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¶ … death penalty has been a highly contentious issue in the United States, especially during the last fifty years or so. The reason for this is that human rights have become, more than ever, the basis of the American culture. The death penalty is a complex issue, relating to the rights of both the victims and the perpetrators of crime. The complexity of the issue becomes clear once again in H.L. Mencken's article, "The Penalty of Death," where the author explains the death penalty in terms of human psychology combined with human rights.
In my view, a murderer takes away the right of the victim to live. This is in the first place not a right granted to anyone, and the perpetrator should be punished in kind. Regardless of all "Christian" values and norms, the katharsis mentioned by Mencken is something that I believe should count among the rights of those most directly affected by the murder. Indeed, as Mencken...
86).
I do not see why families should be deprived of the right of seeing the perpetrator suffer in order to relieve the emotional tension caused by their loss. The perpetrator acted on impulse, out of emotion. Having deprived someone else of the right to live, and consequently of the right to peace, the criminal deserves to himself be deprived of life in the presence of the victim's loved ones.
As for the death penalty not being a deterrent to other criminals, I believe this is not entirely true. Knowing that a person could be killed for committing murder would have to make anyone think twice before taking a life. Furthermore the fact that these executions happen in the public eye helps to remain familiar with the full horror of not only the execution, but also the crime leading to the execution.
I however agree with Mencken that the primary purpose for…
From 1977 to 2007, the number of death sentences per capita was as follows: Alabama .89, Oklahoma .818, Mississippi .558, Nevada .546, Delaware .497, North Carolina .481, Florida .463, South Carolina .422, Arizona .412, Arkansas .399, Texas .379, Louisiana .342, Missouri .313, Pennsylvania .277, Ohio .270, Tennessee .270, Idaho .267, Georgia .236, Illinois .233, California .219, Kentucky .193, Virginia .192, Oregon .184, Indiana .148, Nebraska .147, Wyoming .134, Montana
As such, it is unlikely to change in light of knowledge or information about the death penalty and its administration" (Vollum & Buffington-Vollum, p. 30). Furthermore, "those who scored higher on value-expressive attitudes were less accepting of information critical of the death penalty and, in turn, less likely to change their views in light of the information presented." Thus, the widespread support of the death penalty in the face
Capital Punishment The issue of the death penalty and capital crime has become one of the dominant issues debated in contemporary culture. The reason for this is firstly a moral questioning of the right to take a life, even when it is in retribution for extreme crimes like murder. The foundation of this contemporary attitude lie in the view that modern culture and society should be able to deal with extreme
Death Penalty Whether or not the death penalty should be utilized as a punishment for serious crimes is a contentious issue, one that is hotly debated throughout the world. In the past few decades the number of nations that sentence criminals to the death penalty has dramatically decreased, as more than two thirds of countries in the world have abolished the use of the death penalty in practice or law (Amnesty
The opponents of the death claim that death penalty is used disproportionately against minorities and the death row in the U.S. holds a disproportionately large population of blacks relative to their general population. This is disproved by the Bureau of Justice Statistics report, which states: "since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, white inmates have made up the majority of those under sentence of
Law Is a Reflection of the Morality of the Time: The evolving judicial interpretation of the Constitution Constitution has become such a respected document and holds such an important place in American life it is often conceptualized as a transcendent, ahistorical work of literature. However, the ways in which has been interpreted over the years have been profoundly influenced by cultural values and morality. These ideas can be highly specific to