The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the death penalty as “execution imposed in court of law as punishment for a crime.” Edward I. Koch, a New York mayor from 1978-1989, supports the death penalty while David Bruck, Harvard College alumni, opposes the death penalty. In the essay “The Death Penalty: Is It Ever Justified?” and “The Death Penalty” both Koch and Bruck talk about the death penalty, yet they both argue the value of life very differently by elaborating their points of view.
Imagine a life where there was no existence of any type of crime. Sadly, we live in a life where crime exists and sometimes we can do something about it and sometimes we cannot. People like Koch and Bruck view justice differently, because Koch states; “We may …show more content…
As he states; “Some critics of capital punishment, such as columnist Jimmy Breslin, have suggested that a life sentence is actually a harsher penalty for murder than death.’ This is sophistic nonsense” (Koch 486). Koch disagrees with Jimmy Breslin, because he is not convinced that a life sentence in prison is harsher than an execution. While Koch sees a person convicted for murder being executed, Bruck’s idea is to make sure that the convicted murderer has proof of either being guilty or innocent. Bruck believes that it is important to know because there have been cases where innocent people have been executed before. An example of an innocent person who was almost executed was Lenell Jeter. Lenell Jeter was a young black engineer who recently served more than a year of a life sentence for a Texas armed robbery that he didn’t commit. (Bruck 491). This piece of evidence from Bruck’s essay helps to understand that there have been situations where they punish the wrong person. Bruck states, “I don’t claim that executions of entirely innocent people will occur very often. But they will occur” (Bruck 495). Bruck wants assurance that if the death penalty is going to put to action, to at least be sure that the person being convicted of the crime is truly guilty.
Imagine all those people who were executed and were innocent. Like Koch and Bruck, justice should be equal for all, but in Bruck’s defense, justice wouldn’t be equal for all if innocent people were killed for a crime they did not commit and the sad part is that you can’t fix it because they would be already
Imagine a life where there was no existence of any type of crime. Sadly, we live in a life where crime exists and sometimes we can do something about it and sometimes we cannot. People like Koch and Bruck view justice differently, because Koch states; “We may …show more content…
As he states; “Some critics of capital punishment, such as columnist Jimmy Breslin, have suggested that a life sentence is actually a harsher penalty for murder than death.’ This is sophistic nonsense” (Koch 486). Koch disagrees with Jimmy Breslin, because he is not convinced that a life sentence in prison is harsher than an execution. While Koch sees a person convicted for murder being executed, Bruck’s idea is to make sure that the convicted murderer has proof of either being guilty or innocent. Bruck believes that it is important to know because there have been cases where innocent people have been executed before. An example of an innocent person who was almost executed was Lenell Jeter. Lenell Jeter was a young black engineer who recently served more than a year of a life sentence for a Texas armed robbery that he didn’t commit. (Bruck 491). This piece of evidence from Bruck’s essay helps to understand that there have been situations where they punish the wrong person. Bruck states, “I don’t claim that executions of entirely innocent people will occur very often. But they will occur” (Bruck 495). Bruck wants assurance that if the death penalty is going to put to action, to at least be sure that the person being convicted of the crime is truly guilty.
Imagine all those people who were executed and were innocent. Like Koch and Bruck, justice should be equal for all, but in Bruck’s defense, justice wouldn’t be equal for all if innocent people were killed for a crime they did not commit and the sad part is that you can’t fix it because they would be already