Capital punishment, or what most call the death penalty is the ability of the state to take someone’s life as punishment for breaking the law. Several methods such as, hanging, electrocution, and lethal gas have been used over the years. Capital punishment has been around for over decades, and has also been abolished in many countries. What makes capital punishment so controversial? Some people believe the death penalty is cruel and inhumane, while the other side believes that since the offender killed they should be killed. The death penalty is a lengthy and costly process that requires many steps to be labeled humane, yet being sentenced to life in prison is just as lengthy of a process. The case must be reviewed in a state appeal, and
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Around the time of the holocaust the idea of the government having enough power to kill frightened thousands of people around the world. This caused an uproar of human right activists to take a stand against capital punishment. It is said, “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was promulgated in 1948, provides the most authoritative statement of international human rights norms even today. It declares that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person” (Article 3) and that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (Article 5). Thirty years after the introduction of the Universal Declaration, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to progressively restrict the number of offenses for which the death penalty may be imposed with a view to the desirability of abolishing capital punishment” (Bae, …show more content…
Prisoners that have commited murder or rape in states that do not use capital punishment are sentenced to life in prison. This means that our tax money is being used to feed and house people who have murdered and raped innocent human beings. It is said, “prisons hold 76,600 inmates who are 55 or older. While some remain dangerous, many are like the 73-year-old murderer Ray Tamm, who can barely walk, never mind maim or kill anyone. According to a September Washington Post story on Deerfield Correctional Center, Virginia's main facility for aged inmates, Tatum will spend the rest of his life in prison, with his medical expenses shouldered by state taxpayers”
Around the time of the holocaust the idea of the government having enough power to kill frightened thousands of people around the world. This caused an uproar of human right activists to take a stand against capital punishment. It is said, “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was promulgated in 1948, provides the most authoritative statement of international human rights norms even today. It declares that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person” (Article 3) and that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (Article 5). Thirty years after the introduction of the Universal Declaration, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to progressively restrict the number of offenses for which the death penalty may be imposed with a view to the desirability of abolishing capital punishment” (Bae, …show more content…
Prisoners that have commited murder or rape in states that do not use capital punishment are sentenced to life in prison. This means that our tax money is being used to feed and house people who have murdered and raped innocent human beings. It is said, “prisons hold 76,600 inmates who are 55 or older. While some remain dangerous, many are like the 73-year-old murderer Ray Tamm, who can barely walk, never mind maim or kill anyone. According to a September Washington Post story on Deerfield Correctional Center, Virginia's main facility for aged inmates, Tatum will spend the rest of his life in prison, with his medical expenses shouldered by state taxpayers”