Capital Punishment Arguments for Life and Death Essay

Capital Punishment: Arguments for Life and Death Capital Punishment is the legal infliction of the death penalty on people convicted of a crime. Today, in modern law, the death penalty is corporal punishment in its most severe form. It is irrevocable: it ends the existence of those punished, instead of temporarily imprisoning them. Few states have both capital punishment and or life imprisonment. Capital punishment is the only corporal punishment applied to adults. The usual alternative to the death penalty is life imprisonment and only applied to the greatest criminals For the past decades, capital punishment has been one of the most contested political issues in America. Capital punishment is not merely or even primarily a†¦show more content†¦The notion of deterrence has been at the very center of the practical debate over the question of capital punishment. The fear of death or life imprisonment deters people from committing crimes. I believe that the death penalty has a deterrent value because it removes the criminals from society so they will never be able to commit anymore crimes. Also future criminals must understand the consequences of committing a crime, such as the three strikes law where after the third time of any crime, it is lifetime in prison. If they murder once they will do it again and taking the criminals off the streets will make us safer. Abolitionists have long argued that deterrence is little more than an assumption that most murder crimes be rationally deterred by any penalty, including death. They are crimes of passion, committed in moments of intense rage, frustration, hatred, or fear, when the killers arent thinking clearly of the personal consequences of what they do. I respect the abolitionist’s beliefs, but I still believe in the death penalty’s deterrence value. People are deterred from committing crimes because of punishment and if there are no punishment there is nothing to fear. I believe the serial murderers that continuously kill shoul d be put to death so that no more lives will be lost. If they get away with it, they will think that doing it again won’t matter. I believe in harsh punishments because I know that justice is not done if they get to roamShow MoreRelatedArguing Against Capital Punishment1591 Words   |  7 Pagesdebate over capital punishment, the opponents argue that capital punishment should not be practiced because it has a civilizing effect and practicing capital punishment has do deterrent effect. On the other side of the debate, the supporters argue that capital punishment should not be abolished because it is just retribution and has a deterrent effect. In this paper, I will argue that capital punishment should not be practiced. 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