Sociological Theories: Sociological Analysis Of The Death Penalty (Essay Sample)

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Professor
Course
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Sociological Theories
The Death Penalty
The topic that I selected for this sociological analysis is the death penalty. The reason for my selection of this topic is that many people approach it emotionally while sociological analysis calls for one to take out the emotion and carry out an objective analysis. As such, the death penalty is sufficient as a social phenomenon to be examined using the sociological theories.
The functionalism theory holds that social phenomena affect five major social institutions. One can easily see the social implications of the death penalty from a careful sociological analysis. Structural functionalism involves an understanding of the way all behavior contributes to stability in the society. The latent function here is the impact on the society when it is derived of a criminal that was a threat to the lives of the society members. There are many states in the U.S that support the death sentence. The effects of the death sentence on the society are what encourages many state governments to consider it as a good form of punishment to deter crime. The second latent function is the jobs that are created for the soldiers who are employed to carry out the execution of those who are sentenced to death. The above are the positive effects of the death sentence on the society.
Of the latent dysfunctions, one is the impact on the families of the victims of the death sentence. The person sentenced to death could be the sole bread winner for their family and so the financial situation of the family may get worse if this person gets executed. The other dysfunction is that the death sentence does not serve the purpose of a punishment which is to correct. The best thing that should be done with the criminals is to teach them some important skills that they can use to earn a living rather than execute them.
The second theory in this analysis is the conflict theory which states that social groups struggle with each other over inequality. The struggle is necessary and is likely to result in a positive social change. With the death sentence, the competing groups are the people who support the death sentence and the people against the death sentence. Conflict theories say that this struggle is almost always over power. The proponents of death sentence are the people in power because death sentence laws have been passed in various states. The opponents seek to ruin the public image of the proponents so that they lose their power and cause the death sentence to be abolished.
The thir...