The use of the death penalty has been a long discussed debate in the criminal justice system. First going into this discussion one must discuss the definition of the death penalty and its history. The death penalty for crimes has been a tool used throughout history. The first ever recorded execution of a criminal in America occurred in the year 1612 when a Spanish spy was caught. Each colony had its own laws for the states justification of taking a life. Fast forward to the 1930s on the edge of the great depression and resurgence in the publishing works of criminologists who suggested that the death penalty had a key role in society there was a surge in death penalty cases. During this decade there was an average of 167 people put to death
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Most of the pros contradict the cons in facts and provide little insight. As a result of information gathered for this paper along with debates and discussions with other criminal justice teachers my opinion on the death penalty is that it should be abolished. I believe the cons out way the pros. The following are a list of countries who still use the death penalty; AFGHANISTAN, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, BAHAMAS, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BARBADOS, BELARUS, BELIZE, BOTSWANA, CHAD, CHINA, COMOROS, CONGO (Democratic Republic), CUBA, DOMINICA, EGYPT, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ETHIOPIA, GAMBIA, GUATEMALA, GUINEA, GUYANA, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, JAMAICA, JAPAN, JORDAN, KOREA (North), KUWAIT, LEBANON, LESOTHO, LIBYA, MALAYSIA, NIGERIA, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, QATAR, RUSSIA, SAINT KITTS & NEVIS, SAINT LUCIA, SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES, SAUDI ARABIA, SINGAPORE, SOMALIA, SOUTH SUDAN, SUDAN, SYRIA, TAIWAN, THAILAND, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, UGANDA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, VIET NAM, YEMEN, and ZIMBABWE. From this list I could identify only a few first world countries that still use it. The question that I ask to many people is if other first world countries are eliminating it why is the United States continuing? Is our society not yet ready to take a step which is viewed by the vast majority of the first world as a progressive one? Or is it that our problems differ so much that the comparison cannot be
Most of the pros contradict the cons in facts and provide little insight. As a result of information gathered for this paper along with debates and discussions with other criminal justice teachers my opinion on the death penalty is that it should be abolished. I believe the cons out way the pros. The following are a list of countries who still use the death penalty; AFGHANISTAN, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, BAHAMAS, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BARBADOS, BELARUS, BELIZE, BOTSWANA, CHAD, CHINA, COMOROS, CONGO (Democratic Republic), CUBA, DOMINICA, EGYPT, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ETHIOPIA, GAMBIA, GUATEMALA, GUINEA, GUYANA, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, JAMAICA, JAPAN, JORDAN, KOREA (North), KUWAIT, LEBANON, LESOTHO, LIBYA, MALAYSIA, NIGERIA, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, QATAR, RUSSIA, SAINT KITTS & NEVIS, SAINT LUCIA, SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES, SAUDI ARABIA, SINGAPORE, SOMALIA, SOUTH SUDAN, SUDAN, SYRIA, TAIWAN, THAILAND, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, UGANDA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, VIET NAM, YEMEN, and ZIMBABWE. From this list I could identify only a few first world countries that still use it. The question that I ask to many people is if other first world countries are eliminating it why is the United States continuing? Is our society not yet ready to take a step which is viewed by the vast majority of the first world as a progressive one? Or is it that our problems differ so much that the comparison cannot be