Capital Punishment In America Essay

The Debate: Should America Have Capital Punishment? “For centuries the death penalty, often accompanied by barbarous refinements, has been trying to hold crime in check; yet crime persists. Why? Because the instincts that are warring in man are not, as the law claims, constant forces in a state of equilibrium” (Camus). In America, capital punishment has been a growing issue; it continues to be in the news when a high profile case comes up, or when laws on capital punishment are argued in court. To date 32 states in America have capital punishment, and 18 states don’t. For many years concerns about the death penalty have come up, and many authors argue whether America should or should not have capital punishment. Capital punishment began in America when Britain influenced America’s use of the death penalty. The European settlers came to America and brought the practice of capital punishment. When the laws of capital punishment first came to America it was used for almost all crimes, even minor crimes such as stealing grapes. In 1608, Captain George Kendall a spy for Spain was the first to be executed in America. In the late seventeen hundreds laws on capital punishment began to change. In 1767, Cesare Beccaria’s essay, on crimes and punishment, influenced America’s reforms on the death penalty. In some states such as Virginia death penalty laws were changed and capital punishment was to be used only for crimes of murder and treason. The abolitionist movement gained interest in the nineteenth century. Some states built penitentiaries and reduced the number of capital crimes. In 1846, the state of Michigan was the first state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except for treason. Since then there have been arguments upon arguments about the death penalty (Death Penalty…). Many people wonder if capital punishment deters murders, and if it’s an act of violence. Some authors have argued about the deterrence effect on capital punishment, and some believe it deters future murders. In an article titled “The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense,” Earnest Van Den Haag, a Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy at Fordham University, said “I would favor retention of the death penalty as retribution even if it were shown that the threat of execution could not deter prospective murderers not already deterred by the threat of imprisonment. Still, I believe the death penalty, because of its finality, is more feared than imprisonment, and deters some prospective murders not deterred by the threat of imprisonment” (Van Den Haag). He believes that capital punishment deters future murders, because humans fear death over life imprisonment. However, Eric Reitan, an award winning scholar that teaches philosophy at Oklahoma State University, argues against the deterrence arguments on capital punishment. …show more content…
He believes that the deterrence arguments for capital punishment fail. In his article titled “Why the Deterrence Argument for Capital Punishment Fails,” he had this to say about the deterrence arguments, “These debates appeal both statistical data and to common sense, and so far have been largely inconclusive” (Reitan). Reitan found that all arguments stating that capital punishment has a deterring affect were indecisive. With his research he found that capital punishment should be abolished because, there is no real evidence stating that capital punishment deters murders. John D. Bessler an attorney and an adjunct professor of law