Term Paper on "Capital Punishment Death Penalty Is an Ultimate"

Term Paper 12 pages (3073 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Capital Punishment

Death penalty is an ultimate and irreversible form of punishment and hence requires judicious scrutiny. It is ridden with complexities and in the absence of consistent and conclusive evidence supporting its deterrent effect it cannot be unequivocally endorsed. However, capital punishment is acceptable under critical circumstances where the offender poses a serious threat to undermine the safety of the society.

Ever since the birth of civilization human society has been continuously striving to maintain justice, peace and harmonious order. But crimes and injustice have been an inevitable part of the social fabric. Consequently, every society in the world formulated their own codes to regulate human behavior and to contain crimes by including punishments. Judicial systems evolved in different parts of the world defining rules of conduct and agreeable social behavior. Capital punishment, which involves taking away the right to live, has been practiced from ancient periods to modern times. Every civilization from the Babylonians, the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans and even the present day democratic and developed nations have included death penalty as part of their justice system. Let us have a brief overview of the history of the death penalty and then assess it in context of the ethical, utilitarian and deontological considerations.

Capital Punishment: A brief history

Capital punishment was a part of human society and dates back to very ancient times. In the olden days retributive measures were severe even for trivial crimes. The foremost account that we have of death penalty is that of the 'Code of King Hammaurabi' which was written during eighteenth century (1792-1750) BC. Under his laws death penalty was ordered for different crimes (around 25) and the most common form of execution was to tie up the convicted and throw them into water and drowning them to death. [Washington State University] the Roman 'law of twelve tablets' written during fifth century B.C is another example of an established legal coding of death penalty during that time. Then in the seventh century we have the Athenian draconian laws (written by Dracon in 621 BC), which included horrific forms of death penalty for all crimes.[DPIC] Under the Draconian code all the crimes irrespective of their severity were awarded with the ultimate punishment of death. So even minor offenses like theft received the same treatment as serious and barbarous crimes like murder. The most glaring example of capital punishments being executed was the crucification of more than 6000 war prisoners by Crassus (a Roman politician, 1st century BC) after the roman victory over the Spartacus rebellion. Death penalty by crucification continued in Roman Empire until 3rd century ADE when emperor Constantine finally abolished it 325 AD.

There has been a continuous political debate about capital punishment and this is evident when we look at history. There were periods of time when death penalty was abolished completely or restricted to a very minimum. Execution by hanging was common in Britain until the 11th century AD when 'William the conqueror' abolished it completely except under wartime situations. But the system was reinstated during the 16th century under the rule of emperor Henry VIII who executed more than 72,000 people. Death penalty was again revoked between 1823 and 1837. [DPIC] in the United States also capital punishment was very much a part of the judicial setup from the early days of its formation. The first officially recorded case of death penalty in the United States goes back to 1608 when Captain George Kendall of Virginia was executed for his alleged involvement in espionage services for Spain. Then the 1612 enactment of the Divine, Moral and Martial laws by the then governor of Virginia officially endorsed capital punishment for even trivial crimes. [DPIC]

Abolitionary movement slowly gained strength and the introduction of the 'discretionary death penalty statutes' by the states of Tennessee (1838) and Alabama was a significant development. Then in 1846 Michigan became the first American state to have abolished capital punishment and was soon joined by Rhode Island, Wisconsin and many other states. However the necessities of the civil war changed the position and many states reinstated death penalty. Executions peaked in the early half of the twentieth century and came to a standstill in 1967 because of the pending Furman vs. Georgia case. In the 1972 verdict the Supreme Court deemed death penalty unconstitutional (in majority of the cases) and a breach of the eighth amendment of the U.S. constitution. More than 600 prisoners who were faced with death sentence between 1967 and 1972 got their sentences lifted. Death penalty was resumed again in 1977 under modified laws after a gap of 10 years. [University of Alaska] in all, there were a total of 948 executions throughout the country between 1997 and 2005 and in 2004 alone 59 inmates were executed. [DPIC] Let us now analyze capital punishment from different perspectives.

