Research Paper on "Capital Punishment and the Church"
Research Paper 3 pages (1381 words) Sources: 4
[EXCERPT] . . . .
death penalty is one of the few social issues where the United States's political position more closely resembles that of Uganda, Iraq, and Pakistan than that of Britain and most European nations. In fact, the U.S. is the only Western nation that practices capital punishment. Although the Supreme Court outlawed it in 1972 on the premise that it was unconstitutional, they changed their position in 1976, and the death penalty was re-instituted. So, why does the U.S., a country that prides itself on its commitment to human rights, continue a practice that the entire Western world has outlawed and its own court once outlawed because they believed it was "harsh, freakish, and arbitrary"? (Furman v. Georgia, U.S. 238, 408) Most proponents of the death penalty argue that it deters criminals from committing the most serious crimes, reduces criminal homicide rates, and is more cost efficient than life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. However, as this paper will show, these views are inconsistent with the statistics and the research. Additionally, the risk of error in an inherently human, and thereby fallible, system far outweighs any advantages it may have.Although those who support capital punishment argue that it decreases murder rates, statistically speaking this is completely inaccurate. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, in 1976, the last year capital punishment was prohibited under the Furman ruling, the national murder rate was 8.8. In 1994, the murder rate was 9. This certainly suggests that capital punishment does not, in fact, reduce the rate or number of murders. Additionally, states with the death penalty do not have lower homicide rates than those without. In som
download full paper ⤓
Furthermore, police chiefs interviewed about crime deterrents listed the death penalty as the least effective (Dieter, 1995, 2). Additionally, while some people argue that the death penalty is a necessity because it is the only way to reduce recidivism, this is also not statistically supported. When the death penalty was reversed in 1972, death row prisoners found themselves with reduced sentences. A study of the patterns of behavior of 533 inmates whose sentences were reduced found that less than 2% went on to kill again. More importantly, it also found that four of the men who were originally sentenced to death were actually innocent (Bedau,1982).
Proponents of the death penalty also argue that it is the best deterrent for crimes against law enforcement officers. However, in the years since the death penalty was instituted, states with the death penalty have never shown statistically lower rates of assaults on law enforcement officers. According to Bailey and Peterson, there is "no support for the view that the death penalty provides a more effective deterrent to police homicides than alternative sanctions. Not for a single year was evidence found that police are safer in jurisdictions that provide for capital punishment." Furthermore, according to the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, death penalty states have considerably higher rates of prison violence, accounting for 84% of inmate violence and 98% of violence against officers.
Another serious problem with the death penalty is its frequent failure to be administered fairly. The U.S. General Accounting Office reviewed a number of studies on the death penalty in 1990 and subsequently issued a report to Congress. In it, they stated that "Our synthesis of the 28 studies shows a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty after the Furman decision" and that "race of victim influence was found at all stages of the criminal justice system process…"(U.S. General Accounting Office, 1990, 5-6). Those sentenced to death tend to be black men from low socioeconomic areas who have committed crimes against white victims. According to the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 313 criminals were executed between 1977-1995. Of those, only 20% were put… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Capital Punishment and the Church" Assignment:
At least 3 internal quotations, no footnotes, with a works cited page.
DISCUSSION TOPIC: DEATH PENALTY
One of the major enumerated powers left to the states is the right to choose if the state will have the death penalty. This is a very controversial issue and that is the reason why some states have the death penalty for major crimes while others do not.
However, there is some justification for the death penalty. Just this week, a 17-year old girl in California was jogging around a lake when a sexual predator sexually assaulted her and subsequently killed her. Her parents were met with horror as dogs directed searchers and law enforcement officers to a shallow grave by the lake where her body was left. Although these types of crimes have always occurred, there is more media attention and most of the victims are young adults or children.
These types of crimes make many Americans question the use and legality of the death penalty. With the number of violent crimes (primarily murder) either stagnant or increasing per state, should the death penalty remain legal or should states still be allowed to give only life in prison (without parole)?
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS: *** I prefer option #3***
1. The only problem with the death penalty is that we do not use it enough! The death penalty is there for all people who commit murder and other heinous crimes against other people. The states that have the death penalty make sure that is only applicable to those crimes so not just anyone can get the death penalty. Most of them have already committed crimes anyway which only shows there is no rehabilitation. These people should only be allowed to receive the death penalty.
2. The death penalty is a very touchy subject. It should remain legal and should be used as punishment for those who commit murder (premeditated or crime of passion). That being said, it should be used sparingly. Nothing says that it will completely deter someone else from committing murder just because there is the death penalty. The judge and jury should have the right to give the convicted *****life without parole***** rather than the death penalty.
3. There is no reason for the death penalty. The United States is the only Western industrialized state to still have and use the death penalty. More importantly, what if the jury gets it wrong and you sentence the wrong person to death for a crime they did not commit? What about deals the DA or Prosecutor make to convict someone else involved in the crime? There are too many variables so *****life without parole***** is the only sentence that a convicted felon should get since mistakes are made.
How to Reference "Capital Punishment and the Church" Research Paper in a Bibliography
“Capital Punishment and the Church.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2010, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/death-penalty-one/109429. Accessed 4 Oct 2024.
Related Research Papers:
Church Death Penalty the Evolving Position Research Paper
Church Death Penalty
The Evolving Position of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty
Capital punishment is the most extreme of legal penalties. The notion of granting the state or… read more
Research Paper 6 pages (1905 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice
Death Penalty in U.S. How Does Race Impact Its Application Term Paper
Death Penalty & Race in America
Death Penalty: How Does Race Impact its Application?
The death penalty and the race / ethnicity of those who are actually put to death… read more
Term Paper 15 pages (5755 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice
Death Penalty Today Term Paper
Death Penalty Today
The foremost established death penalty laws date happened to be in the Eighteenth Century B.C. In the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon which highlights the death… read more
Term Paper 3 pages (944 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice
Discrimination Within the Death Penalty and Criminal Justice Term Paper
Death Penalty and Race
Arguments have raged for decades about the use of capital punishment in the United States, with some holding that there is a need for society to… read more
Term Paper 15 pages (4823 words) Sources: 20 Style: APA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice
Capital Punishment With Regards to Christian Ethics Reaction Paper
Christianity and the Death Penalty
A Christian View of Capital Punishment
The issue of capital punishment is as old as the Bible itself. God himself was the first to issue… read more
Reaction Paper 8 pages (2667 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice
Fri, Oct 4, 2024
If you don't see the paper you need, we will write it for you!
We can write a new, 100% unique paper!