Death Penalty - to Kill or Not to Kill? That Is the Question

To kill or not to kill? That is the question.

The debate concerning the death penalty is a long and passionate one. There are lots of reasons why people are for the death penalty and even more reasons why people are against the death penalty. This essay is not going to solve this issue, nor is it supposed to sway your opinion one way or the other. This essay is to merely familiarize you with this issue and get you contemplating your view on the subject. In this essay we will embark on an educational journey to educate you on the facts, some beliefs, and a few opinions to find out the reasons for both sides of this debate so you can decide for yourself weather the death penalty is something you would be for or against.

Let's start off with some basic unbiased facts about the death penalty. The Death Penalty Information Center states that at the time of January 23, 2012 there are thirty four states that enforced the death penalty including the United States Government and the United States Military. There are also sixteen states that did not enforce the death penalty. The number of executions in America rose to an all time high in 1999 to ninety eight people executed. It has since significantly lowered to forty three in 2011. The race of the defendants executed were fifty five percent whites, thirty five percent blacks, eight percent Hispanics, and two percent were other races. At the time of April 1, 2011 the race of death row inmates was forty four percent whites, forty two percent blacks, twelve percent Hispanics, and two percent other races. Sixty one women sat on death row as of April 1, 2011 and twelve women have been executed since 1976. (NAACP Legal Defense Fund, April 1, 2011.) There are several methods of execution including lethal injection, electrocution, the gas chamber, hanging, and the firing squad. Although, the firing squad and hanging have long been abandoned as viable means for execution.

There are, what some people consider, good reasons for the death penalty. First and foremost the bible states in Genesis 9:6, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for the image of God made he man." Revelation 13:10 states, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." Some people argue that God himself invented the death penalty and who are we to dispute God. The most basic principle of justice is that the punishment should match the crime. On a more tangible subject, a common argument for the death penalty is that it deters crime. Who would commit a serious crime if the sentence was death? Some could argue that it gives closure to the family of a murder victim. Knowing that the person who killed their loved one will never be able to hurt anyone else could be comforting to the family. The death penalty could also help in the problem of over crowding in the prisons today. If death row criminals and person's charged and found guilty of murder were executed it would free up a lot of space in the prison system. It could also cut costs because you would not need as many prison guards on duty and you would not need to house, feed, and provide health care to all those criminals.

There are countless arguments against the death penalty