Should The Death Penalty Changed Over Time?

The death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime (law.cornell.edu, 2015). The first Congress of the United States authorized the federal death penalty on June 25, 1790 (deathpenalty.org, 2011). The death penalty can also be referred to as capital punishment, however capital punishment also includes a sentence to life in prison, as opposed to strictly executions. A convict can be sentenced to death by various methods including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging. After the death penalty was established, many debates have arisen arguing that these methods violate several of the United States’ Amendments. Select cases have been accused of violating the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. It is important to note that the judiciary goes through a series of processes prior to deciding a sentence for a capital crime. Many factors influencing the verdict include proportional analysis, individualized sentencing, method of execution, and classes of people not eligible of the death penalty. This paper will discuss brief descriptions of the methods used for executions, economical issues, the Supreme Court’s opinion regarding the death penalty, as well as important factors that make up the proportional analysis, individual sentencing process, method used, and determining classes of people who are not eligible for the death penalty.

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

The death penalty, or capital punishment, has always been a topic of much debate in the United States. There are those who support it and those who oppose it, and each side has their fair share of points being made, backed by supportive evidence. The topics range from the morality of this punishment, including the methods of execution as well as fairness issues in regards to sex and race. The first issue that will be addressed is in regards to the death penalty working to prevent violent crimes.

The use of capital punishment in the U.S. is a growing concern for most American citizens. According to statistics, seventy percent of Americans are in support of the death penalty, while only thirty percent are against it. These statistics show that few people are against capital punishment (“Fact” 1). With the use of the death penalty growing the controversy is becoming more heated. With only twelve states left not enforcing it the resistance is becoming futile (“Fact” 4). Many debates have been made and even clauses have been invoked, such as, the “Cruel and Unusual Clause” that was invoked by the Supreme Court in 1962 (Meltsner 179). The use of death as a punishment has been viewed as “cruel

In this paper, the authors examine how the death penalty argument has changed in the last 25 years in the United States. They examine six specific issues: deterrence, incapacitation, caprice and bias, cost innocence and retribution; and how public opinion has change regarding these issues. They argue that social science research is changing the way Americans view the death penalty and suggest that Americans are moving toward an eventual abolition of the death penalty.

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is an authorized government practice in which a convicted criminal is put to death intentionally for a crime that a court of law found the perpetrator was guilty of committing. There are numerous debates regarding if the death penalty is a just practice. In the United States, the individual states have the power to decide on the use of the death penalty within their own state judicial court systems. In order to provide justice to the victim’s families and serve as a deterrence to violent crime, even though many believe it is neither civilized or ethical, the death penalty should be mandatory for people who commit first degree murder.

Since its earliest inception, society has always had in place some form of public accountability, rules, and in some cases, punishment, in hopes to dissuade would-be offenders from perpetrating any number of offenses. It has been a verdict applied to a variety of crimes ranging from the abandonment of soldiers during periods of war, to that of appalling crimes perpetrated by serial killers. Capital punishment has been characterized by some as brutal, disgusting, abnormal, and unnecessary. (1) While some argue for its continued existence, the judgment of death, according to some, violates the constitutional ban and is an application of cruel and unusual punishment, since it

The death penalty is a highly-debated topic among Americans, and although proponents for capital punishment slightly outnumber those who oppose it, the number of executions in the United States has sharply declined in the past two decades. Those who hold strong negative opinions about this issue argue that there is not enough compelling evidence to indicate whether or not the use of capital punishment is a crime deterrent, and others argue that minorities represent the majority of those executed, which is grossly unfair. Lawmakers have succeeded in passing legislation that has improved how executions are carried out, and over the course of history, the justice system has at its disposal more effective tools to determine a person’s guilt or

A human life is a fragile thing and should not be taken lightly. There are many facets to the death penalty argument, which is not a bad thing but helps us see it from every side. After reading this arguementive paper, hopefully it has caused you to consider other points of view. The goal here is not to sway opinion, rather to offer insight into the many premises involved in this highly controversial topic. In November 2004, Evan J. Mandery of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York wrote, “It is meaningless, really, to speak about the death penalty in America without

One of the most repetitive and controversial topics discussed in the criminal justice system, is the death penalty. Capital punishment has been a part of our nation’s history since the creation of our constitution, but since then, our beliefs have changed, creating a fierce debate among maintaining our current capital punishment system or prohibiting it from use in the United States. There are several arguments that support the abolishment of capital punishment, but one of the most widely criticized aspects of the death penalty, is the way it is arbitrarily used. With that being said, the intent of the paper is to examine and interpret previous court cases dealing with arbitrariness and our capital punishment system.

