What is capital punishment? Capital punishment is the maximum penalty of aconviction. More than 4, 400 people have been executed since 1930. There is noway of knowing how many people have been executed in U. S. history because theyused to be local affairs with nobody to record them.
On the edge of the 21stcentury, Capital punishment is still one of the two most debated issues in theU. S. , the other is abortion. This paper will attempt to show the effects ofcapital punishment and how it is used. Capital punishment has been a veryattention grabbing incident over the years.
For example, in 1936, about 20,000people gathered in Owensboro, Kentucky, on the morning of August 14 to see thehanging of a 22 year old black man, Rainey Bethea. Many people have also diedwrongfully. Sacco and Vangetti were two Italian immigrants that were accused ofpayroll robbery. Although they had alibis of there whereabouts, they were stillconvicted of the crime and sentenced to death by the electric chair. Nearlyevery culture throughout history has practiced capital punishment. Quarteringwas a popular method in Europe.
Quartering is being torn apart by horses. InIndia, executions were sometimes carried out by having an elephant crush thecondemneds head. In modern times, societies have sought to make executionsmore “humane. ” Such was the goal of the guillotine, which severed thecondemneds head with a heavy blade, and the electric chair which kills with amassive dose of electrical current.
The Constitution of the United Statesguarantees to every citizen certain fundamental rights. The First Amendment, forexample guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The Second Amendment promises that “the right of the people to keep and beararms shall not be infringed. ” The amendment most relevant to the issue of thedeath penalty is the Eighth Amendment. It reads: “Excessive bail shall not berequired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishmentinflicted.
” However simple and straightforward these words may sound, its notalways clear what they mean. That is because the words cruel and unusual aresubjective. One person may think, for instance, that capital punishment is crueland unusual, while another person may not. In 1972, the Supreme Court declaredthe death penalty cruel and unusual, and therefore unconstitutional. It was soonreactivated in 1976 by 35 states.
People have tried to influence decisions onthe death penalty. For example, the Pope has played a role in the decision ofthe death penalty. The Pope pleaded for a criminals life and the criminal wassentenced to life in jail instead of the electric chair. Many people that areinnocent have been sentenced to death.
Harry Blackman, a death penalty opponent,stated “Innocent persons have been executed and will continue to beexecuted,” explaining why he could no longer support the death penalty. Isidore Zimmerman, came within 2 hours of execution for a murder he did notcommit. Citing instances like this, death penalty opponents claim that thedanger of a terrible and irrevocable mistake capital punishment intolerable. Cost often comes up when the death penalty is mentioned. Those in favor of thedeath penalty say the government shouldnt waste its money on guarding,feeding, and housing a depraved criminal for the rest of his or her life.
Thetruth is, however, that it costs much more to put a prisoner to death than tokeep a prisoner in jail. It cost about 2 million to 3 million dollars tosentence someone to death and keep them on death row for 8 years. The same itcosts to keep 3 prisoners in a maximum security prison for 40 years. Opponentsuse this as a contradiction. Race is a big issue in death sentencing althoughnot admitted. There is still a lot of hard decision making when it comes toethnics being punished.
A comprehensive examination of capital murder casesin Georgia, a black convicted of murdering a white has a 22 percent chance ofbeing sentenced to die, whereas a white convicted of murdering a black has onlya 3 percent chance. This has been a big thing in the civil issues in America. When the death penalty is actually brought out to the society, basicallyeverything has an a effect on it. Religion, race, cost, and morals, but it isstill used in America today. Many democratic countries have outlawed the deathpenalty and the U. S.
probably should too. The Pope of the Catholic Church oncesaid, “Only God has the Power to give and take life from someone. ” Thisbeing true to most people, but the government and the American society have todecide whether or not to keep capital punishment.
