Is the Death Penalty Cruel and Unusual Punishment Essay

Capital punishment remains a cause for debate with people continuing to disagree on what cruel and unusual punishment consists of. Cruel and unusual punishment being defined as torture or a deliberately degrading punishment, in no way does the death penalty fall into this category. Having the death penalty in our society deters potential violent offenders from committing crimes, saves the government money, and guarantees that offenders will not commit these crimes again. The United States should use the death penalty because it is economical and continues to be a deterrent for potential offenders. Take into consideration that the Constitution states that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can not be taken away without due†¦show more content†¦When released they go back out in society and commit the same crime or a crime worse than before. Sentencing them to life in prison places other prisoners and staff at risk. When placed in jail knowing they have nothing else to lose with a life sentence, society has now let a murderer free in jail to murder at will. However, if released into society you now put an entire population of individuals at risk. Wesley Lowe, author of â€Å"The Morality of Capital Punishment:† on the â€Å" Pro Death Penalty Webpage,† states the following, â€Å"The recidivism rate for capital punishment is zero. No executed murderer has ever killed again. You can’t say that about those sentenced to prison even if you are an abolitionist†(27). Showing people that commit these atrocious crimes that this behavior remains intoleratable and that a punishment that fits every crime exists shows what is necessary to detour future criminals. If more criminals believe that they can be caught, tried and executed they will be less inclined to commit such heinous crimes. If we as a government do not execute murderers that in turn could have deterred other murders, then we have allowed the killings to continue and innocent victims to die. Lowe concludes, â€Å"The whole reason why nations and governments exist is to defend their decent citizens from vicious criminals. When it fails to do that, they become of little use to its citizens. When a society ignores theirShow MoreRelatedThe Death Penalty Is Cruel And Unusual Punishment988 Words   |  4 PagesThe death penalty has been around for centuries. It dates back to when Hammurabi had his laws codified; it was â€Å"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth†. Capital punishment in America started when spies were caught, put on trial and hung. In the past and still today people argue that, the death penalty is cruel, unusual punishment and should be illegal. Yet many people argue that it is in fact justifiable and it is not cruel and unusual. Capital punishment is not cruel and unusual; the death penaltyRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Cruel And Unusual Punishment1432 Words   |  6 PagesSome people think that abolishing the death pe nalty would cause criminals to commit more capital crimes. Although to some degree this is true, I believe that if a criminal is going to commit any capital crime his or her first thought is how can I get away with this? Most criminal may not even think about getting caught. For me this statement applies to the mentally ill convicts, which is one of the reasons why I’m against the death penalty. Besides the execution of an mentally ill person these areRead MoreDeath Penalty : Cruel And Unusual Punishment?1192 Words   |  5 PagesDeath Penalty: Cruel and Unusual Punishment? Yvette Y. Rushing Northwest Florida State College Abstract The death penalty has been has been questioned about whether it is a reasonable sentence based on our 8th Amendment Right which protects us from cruel and unusual punishment. In the 1976, Gregg v. Georgia case the U. S. Supreme Court has chose to uphold the death penalty. The only way an offender can be sentenced to the death penalty is if they have intentionally taken the life of theRead MoreDeath Penalty Is Cruel And Unusual Punishment1706 Words   |  7 Pages1962 the Supreme Court thought that death penalty as cruel and unusual punishment. Because of this 107 people had their sentences changed to something that was not death. In November 1972 nine months after they had this choice the California electorate amended the state constitution overruled it. Then in 1973 the Supreme Court decided that the death penalty was unconstitutional. The California legislation was passed in 1973, which meant that the death penalty could only happen under certain conditionsRead MoreThe Death Penal ty Is A Form Of Cruel And Unusual Punishment1421 Words   |  6 PagesThe death penalty till this day remains to be a very controversial topic. Some people may argue that it should be considered a form of cruel and unusual punishment; others may rebuttal in saying that the death penalty is capital punishment. When visiting the idea of placing someone to death one must bear in mind the possibility of condemning an innocent person through such torture, the brutalizing effect on society it may leave, and the serious psychological trauma that a defendants family and friendsRead More The Death Penalty is Cruel and Unusual Punishment Essay examples1331 Words   |  6 PagesThe death penalty does not punish people for killing but for murdering someone. Murder is the unlawful, malicious, or permitted killing of one human being by another (Carmical 1). The slogan should be ?We execute people to show people that murder is wrong.? The death penalty is racist, it punishes the poor, it causes the innocent to die, it is not a deterrent against violent crime, and it is cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is wrong and it should be abolished. The death penaltyRead More Capital Punishment Essay - Death Penalty is Neither Cruel Nor Unusual1166 Words   |  5 PagesDeath Penalty is Neither Cruel Nor Unusual A man sits immobile in a steel chair with a metal cap resting on his bald head. A priest reads selections from the Bible telling him he will go to Heaven if he confesses his sins to God. The man just smiles as the security guard pulls the switch, and one thousand volts of electricity flows through the mans body. His entire frame shakes in convulsions as his head bobs up and down with the shock. In a couple of seconds the mans life is over. The priestRead MoreThe Argument Of Cruel And Unusual Punishment1293 Words   |  6 Pagesnor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.† Specifically, the idea of cruel and unusual punishment has been a topic of dispute since its inception. Although the United States practiced execution as a punishment beforehand, â€Å"the Supreme Court did not address the death penalty issue until 1972.† It is often debated how we are to define cruel and unusual because of the vague nature of the terms. Because it is thought that the terms were kept vague in order to keep up with new forms of cruel andRead MoreThe Death Penalty Of Capital Punishment903 Words   |  4 PagesDeath Penalty Capital punishment have been a main debate on whether it is a cruel and unusual punishment and what it actually consist of. Even though the death penalty has been abolished in most of the western nation, the United States remain to practice the activity. The death penalty is perceived by an abolitionist as a form of cruel, unusual punishment. The idea comes from the fact that the death penalty deny the criminal their right to life. The judgment to execute criminals comes from governmentRead MoreThe Debate Over Capital Punishment936 Words   |  4 PagesThe debate over capital punishment is in regards to whether the death penalty contradicts the Eighth Amendment. If the death penalty does contradict the Eight Amendment, then the State should not have the power to sentence criminals to death for capital crimes. However, if capital punishment is not against the Eighth Amendment, then the State has the right to sentence criminals to death. In this essay I will first summarize Justice Br ennan’s argument on why the death penalty is beyond the power of