What Is Right Essay, Research Paper

What is Right?

Moving into the twenty first century brings about new changes, but continues to reflect on old issues. Capital punishment has been around before the turn of the century and is still being practiced today. America is one of the few countries left in the world that insists on capital punishment, while others feel that it should be abolished. I however agree with our government and feel that the death penalty is a beneficial tool for our countries success. Having capital punishment in our system helps to prevent crimes before they are committed. I honestly believe that criminals think twice before committing crimes when they know how severe the penalty is. It gives criminals a sense of conscience even when they feel they don t have one. They are more likely not to harm another s life when they realize hat their life could be taken as well.

One of the main reasons why I feel the death penalty should continue to be legal is because of my family. If a family member of mine were to be murdered, I feel that the person guilty of the crime should be sentenced to death. Not so much an eye for an eye, but rather a bit of vengeance on my part. I want that criminal to feel the pain and suffering that their victim did. I would be able to rest easy at night knowing that that person is not alive to harm anyone else anymore. I care too much about my loved ones to see their killer continue to live while they re lives ended abruptly. It might not be the best way to take care of certain issues, but it helps to bring justice for our country. For those who disapprove of the death penalty, I offer a question, What would you do if a family member of yours was murdered, would you really want the criminal to continue his or her life? I know I wouldn t, I d rather see them burn in hell for the crime committed against my family.

Although I feel capital punishment should remain, I often times reflect on the other side of the issue. Many would say that the taking of another mans life is murder in itself. They feel that the government is murdering our own kind. In Casting the Stone, by Lloyd Steffen he argues that The death penalty must still be questioned as a moral act because it affronts the moral principle that the deliberate and premeditated taking of fully sentient human life is wrong. I somewhat agree with Lloyd in that the death penalty is a premeditated murder. In a way our government is being a hypocrite in that they say that killing is wrong, but then they turn around and do it to the convicted. Do two killings bring it to an end?

The issue that makes me think twice about what side I m on, is the innocence factor. It has been proven that our system is not perfect and that innocent people have had to suffer due to someone else s crime. We need to change the system in a way so we are one hundred percent sure of a suspects guilt. Only then should the penalty of death be carried out. But is there a way to be totally sure, probably not. That is why the debate on capital punishment is still an issue today. No one wants to see an innocent person become the victim of a crime they didn t commit. One of the problems with the opposition s side is that they don t have enough trust in our government to give the penalty of death.

Placing death row inmates into other prisons will not solve anything. More of our hard earned tax dollars will be spent to help maintain all these new inmates. Our prisons may eventually let prisoners serve shorter terms because more room will be needed to accommodate for everyone. I don t think criminals should be able to serve shorter sentences because they are just cheating the system. By ending capital punishment we are letting criminals leave their jail cells and letting them back into our streets. I would not want to see a death row inmate become free based solely upon that our system can t continue to keep him in there. That is just wrong.

Having less strict laws will allow criminals to commit more crimes. When they know that are system is not hard on murderers then more murders are likely to occur because there is a lesser chance of getting into trouble. The reason why we have capital punishment is to give criminals a motive for not committing crimes. We as human beings are less likely to commit crimes when we know that there is such a harsh penalty. That is why we need to have capital punishment, give people the knowledge that our country will not tolerate horrible crimes.

Overall I feel that the debate over capital punishment will continue for years to come. I feel that it is for the best that the death penalty continues to be apart of our culture. It shows criminals that crimes of murder will not be tolerated. Our country, unfortunately is filled with criminals who cheat their way through life. Having strict laws like capital punishment may encourage criminals to look for another line of work. We want our citizens to obey laws and to do so we need to set a standard for capital punishment and how it is used. Death row inmates should not get to spend years in prison awaiting their execution, instead the sentence of death should be carried out more swiftly. The appeal process is a long and teetering process, guilty criminals should not get so many chances to escape their execution. Our country needs to find a balance on what is considered capital punishment and how justice is prevailed.