Edward I. Koch's Arguments Against The Death Penalty

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The death penalty has caused tension between more than just those who enforce it and those who receive it. The shock waves caused by the death penalty can be found building tension within the conversations of those who may not have a true role in the process but who, in the eyes of the American democracy, have a voice on the matter. As an observer of the current and past status of the death penalty, one can form the opinion and understanding the necessity of capital punishment in the form of the death penalty. The death penalty has been apart of the court rulings since its reinstatement in 1988. Although those who are against the death penalty would argue that each one of these deaths were not necessary to the safety of our nation.. The death penalty fulfills a role within the United States Judicial system that, …show more content…
Arguments against the death penalty can be simplified and classified into the categories of the brutality of the process, along with its morality, and the basic reason of why it is apart of the United States Judicial system.
The argument in support of the death penalty has been prevalent throughout the decades and although the times have changed the reasons of why it is obligatory to the safety of this nation's citizens. When presented with the question concerning the necessity of the death penalty, an essay by Edward I. Koch titled "Death and Justice" comes to mind in support of capital punishment. Koch starts with two short examples of murderers who were on death row and executed in 1984. The first example is of a man named Robert Lee Willie, who had been convicted of raping and murdering an 18 year old woman. Minutes before his death in the Louisiana state prison Mr. Willie made the statement that "killing people is wrong... It makes no difference whether it's citizens, countries, or governments. Killing is wrong." Mr.Koch's next example is of Joseph Carl Shaw, a murderer, rapist, and kidnapper who was put on death row in South Carolina. Koch

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