Реферат на тему Capital PunishmentThe Most Effective WayOf Punishment And
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Capital Punishment:The Most Effective WayOf Punishment And Deterrence. Essay, Research Paper
The putting to death of people judged to have committed extremely heinous crimes such as murder has been a practice since before the beginning of Christianity. In recent year, Capital Punishment has become a very controversial issue in the United States and other countries. Opposition to the death penalty says that states that have Capital Punishment have a very high crime rate. What they do not take into consideration is that all the states are different and have different populations, different numbers of major cities, and different crime rates. In otherwords, the states that have Capital Punishment have it because of the high crime rates, not the other way around. Studies have shown that Capital Punishment deters murders. In 1985, a study published by economist Stephen K. Layson at the University of North Carolina that showed that every execution of a murderer deters, on average, 18 murders. The study also showed that raising the number of death sentences by one percent would prevent 105 murders. Violent crimes are capable of being deterred by lethal consequences for their actions if only on a sub-conscience level. If the death penalty were just a consistent, lethal, and as unstoppable as the AIDS virus, criminals would have reason to back down. As an example, one reason for the increase in attacks on young children is that the rapists think that they are less likely to have AIDS. These rapists are less likely to attack grown women because the fear the lethal consequences of AIDS. Following on from that, is the fact that Abolitionists may claim that most studies show that the death penalty has no effect on the murder rate at all. That is only because those studies have focused on inconsistent executions. Capital Punishment like all other applications must be used consistently to become effective. Abolitionists say that there are alternatives to the death penalty. It is in their opinion that life in prison without parole serves well. Which it does, if you ignore all the murders criminals commit with the prison when they kill prison guards and other inmates, and also when they kill innocent citizens upon escape. This is why for people who truly value public safety; there is no substitute for the best in its defense, which is capital punishment. Another argument against capital punishment is bout the futility of combating violence with more violence, that you can not fight fire with fire. The problem with this is that there is a difference between violence and law-enforcement. Another cliched argument is the question: ?Why do we kill people to show that killing is wrong?? Therefore executions are equivalent to murder. Firstly, the term murder is specifically defined as the UNLAWFUL killing of a person and aforethought. So, logically, the word murder cannot be used to describe executions since the death penalty is the law. Secondly, comparing execution to murders is like comparing a policeman speeding after a speeder to enforce speeding laws.Nineteenth-century English philosopher and reformer John Stuart Mill, Stated,
?One displays a serious lack of moral judgementto believe that just because two practices sharea physical similarity means that they are morally identical?
There is a claim that it is more expensive for the state to execute than to incarcerate him for life. The actual figure estimates that a ? Life without Parole? case would cost $1.2 million – $3.6 million more than equivalent death penalty cases. A ?Life without Parole? prisoner faces, on average, 30 ? 40 years in prison while the annual cost of incarceration is $40,000 to $50,000 a year for each prisoner. Abolitionists say that the death penalty in ?un-constitutional? by quoting the eighth amendment which forbids ?cruel and unusual punishment?. The Supreme Court has held that the death penalty is not cruel or unusual, and is a Constitutionally accepted remedy for a criminal act.In Trop v. Dulles, Chief Justice Eark Warren, no friend of the death penalty said,?Whatever the arguments may be against capital punishment, bothon moral grounds and on grounds and in terms of accomplishing thepurpose of punishment? the death penalty has been employed throughoutour history, and in a day when it is still widely accepted, it cannot be saidto violate the concept of cruelty.
So the constitution does allow Capital Punishment. As for the penal system accidentally executing an innocent person, citizens are required to take certain risks in exchange for relative safety. So capital punishment is very capable of deterring murder if we allow it to, but the legal system is so slow and inefficient, criminals are able to stay several steps ahead of us and gain leeway through our lenience. Several reforms must be made in the justice system so the death penalty can cause positive effect.
Bibliography
Books:
1. Guernsey, JoAnn, B, ?Should We Have Capital Punishment??Minnesota: Lerner Publications Company, 1993.
2. Nardo, Don, ?Death Penalty (Lucent Overview Series.)?California: Lucent Books, 1992.
3. Webster, Merriam, ?Ninth new Collegiate Dictionary.?Massachusetts: Merriam Webster, 1984.
4. Wekesser, Carol, ?The Death Penalty.?California: Greenhaven Press. Inc. 1991.
5. Www.Times.com, ?Capital Punishment?(2/7/94)