Death Penalty: Contradictory And Emotional Role in USA (Essay Sample)

Death penalty
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Death penalty
Abstract
The death penalty plays a contradictory and emotional role in American social and political culture. Recent evidence, however, suggests that the death penalty as a method of preventing capital crimes has a paramount role in preventing as many as eighteen or more murders for each execution. This evidence greatly unsettles moral objections to the death penalty, because it suggests that a refusal to impose that penalty condemns numerous people to death.
This paper scrutinizes and clarifies strong reasons as to why the existence of the death penalty is essential to peace and tranquility of the society as a whole. In contradiction of the common belief that an innocent person may be sent to the gallows by a false conviction.The paper goes on to explain that various checks and balances have become available, that ensure that no innocent person is condemned while at the same time providing that no person who is guilty of the heinous crimes is allowed to go scot-free.
The paper finishes by being for the existence of death penalty as it deters and helps to lower the crime rate among other advantages.
Introduction
The death penalty laws have faced a lot criticism from individuals in the recent years. Some people claim that it is a necessity which must be awarded to the most heinous crimes. Other individuals who advocate for human rights are dead right against the notion of the continuance of death penalties. The allege that any death penalty issued is a violation of the fundamental human right to life. They assert that the state has no right whatsover to end human life CITATION Rob09 \l 1033 (Rob, 2009). This paper will go on to elucidate the reasons why the existence of capital punishment is material to achieving justice in the state.
Death punishment refers to the verdict, which legally terminates the natural life of a person. As a result, a person’s life can be ended legally by taking recourse in the law, connoting that a person's life can be cut short from the natural span of that person’s life
Death penalty is not a modern-day concept; it has been in existence since the ancient times. In the ancient times, the death penalty usually involved beheading the person and was awarded by the king for the explicit non-compliance of a person. In the 20th century, there was a movement for the abolition of the death penalty. In the year 1992 in a monumental ruling by the supreme court, all but a few penalty statutes in the United States were considered unconstitutional CITATION Fru92 \l 1033 (Fruman V. Georgia, 1992). Consequently, each of the 630 or so inmates then on America’s death rows was resentenced to life imprisonment
ARGUMENTS PRO DEATH PENALTY
By conferring the most stringent punishment for the most heinous crimes, future crimes may be prevented. The majority of the advocates for the death penalty support it due to its deterrence function. Society has a high interest to prevent murder; hence society should use the strongest punishment available to deter crime. The fundamentals of psychology state that, when a person knows he is likely to get severely punished for a particular act, and the burden of that action far outweighs the benefit, it is only obvious that the person would not commit that act. The argument is that we must punish offenders to discourage others from committing similar offenses. Criminologist Robert Caldwell asserted, “the most frequently and widely accepted argument for the death penalty is that the threat of infliction, deters people from committing capital offenses.” Hence by awarding the most stringent punishment for the most heinous of crimes, future crimes may be prevented.
The death penalty seeks to ensure justice. The preamble to the constitution of the USA, aims to achieve all its citizens’ justice among other things. A just society requires the death sentence for taking a life. When somebody takes a life, the equilibrium of justice is disturbed. Unless that balance is restored, society succumbs to a rule of violence. Simply the taking of the murderer’s life restores the balance and allows the social order to show captivatingly that murder is an unendurable crime which will be chastised in kind. Any lesser punishment would undermine the value society places in protecting lives. We do not need to appeal to a religious justification for capital punishment. We can site the role of the state in dispensing justice. Now is it not fair to that a person who has committed the heinous of crimes, an individual who is potentially dangerous to society as a whole or individuals who have no ounce of remorse in them be shown the gallows? It will not be justice if people who have behaved in an inhumane behavior will be treated in the same manner as humane individuals.
The death penalty is applied fairly and may be used. Under the USA constitution, capital punishment is not awarded without any basis or arbitrary without any rationale or reasoning. It ia awarded only in the rarest of rare cases. Second, even if the death sentence is passed, the convict has a right to file a mercy petition, or due to unreasonable delay, there is a possibility that the death penalty might be commuted to life imprisonment. Discretion has consistently been an essential part of justice. Not a single person expects the prosecutor to pursue every possible offense or punishment. Each crime is unique, both because the circumstances of each victim are different and because each defendant is different. The USA Supreme Court has held that a mandatory death penalty which applied to everyone convicted of first-degree murder would be illegitimate. As a result, great care and restraint is taken before capital punishment to is awarded. That being the case it is plausible to conclude that the state does have a high regard for the life of its citizens and that it exercises the utmost care and caution before the death p...