Capital Punishment Does Death Equal Justice Essay

Capital Punishment: Does Death Equal Justice? Capital punishment causes the death of someone because that person killed someone else, yet only murderers suffer such a fate. Rapists do not endure rape, thieves do not have their possessions robbed, and those convicted of assault do not undergo a similar assault. or hundreds of years people have considered capital punishment a deterrence of crime. Seven hundred and five individuals have died since 1976, by means of capital punishment; twenty-two of these executions have already occurred this year (Death Penalty Information Center). Many U.S. citizens who strongly support the death penalty believe that capital punishment remains the best way to protect society from convicted killers.†¦show more content†¦For example: Connecticut executes offenders of capital felony crimes with nine categories of aggravated homicide, while California executes offenders of first-degree murder with special circumstances; train wrecking; treason; perjury (Death Penalty Information Center). These inconsistencies do not help the deterrence of crime, nor make those states that administer the death penalty crime-free. Statistics of murder rates in states without the death penalty compared to statistics in states that support the death penalty prove the lack of deterrence. For example, the average of murder rates per 100,000 population in 1999 among death penalty states was 5.5, whereas the average of murder rates among non-death penalty states was only 3.6 (Death Penalty Infomation Center). This lack of deterrence may exist in part, from the fact that executions occur in private, and society remains sheltered from its horrors. On the other hand, perhaps the repeated execution of prisoners by the state makes society gradually become more and more immune to the horror that should accompany the forfeiture of life. Though capital punishment does indeed fail to eliminate crime from the streets, the possible execution of innocent individuals outweighs many other concerns. Most capital punishment cases pose great difficulty in the determination of guilt or innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. An example of possible wrongful execution appears inShow MoreRelatedRacial Discrimination And Capital Punishment1682 Words   |  7 Pagesand capital punishment has been a heated topic discussed ever since the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia. In the article, â€Å"Does Racial Discrimination Make Capital Punishment Wrong?† by Stephen Nathanson, his position in this argument is affirmative as he argues that racial discrimination makes capital punishment wrong since death penalty is administered in an arbitrary manner. Arbitrariness is the quality of being determined by chance or impulse, and not by reason or principle. He claims capital punishmentRead More Capital Punishment Essay1132 Words   |  5 Pages Capital Punishment Should we kill killers is the question to answer regarding the controversial subject of capital punishment. There is strong support for both sides and many people have offered their opinions in writing for all of us to examine. John M. Olin, the Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy at Fordham University, gave us his Pro-Capital Punishment opinion in the Harvard Law Review in 1986. 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I will examine the philosophies of Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill, with regards to their stance on the death penalty. John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806- 8 May 1873) was born in London, EnglandRead MoreShould Capital Punishment Be Abolish?981 Words   |  4 PagesShould capital punishment be abolish? The answer should definitely be, no. Without the death penalty, criminals would oppose the law more aggressively. Criminals would openly do as they like, because they would no longer have the restriction from the law. Meaning without the law, the crime rate would escalate greatly. Yet in light of this importance, opponents (against capital punishment) offer their oppositional viewpoints. They combat what they consider the menace of social order. They question:Read MoreA Liberal Perspective On Capital Punishment1247 Words   |  5 PagesPerspective on Capital Punishment The liberal ideology is based in the values of individualism, in that the individual themselves is important in their pursuit and struggle for freedom. There are some factors that are common in liberalism, some of which include: liberty, formation of equality and dominance of individuals in bearing within their society. This essay will discuss these ideas of liberalism in relation to how they support the controversial issue of capital punishment. Capital punishment is theRead MoreThe Canadian Justice System And Capital Punishment1713 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Canadian justice system in its views on capital punishment. Two men, Arthur Lucas, and Ronald Turpin was to be executed in Canada for committing crimes. Both had been accused of committing murder, Lucas for killing an officer while fleeing a robbery and Turpin for murdering an undercover narcotics officer. Both were hanged back to back at midnight and buried side by side with no marking on their graves. Lucas and Turpin were the last to be executed under capital punishment and since then