Argument by Edward I Koch Death and Justice

¶ … Death and Justice by Edward I. Koch. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch defends his beliefs and convictions regarding capital punishment, and discuss why it is such a volatile issue facing our country. The article includes Koch's opinions refuting some of the most popular arguments against capital punishment.

Koch ends paragraph two with a question because he wants the reader to think about his statement. If he simply made a statement, perhaps the reader might not stop to ponder what he had said, but the question format creates a natural break in the reading, and makes the reader stop to think. Clearly, Koch saw this as a crucial way to begin his essay, and he wanted his readers to look into their own minds and delve into their own beliefs and prejudices about capital punishment. Ending this paragraph with a question is one way to get the reader to stop, perhaps reread the beginning of the essay, and think more about what they have read before they move on.

In paragraph eight, Koch wants to establish the person he is discussed is a vocal and well-known opponent of capital punishment; so early in the paragraph he calls Adam Bedau "one of the most implacable foes of capital punishment in this country" (Koch 562). Clearly, Koch is going to dispute some of Bedau's thoughts and ideas, and so, he creates a sentence early on that indicates he does not agree with Mr. Bedau, and that he will continue to disagree with him throughout this paragraph as a rebuttal to Bedau's beliefs. The idea that innocent people may be executed, as Bedau believes, is quickly refuted by Mr. Koch when he notes, "If government functioned only when the possibility of error didn't exist, government wouldn't function at all" (Koch 562). Clearly, Mr. Koch sets Bedau up effectively, and then takes down his argument with a logical and nearly refutable argument.

Koch devotes most of his essay to refuting the opposition's arguments because obviously, he believes they are wrong, or misguided at best, and he has strong opinions of his own that counteract what the opposition states. Clearly, Koch feels as strongly about capital punishment and its value as the opposition feels against it, and his arguments for capital punishment are some of the strongest arguments in the essay. Koch feels it is the responsibility of the government to maintain and utilize the capital punishment system, and he methodically spells out why in this essay, while he effectively argues against the opposition's opinions for capital punishment. That is the whole point of an "argument" essay, and Koch proves his point effectively repeatedly.