Facets of the Death Penalty

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Thesis Statement
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The death penalty refers to a premeditated way by which the authorities (governments) take ones life for an offence previously committed as a way of restitution in the justice legal system. The death penalty presents a very controversial issue argued from the moral, religious and judicial points of view.

Arguments that do not seem to be ceasing have been presented by various parties who have a feeling that persons who have committed very gross offences deserve to lose their lives. On the other hand other arguments are raised to oppose this view. If one was unfairly judged for instance would mean they lose their lives unfairly.

Thesis Statement

In as much as death penalty serves to enforce the law in the society consequently punishing heinous crimes, it is important to analyze its clash with the ideals of a moral society. This is because any form of killing is not only immoral but an indicator of the flaws in justice system.

How does the death penalty relate to ethics?

In society persons have been quick to point out that it is not ethical to take away a persona life. On the other hand, others are of the view that people who carry out gross offences do no deserve to stay in an ethical community and therefore justifying their execution. These view points including the following will be highlighted:

Religion and its relationship with the death penalty
Morality of the death penalty
Roughness of the crime justifies death penalty
Violation of human rights
Application on juveniles and mentally retarded people makes it barbaric

Arguments for the death penalty

The death penalty, gross as it appears to other people, has support from different quarters. The proponents of the death penalty are of the view that several gains are bound to be achieved at the institution of this penalty. In this segment the following will be discussed:

Deterrence of would be criminals
Emotional compensation to aggrieved families
Justice achieved
Very high costs incurred in keeping criminals

Arguments against the death penalty

Although religious views form the largest bulk of people’s opinion against the death penalty, moral, social, political and ethical perspectives will be reviewed. In this section several considerations for the opponents of this penalty will be elaborated. These will include:

Creates a loophole for racial and ethnic discrimination
Cruel punishment and violation of human rights
High reversal rate indicates infallibility
Immoral and unethical
Unfair judgments could lead to gross damage to innocent people
Two wrongs do not make a right
Lack of respect for human life since it is a form of murder

Effect of emotions on my position for or against the death penalty

In as much as I feel emotional towards the aggrieved families, I still feel for persons to be executed. The weight of my feelings therefore leans towards the accused. In this segment details of why I feel the aggrieved needs to be given a chance to live will be expanded further.

Problems associated with the decision to execute a defendant from the juror’s perspective.

Several challenges are faced by the juror when coming up with a decision to send a human being to the gallows. The challenges to be highlighted here include:

Innocence of someone already sentenced to death
Emotions of the juror vs. the requirements of the justice system in place
Effect of Pressure groups
Overturning the ruling in future

How does morality play a part?

Morality’s effect on the death penalty has two faces to it. The tow perspectives that will be elaborated upon are:

The proponents view

(ii) The opponents view

The disparity in execution rates based on race as well

This segment will pose statistics for different states that indicate how great variance occurs in persons who have been sentenced to the gallows in as much as race is concerned. Blacks Hispanics and Whites arte apparently treated differently in the judicial system as seen in several researches done. These details will be highlighted but specificity will be given on the death penalty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, all the details highlighted in this paper will be given a mention.

References

Allen, H., Clubb, J., & Lacey, V. (2008). Race, class, and the death penalty: capital punishment in American history. New York: State University of New York press.

Bedau, H. & Cassell, P. (2004). Debating the death penalty: should America have capital punishment? New York: Oxford University press.

Berns, W. (1991). For capital punishment: crime and the morality of the death penalty. California: University Press of America.

Waller, B. (2008). Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues (2nd ed). New York: Pearson/Longman

Delsman, E. (1998). Morality and the death penalty. Amherst: Amherst College.

Jones, S. (2010). Coalition Building in the Anti-Death Penalty Movement: Privileged Morality, Race Realities. New York: Lexington Books.

Miethe, T., Lu, H. (2005). Punishment: a comparative historical perspective. New York: Cambridge University press.

Owens, E., Carlson, J., & Elshtain, E. (2004). Religion and the death penalty: a call for reckoning. Cambridge: Wm B Eerdmans Publishing.

Stearman, K. (2008). The Debate about the Death Penalty. New York: Rosen Publishing.

Zimring, F., Hawkins, G. (1989). Capital Punishment and the American Agenda. New York: Cambridge University press.

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