Capital Punishment and Societys Views Essay - 849 Words

Capital Punishment and Societys Views â€Å"The question with which we must deal with is not whether a substantial proportion of American citizens would today, if polled, opine that capital punishment is barbarously cruel, but whether they would find it to be so in light of all information presently available.† -U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall According to the American Society of Criminology, each year there are about 250 people added to death row and 35 executed in the United States. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment enforced in the United Sates today. Once a jury has been convicted of a criminal offense, they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death†¦show more content†¦Although Mencken has some good points in his arguments, he has no facts to back anything up. In many essays, diction helps determine the quality of a piece. However, in this case, the big, â€Å"fancy† words make it harder to follow. Mencken sounds condescending, as if to say the reader isn’t on the same level as he is. Quindlan’s essay uses much more straightforward and understandable words and keeps the reader interested with clear points. In Anna Quindlan’s essay, she speaks of having a conflict between her rational feelings, and her â€Å"gut instinct†. One example of this is when she states that she, in theory, does not think that people should be put to death. However, she later mentions her opinion would change if faced with being the parent of a child clubbed to death, â€Å"I would with the greatest pleasure kill him myself†. Quindlan uses emotional appeal when she talks about young Adam Walsh, a boy who was kidnapped from a shopping center in Florida. His severed head was later discovered in a Florida canal. She states that, there couldn’t be an adequate punishment for such a despicable crime because, despite the victim’s family’s deepest wishes, our justice system would never allow criminals to suffer the same way their victims did. Mencken makes aShow MoreRelatedjajsa1351 Words   |  6 PagesChardon ENG 101 13 April 2014 Rhetorical Analysis of â€Å"Capital Punishment: Society’s Self Defense† Capital punishment is not a topic for the faint of heart. Whether or not society should accept capital punishment is a seriously difficult discussion to have. No two people have the same amount opinions on capital punishment and that is why it can be a very hard task to convince people one way or the other. Amber Young’s â€Å"Capital Punishment: Society’s Self Defense† argument is a powerful one that mostRead MoreThe Argument Of Cruel And Unusual Punishment1293 Words   |  6 PagesThe 8th amendment of the United States Constitution states that â€Å"excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 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 t o define cruel and unusual because ofRead More The Banning of Capital Punishment Essay1058 Words   |  5 PagesThe Banning of Capital Punishment Capital punishment is a brutal, antiquated concept that must be abolished in the name of civilized society. A humane culture cannot abide the organized extermination of human beings in the name of justice. In the United States, dozens of people are put to death every year like stray animals, only perhaps in less humane ways. The methods of capital punishment vary greatly, but none are publicly accepted as humane. Societys support for the death penalty isRead MoreShould It Be Abolished Or Not?1396 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Furman guilty of all charges and is to be sentenced to capital punishment. However, what is capital punishment? The definition from dictionary.com states: The practice or legal sanction of allowing the imposition of the penalty of death for people convicted of committing certain crimes. There are five lawful means of sentencing which are electrocution, hanging, lethal injection, gas chamber, and firing squad. Capital punishment is a delicate topic amongst the pe ople but there are certain aspectsRead MoreThe Arguments Surrounding Capital Punishment907 Words   |  4 PagesTheory of Retribution The arguments surrounding capital punishment have focused primarily on its ability to provide general deterrence. Instead of focusing on a purely utilitarian aspect of capital punishment, it may be useful to analyze the death penalty through a morality perspective. The idea of retribution often carries a negative connotation because of its equivocation with the concept of revenge. While they may externally seem similar, they are far from analogous when analyzing the underlyingRead MoreThe Death Penalty Throughout History1074 Words   |  5 Pagesthroughout history. It begins with a brief explanation of the origins of capital punishment, referencing the first known documentation of actions punishable by death. The paper goes on to explore different methods of execution and how they have progressed and changed over the years. Documented cases at different points of history are referenced to show the relationship of time periods and beliefs to the implementation of capital punishment. Finally, the development of different laws and changes to existingRead More Capital Punishment Is A Deterrent To Crime Essay1202 Words   |  5 Pages Capital Punishment has ended the lives of criminals for centuries. People have debated whether the government should have the power to decide one person’s life. On one side, people think the government does not have the right to play God as well as believe that the death penalty is simply unethical. Forty-eight percent of a half sample survey stated that life imprisonment was a better punishment for murder while forty-seven percent stated that capital punishment was a better punishment (Newport)Read MoreCapital Punishment and the Media1249 Words   |  5 PagesCapital Punishment and the Media Xavier Mendez Professor Collica JUS110 September 12, 2011 Capital Punishment and the Media In today’s society, the capital punishment known as the death penalty has played a major role in the criminal justice system. It has brought important debates to the national attention in every aspect to whether end the lives of criminals. With the intense media coverage, it raised high standards on disputes on high profile cases such as serial killers. The attentionRead MoreThe Murder Of Ted Bundy1005 Words   |  5 Pagesexecution. These individuals all have a few things in common; they are all serial killers. They all killed with reckless abandon. They were all found guilty of capital murder and, in two of the three cases listed above; the executions have already been carried out. It is not difficult to maintain the position of being in favor of capital punishment when I look at the pain and suffering caused when someone’s loved one is murdered. I truly believe that the death penalty is justifiable and we as a societyRead MoreDeterrence Is The Primary Source When Defining Criminal Law1549 Words   |  7 Pagescriminal law. According to dictionary.com deterrence â€Å"is a law that was passed that includes the breakdown of punishments and uses then as fear tactics; to disappoint individual criminal defendants from becoming reappearance offenders and to discourage others in society from engaging in similar criminal activity.’ (Dictionary 1). Deterrence work in two ways; large population and the punishment of wrongdoers. Deterrence is aimed at the individual; once the law has been violated, and the significance