Is the death penalty just or unjust? It has been argued that capitol punishmentis imposed merely to gratify a desire for revenge. Whether or not a punishmentis legal depends upon whether or not it serves a valid goal or purpose of apolicy. The death penalty is usually defended on two grounds; is useful andthat is just .
Is capitol punishment moral or immoral?Is the death penaltymoral? Capitol punishment is imposed to spare future victims of murder bycarrying out the threat of execution upon convicted murderers. The deathpenalty punishes them not for what they may or may not do in the future but whatthey have already done. It’s unclear that the murderer has the same right tolive as their victim. ” Our ancestors.
. . purged their guilt by banishment, notdeath. And by so doing they stopped that endless vicious cycle of murder andrevenge.
” (Euripedes, Orestes 408 B. C. ) By 1500 in England only major feloniescarried the death penalty. Reform of the death penalty began in Europe by the1750’s. By the 1850’s these reform efforts bore fruit. Michigan firstabolished the death penalty in 1847.
Various public opinion polls report thatmore than 70% of Americans favor the death penalty for murder. By 1991, some2,350 persons were under the death sentence in 36 states. The death penaltyshould be moral because, ” a life for a life. “Is the death penalty immoral?Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is a realistic alternativefor the small number of offenders who are likely to be executed in any givenyear.
Justice does not demand death but justice does demand that murderers bepunished. If punishment is justifiable as for restoring justice and the moralorder, it does not necessarily follow that capitol punishment is moral. ” Thedeath penalty only allows us to extend the pain. It allows us to continue toblame one another, to turn against one another, to learn to hate better” .
Manypeople think that by executing some criminals, we will deter others. The costto send a murderer to a death penalty is about 3 million dollars. The cost isdramatically lower to keep a criminal in for life imprisonment without thepossibility for parole. The death penalty is just ” cruel and unusualpunishment. “Personally, the death penalty is moral and just. If you take alife you should have yours taken.
It is here to show that the death penaltypunishes the murderer for what they have already done. There are some instanceswhere it is very unclear whether the death penalty should be used. For example,a man that works in a high security research facility. A foreign agent hasevidence that he has been selling information to another foreign spy andthreatens to kill him if he doesn’t kill the spy.
He kills the spy and getscaught in fear of his own life5 . Should he receive the death penalty? Today,the death penalty is still uncertain in many cases if it is just or unjust. Oneof the “Ten Commandments” states, ” Thou shalt not kill. ” Wouldn’t this meanthe death penalty is murder?Is capitol punishment moral or immoral’someday the death penalty could beabolished totally. The big controversy is if the death penalty is fair or not. Should a murderer get his own life taken or should it be called a ” cruel andunusual punishment.
“? The best possibility that has been discovered is lifewithout the possibility of parole. Is capitol punishment a desire for revengeor is it a purpose of a policy? The death penalty should be questioned againstthe Constitution.Category: Law