The paper will consist of explaining why the Death Penalty is wrong. It will take a look at the history of the Death Penalty, how it is viewed today, and the different methods of execution. This paper will also assess the how the death penalty is practiced in the United States and compare it to the practices of countries in Europe and Asia. It is important to note that the United States’ Death Penalty is acknowledged by some of its states and claim it to be protected by the Eighth Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishment.

In 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional, removing over 600 prisoners from death row. The justices described the application of the death penalty as arbitrarily, random, and discriminatory. Justice Potter Stewart remarked that the death penalty like being “struck by lightning” and that “if society 's ultimate punishment cannot be applied fairly, it should not be applied at all” ¹. Of the 22,000 homicides committed every year, less than 100 people are sentenced to death, and politics, the quality of legal counsel, and where the crime was committed are often more determining factors than the crime itself ². The race of the victim has also been found to influence the likelihood of receiving the death penalty even today. Despite all these reasons, in 1978 the United States Supreme Court declared that the death penalty would no longer violate the Constitution under a two-stage trial system even though it made no real changes. Capital punishment today is an offense just as immoral, arbitrary, and illogical as it was and has been since the beginning of time.

In recent years, the death penalty has been a frequent topic of discussion, as our recent technological advancements have evidently led individuals to consider the “new found” legitimacy of our court systems, as statistics display that our previous racial bias and the apparent morality of the practice itself have a miniscule impact on our conviction rate. Both the advancements and ethics that the death penalty provides become apparent through the utilization of anecdotes and statistics, as the death penalty has prevailed as an effective and reliable tool in regards to the conviction process.

Many people begin their morning with a cup of coffee and the daily news, whether attained by social media, television, or the radio. News coverage of death penalty cases, grabs the attention of an audience. The death penalty is an emotional issue for individuals to ponder. In fact, America’s opinion of capital punishment depends on its constitutionality, deterrence, retribution, and the irrevocable mistakes made by sending an innocent defendant to death row. The death penalty also known as capital punishment is legal in thirty-one states and illegal in nineteen states, to include the District of Columbia, (“History of,” 2015.) There has been 1,418 executions in the United States since 1976, the most recent execution was in Texas on October 2015, (“Executions by,” 2015). First, the Supreme Court sets the perimeters on the legality of the death penalty. Second, consider the pros and cons of the death penalty as a deterrent to murder and retribution, not revenge, (“Top 10,” 2009.) Third, the lethal injection drugs that are available for some states to use are brought before the U. S. Supreme court because of the complaint of inmates on death row of the “risk of severe pain,”(“Lethal Injection, ”n.d.) The death penalty is an allowed form of punishment for defendants that are convicted of murder or other capital crimes as long as it does not violate the Constitution.

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, has existed in many societies for as long as one can remember. This form of discipline is enforced on those individuals who display the most unfathomable criminal behavior against other fellow beings. In recent years, there has been great controversy over the necessity of methods such as this, and whether this form of inhumane discipline is justified. Some would agree that it is the correct way to punish severe acts of crime. Others would argue that murder is a crime, not a punishment, regardless of the act being committed by the justice system or the regular civilian. In this paper, I will be addressing some of the issues surrounding capital punishment. There will be a brief description of what capital punishment is and its origin. I will also be observing the effects that this disciplinary method has on the deterrence of crime, to distinguish the success of this method compared with those less severe. I conclude that the death penalty is not humane, nor necessary, to inflict on any individual, considering the risks.