Capitol Punishment Essay, Research Paper

We can not afford to disregard the importance of capitol punishment and the

crimes that deserve it. People have used a number of arguments to support their

position regarding the death penalty. Among the arguments employed have been

deterrence, cost, retribution, incapacitation, rehabilitation and mistake. It

has been suggested, though, that a person’s position on the issue of capital

punishment is not determined by a rationale evaluation of the arguments for and

against the death penalty, but is an emotionally based, moral opinion, that may

be based on vengeance. In 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled that

capital punishment, as it was then being administered, was being applied in an

arbitrary and capricious manner which constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

In its decision, the Court noted that the death penalty statutes were vague and

ambiguous, providing little guidance to juries in deciding whether to apply the

death penalty. Psychological research supports the idea that increased ambiguity

in legal instructions can lead to discriminatory verdicts by mock juries. states

required juries to consider the mitigating and aggravating factors of the crime

before assigning a sentence of death. Other states, such as Texas, require that

a jury be convinced that all three of the following requirements have been

satisfied before imposing a sentence of death (1) that the defendant intended to

kill the victim; (2) that it is likely that the defendant would commit other

violent crimes in the future and (3) that the defendant did not commit the crime

as a reasonable response to any provocation by the victim. As a justification

for capital punishment, deterrence is used to suggest that executing murderers

will decrease the homicide rate by causing other potential murderers not to

commit murder for fear of being executed themselves ("general

deterrence") ? and, of course, that the murderer who is executed will not

kill again ("specific deterrence"). The desire for vengeance or

retribution is the desire to see persons suffer, or be punished, for their

actions. The principles of retribution suggest that a murderer should be

executed because he or she "deserves" or "has earned" the

sentence of death. Those who base their opposition to the death penalty on moral

grounds argue that life is sacred and killing is always wrong. people also have

questioned whether we as individuals or as a society have the right to decide

that another must die. Those who support the death penalty defend it as a

cost-effective alternative to life imprisonment. A 1982 study in New York

concluded that the average capital murder trial and the first stage of appeals

costs U.S. taxpayers 1.8 million dollars. It is estimated that this is less than

it would cost to incarcerate someone for one hundred years. In arguing for the

death penalty, prosecutors have relied upon arguments such as: executions are

necessary for deterrence; a sentence of death is legally appropriate; the nature

of the crime was extremely abhorrent; the defendant deserves to be executed; and

that the defendant lacks worth. By contrast, the defense arguments include:

execution is based on the desire for vengeance and is therefore morally wrong;

execution itself is equivalent to murder; the penalty of death is too severe;

and that executing the defendant will not bring back the victim or end the

suffering of survivors. Support for Capitol Punishment in the Bible A. Capital

punishment was commanded by God in the Old Testament. 1. It preceded the Mosaic

Law. Gen 9:6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in

the image of God He made man. 2. It was based on the dignity of man, i.e. man’s

transcendent value. Gen 9:6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be

shed, for in the image of God He made man. 3. It was commanded in the Mosaic

Law. a. Twenty-one different offenses called for the death penalty in the Old

Testament. b. Only three include an actual or potential capital offense, by our

standards. c. Six are for religious offenses. d. Ten are for various moral

issues. e. Two relate to ceremonial issues. 4. "But King David wasn’t put

to death for his capital crimes." a. David understood what justice demanded

in this case: "As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves

to die." 2 Sam 12:5 b. If God chose to set aside punishment, that doesn’t

mean the punishment is unjust when it is executed. God was the one who required

capital punishment in many instances. B. Capital punishment was assumed in the

New Testament. 1. God ordains governing authorities: a. Jn 19:11 Jesus answered

[to Pilate], "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given

you from above." b. Rom 13:1-2 Let every person be in subjection to the

governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those

which exist are established by God. Therefore, he who resists authority has

opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive

condemnation upon themselves. c. 1 Pet 2:13-14 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s

sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or

to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of

those who do right.