Death Penalty Necessary Essay

Improved Essays
Is Capital Punishment Necessary?

In the year 1623, Daniel Frank had the unfortunate opportunity of being the first person in America to be executed. The charge was for theft of a calf, which took place in the developing state of Virginia. Before stealing the baby cow, Frank had two choices: steal or starve. As he walked to the gallows, people cheered for the conquering of a criminal. In the 17th century, ending someone’s life was a fit punishment for crime. Death was used as a punishment against treason, theft, murder, assault, and arson. Many things in the justice system have changed since the 17th century, so why not the age old penalty of death? In 2016, shouldn’t these ideals have been altered to fit our world today? Capital punishment
…show more content…
A judge ruled that California’s three-drug cocktail could possibly be cruel and unusual punishment if the drugs failed to do their job and kill painlessly and quickly (McDermott 3). In the justice system, cruel and unusual punishment is illegal. Yet, the death penalty is still legal in many states. In 2012, a statewide poll in California to revoke capital punishment was unsuccessful 52 to 48 (McDermott 2). There have been many botched executions where the accused have suffered a very cruel punishment indeed. Pain is abundant while being pumped full of powerful drugs that are supposed to knock a person out, and then kill them. For the accused, sometimes they are not knocked fully out. A man who was to be executed, Stephen McCoy from Texas, had “such a violent physical reaction to the drugs (heaving chest, gasping, choking, back arching off the gurney, etc.) that one of the witnesses fainted, crashing into and knocking over another witness.” This happened during the year of 1989. It was later made in a statement by the Texas Attorney General that McCoy "seemed to have a somewhat stronger reaction," and that "The drugs might have been administered in a heavier dose or more rapidly" (Radelet 10). With these pieces of information in mind, doubt is definitely arisen when questioning the process of capital punishment. Unfortunately, there are no two people that are the exact same. Not everyone will react the same to lethal drugs. They may knock out one person and make the whole thing painless, but for another, it may cause seizures, heart attacks, and major suffering. If this can not be perfected, then how can it be assured that the person being put to death “peacefully” will not suffer? This is just one of the many issues with the death penalty that cannot be

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    If every form of death penalty is at risk of “extreme pain or torture” then no one should have to do die by being executed. Sentencing someone to death denies them the right to life – enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Right(Amnesty). The traditional method of death by hanging was also easily bungled: If the drop was too short, there would be a slow and agonizing death by strangulation; if the drop was too long, the individual’s head would be torn off (Aclu). Absolutely no one should have to die by having their head torn off or by strangulation, and if the death penalty has risks that big then nobody should have to be a victim of this cruel…

    • 1315 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The death penalty should be abolished in the rest of the states that it remains legal in. “The death penalty is the ultimate irreversible denial of human rights. ”(Insert Citation) The U.S.A is one of the only nine countries in the world to have carried out an execution every year, in the years 2009 and 2013. The other countries that still carry out the death penalty are Bangladesh, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen.…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Death Penalty: The Price Society Pays The death penalty has been a topic of controversy for centuries, known for its inhumane brutality methods which have evolved over the years from lynching to gassing, electrocuting and now the lethal injection; it is in fact the sentencing of those who have committed a heinous crime. On the other hand, justice has been served when the death penalty has finally been executed on the prisoner, bringing a sense of retribution to those who have lost a loved one due to the crime committed. Although many people might think it is a working system, others land in the mixture of controversy for various reasons. Over the course of time, the death penalty has started to become obsolete and is slowly making a turnover…

    • 1158 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Death Penalty Essay

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages

    When one thinks about the death penalty, they should imagine someone committing a horrific crime, such as murder. However, race plays a significant role in death penalty cases. It’s evident that if one is on trial for committing murder and they are found guilty, most likely they will face jail time no matter the color of their skin. It’s also evident when determining if one will face the death penalty if the defendant is African American. In my opinion, anyone who commits a horrific crime should face their consequences, but the consequences shouldn 't be tougher for people of color.…

