Death Penalty...Yes or No?

Sam Polcari

English 1020

Professor Schuler

10 Nov. 2012

Death Penalty...Yes or No?

Weather or not the death penalty is a just form of punishment is an issue that has continually caused tension in society. The death penalty is where someone is put to death by the state government for committing a capital crime or offense. Many people support the capital punishment claiming that it is right for people who have committed a particular type of murder, while many others think that it is not right because they think that a sentence of life without parole is far worse than getting death as an easy way out.

Many people support the death penalty for many different reasons. Some people say that is should be allowed because it makes sure that the offender cannot re-offend. They say that executing the offender protects outside citizens as well as protecting the staff and other inmates of jails. Other people say that it is justified because it deters other would-be murders from committing murder simply because they don't want to die. Robert Blecker , a New York law professor, said "that the punishment must be painful in proportion to the crime." He thinks that it would be unfair if the offender were to stay alive in severe murder cases. Other people say it is just because it also helps with overpopulation in jails. If more people were sentenced to the death penalty, there would not be such overcrowding in jails and would make them safer for the staff to work in because inmates would not have to be jammed into large rooms with hundreds of other offenders. The death penalty also allows some closure for the victim's family. This helps because the family knows that whatever happened to their loved one will not happen to another innocent person. Supporters of the death penalty also say that the threat of the death penalty could also be a reason for people to plead guilty, reveal the location of a body or of evidence, and testify against accomplices. Some other supporters say that the death penalty is more humane than other punishments like sentencing someone to the next twenty-five years in solitary confinement. This means that the prisoner will never again see the light of day, and many prisoners in solitary confinement end up going mad because they are always alone and have to think about all of the horrible things that they have done, so, many supporters think that capital punishment is in a way is a sort of mercy. Many people support capital punishment for varying reasons.

While many people support the death penalty, many people are also against it. Many people who are against this punishment say that it is wrong because it a violation of the most important human right, which is the right to live. Others think that it is wrong because it costs so much more to execute someone than to have them be sentenced to life in prison. For example, it cost Oklahoma over thirteen million dollars to convict and execute Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City Bombing, while a report done by the organization,