Capital Punishment: The Debate

The issue of capital punishment has been subject to great deliberation and countries worldwide are weighing the effectiveness and the need for such an ultimate measure as part of the judicial system. In fact more than half of the worlds nations have abolished this practice. Currently more than 118 nations have eliminated capital punishment from their judicial code. [Amnesty International] to get a better picture of the issue it would be forthright to analyze the ultimate purpose of any judicial system. The demand for justice and the restoration of peace, order and stability constitute the basis of all judicial endeavors. While everyone agrees that by all means the culprit must be bought to law, the acceptability of using the death sentence as a means of delivering justice remains a complicated issue. The purpose of awarding punishments is to deter people from indulging in antisocial activities by instilling in them the fear of retribution. That is, the deterrence effect of capital punishment is the chief factor, which has convinced governments throughout the world to retain this ultimate form of punishment.

Utilitarian Thought

The Utilitarian and deontological approach to capital punishments are ethically divergent perspectives and consequently shed different light on the subject. The utilitarian approach is based on the general consideration of increasing the 'happiness to unhappiness' ratio in the society. Any act, which contributes to the happiness component of the society at a collective level, is approved under the utilitarian thought. Hence proponents of the capital punishment system base their arguments on utilitarian grounds. There is a general consensus that the fear of punishment acts as a deterrent against the commitment of crimes. Hence if there is a reduction in the crime rates due to the implementation of capital punishment it finds its stamp of approval under utilitarian considerations. Also incapacitation by means of execution is viewed as a direct means of stopping violence. However, it is also imperative under the same utilitarian philosophy of minimizing the unhappiness, to find out if the same degree of happiness can be attained with long-term incarceration as against execution. Hence to endorse capital punishment practical evidence as to its beneficial effects becomes a necessity. [IEP]. The following studies conducted over the last few years indicate conflicting reports and hence do not offer any conclusive evidence.

Some Studies statistical study conducted by two professors Dale O. Cloninger and Roberto Marchesini, of the University of Houston-Clear Lake shows an observed increase in homicide rates in the state of Texas during the 1996-97 period when a moratorium against capital punishments was in place. Mr. Cloninger reports that,"...evidence suggests that as a result of the unofficial moratorium on executions during most of 1996 and early 1997, Texas experienced a net increase in the number of homicides over what would have been expected had no such moratorium been in place.... Texas experienced a net 90 additional innocent lives lost to homicide." [Macumba International] Another research conducted by professors Hashem Dezhbakhsh, Paul Rubin and Joanna Shepherd, of Emory University of Georgia also indicates the deterring effect of death penalty. The researchers analyzed the deterrent effect of capital punishment between 1977 and 1996 and concluded that, " capital punishment has a strong deterrent effect: In particular, each execution results, on average, in 18 fewer murders -- with a margin of error of plus and minus 10." [Macumba International]

However, some other researches indicate that capital punishment does not seem to have any significant effect in reducing crime rates. A 1988 survey conducted by the United Nations has led to the conclusion that, "it is not prudent to accept the hypothesis that capital punishment deters murder to a marginally greater extent than does the threat and application of the supposedly lesser punishment of life imprisonment." [Amnesty International] This study, which was updated in 2002, also indicated that fear of an increase in crime rate in relation to the abolishment of death penalty is unfounded. The decreasing homicide rate in Canada, which abolished capital punishment way back in 1976, seems to validate this argument form the abolitionists. The FBI statistics also affirms the same viewpoint as it shows that… READ MORE

How to Reference "Capital Punishment Death Penalty Is an Ultimate" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Death Penalty: Pros and Cons Essay

Death Penalty: Pros and Cons

The death penalty is one of the most debated institutions in the United States today, with passionate opinions on both side of the argument. Some… read more

Essay 3 pages (951 words) Sources: 2 Style: APA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Death Penalty. This Is Accomplished by Studying Term Paper

death penalty. This is accomplished by studying different viewpoints in comparison with select ethical theories. Once this takes place, is when we are able to offer specific insights that are… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1676 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Capital Punishment or the Death Penalty Term Paper

Capital Punishment or the death penalty is the execution of a convicted criminal by the State as punishment for capital crimes or offenses (Wikipedia 2006). It is called "capital" because… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (1830 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Death Penalty Is One of Society Thesis

Death penalty is one of society's most significant issues. It has been discussed and debated for many years, and there are always pros and cons to the issue. However, whether… read more

Thesis 8 pages (2808 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Capital Punishment the Death Penalty Term Paper

Capital Punishment

The death penalty is an unsatisfactory approach to serious crimes. Trends and the tide of public opinion through the years indicate this. According to Gregg Easterbrook (2000), the… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2658 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>