Taking a Stance on Death Penalty (Essay Sample)

Taking a Stance on Death Penalty
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Taking a Stance on Death Penalty
Over the last few decades, criminal activity in the United States has increased significantly. Drug trafficking, human trafficking, and murder are just a few of the serious crimes. Because the number of criminal activities in the United States is increasing every year, it's not surprising that people debate various forms of punishment that would deter some of the crimes mentioned above. As a result, the death penalty has become a focal point of debate. Multiple individuals, scholars, politicians, and even religious leaders are torn between opposing viewpoints as they assess whether it can deter criminal activity (Roberts & Stalans, 2018). Despite society's strong opposition to the death penalty, the paper will discuss how it can help prevent severe criminal conduct.
For several years, the morality of the death penalty has been a hot topic. Opponents argue that the state taking a citizen's life for any reason is morally wrong. As a punishment, they claim, the government has no legitimate reason to use the death penalty. While defending the death penalty, Immanuel Kant (2017) blames society for its refusal to end the life of a murderer. There's no better punishment for murder than death. Proponents argue that it is morally wrong not to punish those who commit murder properly. They, therefore, insist on the human execution of the perpetrators. According to proponents, offenders will be afraid to commit heinous crimes because they are afraid of being executed (Kappler & Potter, 2017). For the sake of preventing murder, they argue, harsher penalties should be handed out to offenders. Since other criminals will avoid these vices, society will be a safer place to live. Society is at the forefront wanting these severe crimes to come to an end. The proponents argue the need for society to embrace the highest form of punishment to eradicate the vice.
The death penalty, on the other hand, is also an appropriate form of retribution. When people commit serious crimes, they destabilize the social structure. They may take away people's lives, peace, and liberties to restore order in such a society, and the death sentence is just but a punitive measure. A punishment that serves the offended and their relatives as a form of justice aimed at restoring the moral order (Lee, 2017). However, an insensitive and extraordinary sentence is prohibited by the United States Constitution and bill of rights, the eighth amendment. Execution opponents argue that it is an unconstitutional way to punish because it constitutes severe punishment. To recap: As previously mentioned, the death penalty recipient receives humane treatment despite the execution. People are completely unaware of any pain after administering the anesthetic. No one is calling this procedure unconstitutional because it's done every day in hospitals, and no one has objected to it. The Supreme Court has often ruled that the death sentence is legal (Sarat et al., 2017). Despite all the efforts employed by the opponents, they fail to prove them wrong by practicing capital punishment.
Proponents of abolishing capital punishment argue that executing an innocent person is a risk that the opponents must consider. Many people who make this argument exaggerate just how possible something like this is. It has, however, not occurred since the state brought the death penalty back in 1976 (Sarat et al., 2017). The argument cannot justify the reason for abolishing the death penalty. It is worth noting that the court issues this judgment upon careful considerations of all the facts presented. The process also takes a long time to ensure the execution of an innocent person does not happen.
The fact that the death penalty aids in preventing heinous crimes are a compelling argument in its favor. The topic is controversial since some have argued that the death sentence has little effect on the rate of homicide. It is impossible to deter so-called "crimes of passion" committed by a mentally aggrieved person when they cannot think about the consequences of the crime (Newman, 2017). There is, however, strong evidence that capital punishment can deter crimes, even those committed by close friends and family.
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