Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished Analysis

As far back as the Eighteenth-Century B.C., the death penalty has been a part of our society. It went from getting this punishment for any crime to our current refined laws. The way the death penalty makes its way into Steve Earle’s essay is talking about whether it should or should not be abolished. From reading this essay you can defer that he wants it to be abolished. With some words of his own to a story within, Steve Earle delivers a powerful point to the reader. The death penalty should be abolished because it’s not a punishment, it’s cruel, and it sets a bad example to other countries.
The first reason the death penalty should be abolished is because it’s not a punishment. Jail is a punishment. Jail provides an experience that will …show more content…
Summed up, the eighth amendment states that we are to not to impose cruel and unusual punishment. Some may say that jail is cruel, but being in a place where you can rehabilitate is much better than getting killed. The first point in why it’s cruel is because the punisher becomes the killer. We call it “punishment” I’m sure the older generations of the world have a totally different opinion on what punishment is defined as. Killing someone makes us the killer, doesn’t it? If one stole from a stealer just for the simple fact that they stole, does that justify their actions? It makes us no better than the said stealer, or killer in a more extreme case. A second point on why the death punishment is cruel is because we are not God. That may sound extreme to compare humans to a God, but it is what we are trying to play a part as. Taking another’s life shouldn’t be an option if it can be helped. A person’s life is not ours to …show more content…
Most see the United States of America as the father or leader of this world. Shouldn’t the father be a role model for the children? Showing no mercy makes us seem like cold hearted killers. If the U.S.A. could show the world that we can rehabilitate killers, respect would follow by anyone. Imagine catching a notorious killer that is known worldwide. Instead of killing that criminal we could focus on rehabilitating them to make them a functioning member of our society. On the other hand, our country could just choose to kill every criminal that meets the minimal requirements to get the penalty. Not only would the death penalty free up space in prisons across the country, but we would also seem more dominant to any oppositions. With all the members of our society, making fun of our presidential candidates, we could use a factor such as the death penalty heavily