McCartney Knutson
Should the Death Penalty Be Nationally Legalized?
Capital punishment, better known as the death penalty, has been around in the United States since the early 1600s. From hangings to our modern day lethal injections, the death penalty's methods and uses have been debated for centuries. But why is it such a conteversial issue? According to an article by News Activist, capital punishment is defined as "the practice of executing an individual as the punishment for a specific crime by the court of law." Opposers claim that the death penalty is a violation of the 8th amendments protection from cruel and unusual punishment by government as well as the 14th amendments right to life. They also state that certain races and genders (specifically white males) are being targeted. However, all of these claims have been proven wrong by multiple sources. For example, in the 1970s the Supreme Court looked into the constitutionality of the death penalty. They essentially concluded that, by law and with proper procedure, the death penalty did not violate any amendments or the constitution its self. This weakens the opposing argument significantly since the Supreme Court already ruled that it didn't violate those amendments. As for certain races and genders being targeted, over 69% of the people arrested for violent crimes are white males, making it reasonable to expect that a larger amount of …show more content…
The risk of death-row inmates escaping is too consequential to take. For example, if a serial killer that got a rush from thrilling was sentenced to life in prison and escaped, the temptation to kill would be too strong to resist. This is putting other inmates and residents around the jail in a substantial amount of danger. Instead of causing less sever crime inmates and society fear and possible harm, eliminating serious criminals by the death penalty is in the best interest for everyone's
Should the Death Penalty Be Nationally Legalized?
Capital punishment, better known as the death penalty, has been around in the United States since the early 1600s. From hangings to our modern day lethal injections, the death penalty's methods and uses have been debated for centuries. But why is it such a conteversial issue? According to an article by News Activist, capital punishment is defined as "the practice of executing an individual as the punishment for a specific crime by the court of law." Opposers claim that the death penalty is a violation of the 8th amendments protection from cruel and unusual punishment by government as well as the 14th amendments right to life. They also state that certain races and genders (specifically white males) are being targeted. However, all of these claims have been proven wrong by multiple sources. For example, in the 1970s the Supreme Court looked into the constitutionality of the death penalty. They essentially concluded that, by law and with proper procedure, the death penalty did not violate any amendments or the constitution its self. This weakens the opposing argument significantly since the Supreme Court already ruled that it didn't violate those amendments. As for certain races and genders being targeted, over 69% of the people arrested for violent crimes are white males, making it reasonable to expect that a larger amount of …show more content…
The risk of death-row inmates escaping is too consequential to take. For example, if a serial killer that got a rush from thrilling was sentenced to life in prison and escaped, the temptation to kill would be too strong to resist. This is putting other inmates and residents around the jail in a substantial amount of danger. Instead of causing less sever crime inmates and society fear and possible harm, eliminating serious criminals by the death penalty is in the best interest for everyone's