Life or Death, Can We Decide? Since 1976 there have been seven hundred forty six thousand and nine murders and four million and a half rapes reported and recorded in the US alone. any criminal charge which is punishable by the death penalty, called "capital" since the defendant could lose his/her head (The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head") Savitz) . Crimes punishable by death vary from state to state and country to country. A charge of a capital offense usually means no bail will be allowed. The offenses that are considered ‘Capital’ include are first degree murder (premeditated), murder with special circumstances (such as intentional, multiple, involved with another crime, with guns, of a
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The death penalty has been used in the world since there was government. The first recorded execution in America was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians. (DPIC) in the early twentieth century the death sentence was very disliked by the us government, they made it pretty much illegal until January 17, 1977 when Utah announced that the death penalty was constitutional.(DPIC) Since then it has been a little used alternative to its counterpart life imprisonment. The death penalty has become one of the longest and most debated topics of modern culture. The death penalty is ethical, and even though opposition would say otherwise it is cheaper and a …show more content…
Would you feel better knowing that they had been executed for their crime, or knowing that they were still alive? What if they are possibly living in better conditions than you are? That is not hard question to answer. You would not want that feeling that they are still around to possibly commit more crimes and hurt more people. Well life imprisonment does just this. It gives the criminal three meals a day and any technological devices (TVs, iPad, etc.) they ask for, which is ridicules. We are really taking more care of the criminal than the victims. It also costs a lot to house them, an average of $120,000 every year for tax payers to support each prisoner (DPIC). The death penalty only costs between four thousand dollars and eighty four dollars per lethal injection. And court costs are only about 34% more than that of a case of life imprisonment is sought. (Costs of the Death Penalty) That is not that much more expensive. The crime and its punishments should by equally dealt out. (Blecker) It’s only fair that the criminal is killed for
The death penalty has been used in the world since there was government. The first recorded execution in America was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians. (DPIC) in the early twentieth century the death sentence was very disliked by the us government, they made it pretty much illegal until January 17, 1977 when Utah announced that the death penalty was constitutional.(DPIC) Since then it has been a little used alternative to its counterpart life imprisonment. The death penalty has become one of the longest and most debated topics of modern culture. The death penalty is ethical, and even though opposition would say otherwise it is cheaper and a …show more content…
Would you feel better knowing that they had been executed for their crime, or knowing that they were still alive? What if they are possibly living in better conditions than you are? That is not hard question to answer. You would not want that feeling that they are still around to possibly commit more crimes and hurt more people. Well life imprisonment does just this. It gives the criminal three meals a day and any technological devices (TVs, iPad, etc.) they ask for, which is ridicules. We are really taking more care of the criminal than the victims. It also costs a lot to house them, an average of $120,000 every year for tax payers to support each prisoner (DPIC). The death penalty only costs between four thousand dollars and eighty four dollars per lethal injection. And court costs are only about 34% more than that of a case of life imprisonment is sought. (Costs of the Death Penalty) That is not that much more expensive. The crime and its punishments should by equally dealt out. (Blecker) It’s only fair that the criminal is killed for