Capital Punishment Essay, Research Paper

In Favor of Capital Punishment

I believe that the death penalty is the best and fairest punishment for people

who have taken other people?s lives. Here are some interesting facts about the death

penalty. Did you know that 70% of all Americans support the death penalty?

Murder rates have also been down since the death penalty was reinforced. And

rehab techniques are so underdeveloped that no one is ever certain that a murderer

can be rehabilitated (supporting capital).

First of all, if someone has taken someone else?s life, in most cases their life

should be taken also. If a person is so imcompassionate for human beings and just

doesn?t care what happens to anyone; if they are sick enough to take the life of

someone else, their life should be taken also.

Second of all, would you rather pay for someone to be in prison for life in an

environment that is most likely better than where they were if they weren?t there?

You can argue that capital punishment costs more tax dollars. However, would you

rather pay for someone who has brutally taken the life of someone else to die than

have them stay in a prison that is nicer than where they would be on the street if they

weren?t in prison? For example, Consider crime as a career alternative. It is, you

know. Granted it’s not a viable alternative for me or you. The consequences of being

caught would be far too great — we have too much to lose. But consider, of all the

things we’re not willing to risk sacrificing, there are lots and lots of people who don’t

have those things. For someone in that position, consider the advantages:

No education requirements.

No previous experience needed.

No startup capital required in most cases, and minimal capital required in any

case.

Flexible work hours.

Be your own boss.

Medical and retirement plans provided free by the government.

Low risk.

Low risk? Well, yes. The odds of being apprehended at all are very low, and even if

you are arrested you’ll get free legal assistance (Savage, Leo). And plus, prisons are

becoming more and more crowded. The government?s solution to overcrowded

prisons is to spend billions of tax dollars to make more of them. This is a lot more

than it is going to cost the government to execute someone (Stern, Eric).

Next, since most inmates receive parole when they have life in prison for

killing someone, the murderer is back on the street in 20-40 years. Would you want

them back out there killing more innocent people? Since the prisons are becoming

more and more crowded, people in the prisons are more likely to be let out earlier to

make room for more prisoners, putting the original murderers back out on the streets

(Stern, Eric).

Lastly, and I believe, most importantly, what if someone were to brutally

murder one of your family members. Wouldn?t you want the murderer to die? Why

would you want them still in a jail, knowing that he is receiving ample amounts of

food and still living his life after killing someone so close to you?

Most people who are against the death penalty argue that it is cruel and

unusual punishment (pragmatic arguments). What they don?t think about is what

the murderer did was also cruel and unusual. You can also argue that the death

penalty is not biblically right, but I believe God was addressing the legal community

in Leviticus 24:7 when he says, ?And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to

death,? and in Numbers 35:31 when he says, ?Ye shall take no satisfaction or ransom

for the life of a murderer which is guilty of death:but shall surely be put to death.?

Men have never ceased to kill their own kind. They have killed in war, in anger out

of envy or gain, and have enacted laws authorizing them to kill those who violate

God?s laws. In doing these things, they have violated God?s law which forbids the

killing of all men (Berns, Walter).

The solution to the question of ?is the death penalty morally right?? is YES.

For someone who has murdered someone else, the death penalty, in many cases, is the

solution. We do not need these murderers living in our world any longer.

It?s simple: the death penalty is the best solution to people who have brutally

taken the lives of others. Why would you want someone who has killed another

person:

-to be back on the streets in 20-40 years killing others?

-if the person who they have killed is a member of your family, the murderer

only get life in prison?

-to be supported by your tax dollars in a prison with substantial food and

recreational facilities?

Let?s have the US continue to support the death penalty.

Berns,Walter. For Capital Punishment. Basic Books, Inc. 1979: 12-13

Marcus, Noreen. ?Steps In The Death Penalty Court Process.? SIRS Researcher.

Winter 1998.

Wilson, Tom. ?Pragmatic Arguments Against the Death Penalty.? Personal Home

Page. Online. Microsoft Internet Explorer. 22 September 1999.

Savage, Leo. ?The Crime Wave.? Personal Home Page. Online. Microsoft Internet

Explorer. 8 October 1999.

Stern, Eric. ?Lawmakers Hear NC?s Tale of Targeting Prison Expansion.? Iowa

Gazette Online. 12 January 1999.

?Supporting Capital Punishment.? Medina High School Online: Civics Projects.

Online. Microsoft Internet Explorer. 22 September 1999.