Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor

¶ … Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Dear Governor Cuomo, For a long period of time, capital punishment or the death penalty has been a universal practice used to execute criminals found guilty of carry out very serious offenses. In the past few decades, this universal practice has generated increased concerns among the public in relation to the morality of the death penalty.

As a result of the huge concerns, nearly all democracies across the globe have abandoned capital punishment except South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Nonetheless, most theocracies and dictatorships across the globe have retained capital punishment as a terror weapon. This practice is widely accepted in the United States since 60% of Americans approve its use based on the findings of public opinion polls ("Capital Punishment," n.d.).

Based on reports by the Death Penalty Information Center, approximately 85% of death penalty executions take place in the south, 50% of which occur in Texas. The main reason attributed to the huge support of the use of the death penalty in the United States is the argument that some individuals deserve to die and we have an obligation to execute them. This is despite of the fact that the death penalty cases are extremely expensive to prosecute due to the large number of appeals involved in the process.

However, there is need to critically consider the use of the capital punishment because of the numerous ethical concerns that the practice generates. Moreover, the death penalty is considered an intrinsically, subjective, and discriminatory violation of the Constitutional prohibition against unusual and cruel punishment. The opponents of this practice base their arguments on these reasons and the ethical concerns. On the contrary, proponents support it on the basis that the society has a moral obligation of protecting the welfare and safety of its citizens.

Generally, the moral concerns about the death penalty in the United States have increasingly focused on whether the government deserves to execute people it has incarcerated rather than whether the convicts of serious crimes deserve to die. I believe that the death penalty should be abolished, especially in this state because it's unethical and does not achieve its main objectives. Actually, this practice is an infringement of the Eighth Amendment since it's morally unacceptable to the American people at this point in history.

First, capital punishment should not be considered since the society has a moral obligation of protecting people's lives rather than taking it. The execution of people is acceptable only if it's a necessary condition to accomplish the greatest balance between good over evil for all involved. As a result, the death penalty should be abolished because of the value placed on life and the society's obligation to lessen suffering and pain whenever possible (Andre & Velasquez, n.d.).

Secondly, there is no evidence that supports the argument that capital punishment is a more efficient deterrent of crime than life.