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¶ … Cold Punishment
Capital Punishment: In Cold Blood
The very fact that Truman Capote wrote in Cold Blood, and that the book has persisted in popularity and controversy over the decades since it was published, is an argument against capital punishment. In Cold Blood is not really the story is a murder, or of the punishment of that murder, but rather a story of several lives. The immediacy and urgency of these lives is heightened by the knowledge of how each life in the book ends, and this makes in Cold Blood compelling where it otherwise would have been a well-written yet fairly mundane biography, but this intensity and the public attention to the book stem from somewhere else as well. At one point, Capote quotes the lawyer, Mr. Fleming, as saying, "Remember, all we can hope is to save your lives" (Capote 266). This is not really true, however, and in Cold Blood is evidence of that: Capote managed to preserve life through the writing of this book even if efforts to save lives were in vain. The desperation evident in the tone of the book makes it clear that this preservation is a last ditch effort, and would be unnecessary if taking a life was truly disallowed.
Towards the end of the book, when Capote is both narrating Smith's writing of his account of his own life and presenting large chunks of this narrative in what purports to be Smith's own hand, Capote comments that "Smith's pencil sped almost indecipherably as he hurried," signaling the extreme desperation on the part of this author, as well (Capote 339). The taking of a life is something that cannot be condoned, but the psychological anguish Smith goes through is worse than the deaths he inflicted in his crimes. It is certainly arguable that Smith deserves such anguish and worse, but society deserves better than to be responsible for inflicting such torture. When life is held in enough esteem to evoke such desperate preservation, it ought to be inviolable.
Death Penalty as Retribution The Retributive Nature of the Death Penalty The peaceful fabric of society is torn whenever a crime is committed. In the case of murder, the suffering of the victim's loved ones can be unbearable and last for a lifetime. The destructive ripple effect of these tragedies cannot be compensated for in any way, not even by the capture, conviction, and execution of the killer. However, many states still
Death Penalty This informative speech outline topic DOES THE DEATH PENALTY DETER CRIME? The outline detailed 4 APA references. It follow format detailed referenced. Please outline tornadoes OUTLINE FOR INFORMATIVE SPEECH Tornadoes Purpose: To inform audience tornadoes Thesis: Today I discuss fascinating facts tornadoes. To inform the audience about the two sides of the debate on the death penalty, regarding its justice and its deterrent effect. The death penalty is one of the
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
Our prejudiced minds and clouded vision make us believe that all black men are criminals resulting in a twisted criminal justice system. Thomas Sancton (1991) reveals, "...blacks and Hispanics are proportionally far more likely to be sent to death chambers than whites; that poor defendants are condemned more often than rich ones; that the existence of the death penalty, despite widespread beliefs to the contrary, in fact has no
It violates the right to life...It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. There can never be any justification for torture or for cruel treatment" (White, n.d., pg. 1). In addition to the argument that it is a denial of human rights, abolitionists have an equally strong offender-centered argument of innocence (White, n.d. pg. 2). They argue that innocent people are often put to death, in what can only
Death Penalty for Juvenile Offenders Supreme Court by a majority decision on March 1, 2005 in Roper v. Simmons held that death penalty for juveniles was "cruel and unusual" and as such the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution forbid the execution of offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed. The action reversed the death sentences of 72 convicted murderers in the U.S.