are talking about the future of the death penalty. Due to new technology, access to execution drugs, -- or lack thereof, -- irreversible sentences, and constitutional issues, lawyers all around the nation are wondering: is the death penalty actually a good punishment, or should we simply outlaw it?
According to opponents of the death penalty, the death penalty, not only does not heal the wounds and hearts of the victim’s family and society, but it will also inflict more hatred and vengeance in the society. As Morgan (2011) said in her chapter “The Death Penalty Does Not Deliver Justice”, death penalty does not allow the relative of the victims to forgive and forget. For instance, she believes that seeing the cold-blooded execution of the criminal will not bring any peace or healing, rather, she believes that being involved in activities with other friends and relatives of the victim, such as the memorial service for the victim will be more effective in bring about peace and healing. In addition, she believes that arresting rather than executing the offender will bring more
A historical moment in United States history was shortly after the “so called,” “Boston Massacre. Many British soldiers were being accused of murder; but one Patriot, John Adams, who would one day become our second President, asserted that everyone deserves a fair trial. There was no killing. Only trials, observation, and questions. Our country states that everyone deserves the right to a trial, and not automatic death. The theory of capital punishment, or as most of you call it, the death penalty, is a violent way to sort out the criminals of an event. Capital punishment is a serious issue, and most of United States is on it. In fact, it is on the 2016 Presidential ballot, whether it should remain or be abolished. To inform people, capital punishment is a government practice where a person is put to death for a crime they committed. These capital offences are of serious issue, but should it really determine whether a person is allowed to live? No! I am an opponent for the death penalty being used anywhere in the world.