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) Innocence List (2015), during the period 1973 to June, 2015 there has been 155 exonerations due to acquittal, pardons, and charges being dropped. So it should go without saying that a justice system that is flawed to certain degree should not be allowed to impose a penalty that is deliberate, with cruel intent. The death penalty or capital punishment was established as punishment for a crime as far back as the Ancient Laws of China.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Electric Chair Pros And Cons

    • 2503 Words
    • 11 Pages

    “Officials in California delayed the execution of 46-year-old Michael Morales, sentenced to death for a 1981 murder. His lawyers argued that a lethal injection would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, prohibited under the US constitution” (Hooper). But, that is not true, the Supreme Court along with the people who give and handle the ways the death penalty is given have stated that, yes, sometimes the death penalty and the way it 's done will cause some pain. They also state that the death penalty is not unconstitutional just by the fact of how much pain is given along with the penalty. As stated earlier the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty is humane and that cruel and unusual punishment is only when excessive torture is given.…

    • 2503 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    vTrey & Josh Mr. Ruff Government 1 Nov. 2017 Death Penalty "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This passage written by Thomas Jefferson and taken directly from the Declaration of Independence defines the rights the American nation is founded upon. These “unalienable” rights every American has “endowed” upon them are ones that cannot be taken away.…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Death Penalty Controversy May Be Easily Ended In the United States, the death penalty is used as the capital punishment. The Oxford Dictionary defines capital punishment as “the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime.” Common counterarguments to abolishing the death penalty often say that it deters future crime and saves money. It is also said that the death penalty is a justified punishment for the most heinous of crime (Mulhausen).…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    story that took America by storm, 27-year-old Jodi Arias made headlines nationwide for the murder of her 30-year-old ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. Deciding whether to give her life or the death penalty is heard decision to make but here are the facts: • Child hood abuse • Personality Disorder • No Prior • She stabbed him 27 times • Shot him in the head & slit his throat • Drove one thousand miles • Left him for dead • Changed her story At least three times 1. She didn’t do anything…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Use of the Death Penalty in the United States The use of the death penalty in the United States is probably one of the most debated subjects among Americans. It is used as a form a capital punishment for criminals who have been convicted of some of the most heinous crimes. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 1,398 inmates have been executed in the Unites States since the federal reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Death is a horrifying thing for most, which is why no one should have that power, but it is necessary, since it would not only avenge those killed by the accused, it would also prevent others from doing heinous…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many states that allow lethal injection normally use three drugs, The three-drug protocol uses an anesthetic or sedative, typically followed by pancuronium bromide to paralyze the inmate and potassium chloride to stop the prisoner 's heart. The sedative drug varies by state. This combination of drugs, however, is thought to be unethical in many court cases even though it is the “default” method in many states. States that allow lethal injection include: Missouri, Georgia, Indiana, and before the death penalty was abolished- Maryland (Death Penalty Info…

    • 1685 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The problem however is that there is a shortage of the main component in the lethal cocktail, sodium thiopental, so any prisons are trying to use alternative components that do not work the same. Also with execution The Washington Post editorial board says that the prisons aren’t hiring the proper trained professions. One thing is for certain the number of executions has dropped since the 1990’s whether it is due to the shortage of sodium thiopental or that the American people are strongly against…

    • 1014 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The death penalty makes a judgment of the life of any person, even a guilty person, that they no longer hold a value or a purpose in this life. In a study carries by Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) 77% of people favor the death penalty because they fear "that even the most dangerous murderers will be released in seven years if they are not executed" (Frame 51). Some people in the United States believe that capital punishment should not be abolished, just updated and made more efficient. What is suggested is the use of nitrogen asphyxiation which simply puts someone to sleep. Creque suggests in his article "Killing With Kindness" that it is okay to punish a human being by this method.…

    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    DChism 10/10/2017 American government Research Paper #2 Outline Opening Statement /Thesis: There are many thoughts and questions that plague my mind when it comes to the death penalty and although this is a controversial topic, many laws concerning it don’t seem to be right to me. I mean, I would like to know why take a life for a life when you have been giving a life sentence. This makes no senses and even though an individual may commit murder no one deserves to die. The United Sates is made up of three branches of government.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays