Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished?

Decent Essays
Over the years capital punishment has been a topic of debate. Is it right to take the life of a person who has committed an unforgettable, heinous crime? Or is it right to let violent criminals who take innocent lives live? These are some of the questions that are often asked when it comes to discussing the death penalty. I believe that the death penalty should be abolished because it is a cruel and inhumane punishment for any individual regardless of the type of crime committed. While it may seem justifiable to take a life for a life, in the end no one really wins at all. The victim who lost their loved one is still grieving and now the family of the person who was executed is grieving. However, with executions we no longer have to worry that …show more content…
Supporters of the death penalty have argued that the death penalty is “firm but due justice”(Capital Punishment Should be Abolished). I believe that justice can be served behind bars with a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The killing of a human-being is never justified in any situation, and the death penalty is no different. Many will say that the “death penalty is a deterrent to crime”(Capital Punishment Should be Abolished), which is true but so is a life sentence in prison without parole. Both outcomes will make sure that these criminals stay off our streets, the only difference is we don’t need to take a life to do it. When we execute people we become killers, the very people we say that we hate. Executions don’t heal the pain of the hurt and neither do they solve our capital crime rate in …show more content…
They may even feel like the person who hurt their loved one should suffer in the same manner. It can be especially hard when a person shows no type of remorse for the crime they committed. Even though vengeance may seem like the best possible answer, we cannot hold ourselves to the same standards as individual murderers. In my opinion, spending a life sentence in prison is a more harsher punishment than the death penalty. People who are in prison lose a substantial amount of their freedom. They are now subject to the rules and regulations of someone else, which can be a major change for many. Another significant change for people who are in prison is losing freedom to be with family, friends, and the outside world. Unless they come to visit, there may be no contact with the outside world at all besides a phone call. Prison can also give a person the chance to change and become remorseful. They may even be able to help other people in prison change so that they won’t go down the wrong path that they have taken. A supporter of capital punishment may feel like no justice is served when murderers don’t suffer the death penalty, but in actuality justice is served better by life

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Whilst some think that the death penalty is a fair sanction, it is an inequitable penance because many convicts on death row suffered from prejudiced trials, were mentally-ill, or were wrongfully accused. There have been hundreds of unjustified deaths from the death penalty. In conclusion, the death sentence is an unnecessary form of punishment that advocates the obliteration of human life. There is no proof whatsoever that the death penalty serves as a deterrent to…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Capital Punishment, A Capital NO Capital punishment has a long and gruesome history, regrettably that history is not all in the past. Capital punishment, the practice of putting someone to death as punishment for a crime, is still exercised within fifty-eight countries and thirty-one American states. Although today’s methods of government sanctioned executions are more humane and less violent than our days past; when to be put to death meant to be hanged, flayed, burned alive or worse, it should still be considered by all, as a grave injustice to humanity. If killing is so wrong that it is considered one of the worst crimes a person could commit, why should the government be able to do exactly that.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For example, Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer and known cannibal who raped, murdered, and dismembered his victims. Instead of facing retributive punishment for his crimes, he was sentenced to multiple life terms and was later killed by an inmate. A person who has taken the life of another purposely and premeditated deserves to face the punishment of death under law. Executing a criminal who murdered another human being offers a way of retribution to the loved ones of the victim because even though they cannot change what has happened or have their loved one back, by seeing justice be served it assures to them that there will be no other victims and families who face the same tragedy, giving them some closure.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lloyd Turner Death Penalty

    • 2013 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Death Penalty Throughout history, people have condoned capital punishment and believe it to be a proper punishment for certain crimes. However, like with anything, there has been increasing scrutiny behind the death penalty. Capital punishment is the legal and politically correct way to refer to the death penalty. The death penalty has been around for thousands of years and has been performed in many different ways. Throughout time, the laws and rules surrounding this form of punishment have been altered and changed, and in many places, it has even been abolished.…

    • 2013 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Mcadams Death Penalty

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The death penalty gives families closure by making them feel safe again. The victim no longer has to worry about the criminal invading their life or their family's life anymore and making them constantly feel worried. If someone kills another human being, they have “taken the life of another, have forfeited their own right to live.” In more serious crimes, the person who commits the crime is usually sent to jail. The victim's family feels traumatized knowing that the perpetrator is still alive and still a danger to society.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The death penalty has been a solution to crimes constantly. Justice systems around the world have chosen to take the life of a criminal instead of sentencing them to life in prison. Capital punishment should be abolished because the justice system should not have the authority to take a criminal’s life. According to capital punishment laws, it is not justified for a criminal to take a life, but it is acceptable for a member of the justice system to take that criminal’s life.…

    • 1834 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In conclusion, death penalty should be abolished as it takes too much money, executes innocent lives, and does not give a chance to the criminals to reform. The death penalty is also inhumane as one is killing another individual. By killing the criminal, there is no difference between the criminal and the government, as both of them are taking life of individuals. Instead of killing people, the criminals should be sentenced for life in prison and should bear the consequences of their…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Death Penalty: Cruel and Unusual Punishment The death penalty is a cruel process of a bygone era and has no place in modern day civilized society. The death penalty has evolved from a punishment for crimes such as petty theft and adultery to the absolute punishment for crimes such as the rape of a child, kidnapping, treason, and murder, to name a few however the death penalty is fraught with errors.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hammurabi Punishment

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages

    We should not allow one who has murdered to remain a murderer. The ones truly affected are the victims and the ones sentenced to death no one will shed a tear for. Prison is a vacation for most prisoners they are fed three times a day, have a roof over their heads, and are given jobs. To allow them to live with a life sentence is giving them an easy out not the death penalty. By taking their life they will not be given the luxuries to see family, have meals, and live day to day.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People of all ages, starting from ages 12 and up, from little children to old adults, have been getting executed for years. A large amount of states have done away with the death penalty since the 21st century, fortunately it still exists in America. The death penalty is the worst punishment for anyone who decides to do a horrible crime. The death penalty continues to exist today and causes a grand impact on society. Without the death penalty America would be letting perpetrators back into society with only an insufficient amount of years; however, with the death penalty, there is a possibility of someone being wrongly accused and put to death.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Ann O’M. Bowman and Richard C. Kearney, the controversy over the death penalty is due to the “uninformed” people who believe that the perfect punishment for criminals is the execution, and the “informed” people who believe that a punishment must act as a deterrent arguing that execution is not a deterrent for criminals. In my opinion, death penalty can be a solution to end with rape and murder. But this solution could only work if we had a fair and honest legal system. And as human beings, is in our nature to involve feelings in our decisions that imply not always doing the right thing.…

    • 107 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Capital Punishment Debate

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The death penalty is the ultimate warning against criminals. Violent people will be less likely to enact aggression on others if there is a possibility of being sent to death over murder. It provides closure for victims and their families. Even if the murderer is not executed, the family still finds closure that the criminal is unable to harm anyone else. The execution is not always cruel.…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    they are the ones going throuh the most pain we should concentrate on them. Families who have gone through the death penalty have said that it is a long horrific process and that even after the death they still feel empty. the death penalty just makes families go through a long hard time with life in parole the process is quick and they don 't have to keep bringing up the subject of their loss. religion is against the death penalty and even some of the victims family say they don 't want to go through such a long agonizing process. religion states that no one has the right to take a life of anyone.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    the debate rages on whether capital punishment should be abolished. The fact that every person should be allowed to change should be reason enough to abolish the death penalty. There are plenty of reasons to abolish the death penalty. When searching the internet it is much easier to find reasonable arguments supporting the abolishment of Capital Punishment. The death penalty has to be abolished it is barbaric, immoral, and small minded.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The death penalty advocates revenge and takes the meaning of justice away, and if we were…

    • 1023 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics