Capital Punsihment
- Submitted by: edward
- Views: 668
- Category: Politics
- Date Submitted: 10/20/2010 09:21 AM
- Pages: 2
- Report this Essay
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a growing debate in the United States. Each side has reasons why or why not it is a good idea. This is a very important debate because of the subject, a person’s life.
People who are for capital punishment have many strong points of view as to why they are correct. First there is the cost of prison; to keep an inmate in prison for life is extremely expensive, much more expensive than execution. By keeping prisoners in prison longer this means higher taxes for citizens and more chances for parole. Another reason is safety. Usually prisoners that are up for the death penalty are violent and a danger to themselves, their prison gaurds, and other inmates. Also, because of the long time it takes for a person to be executed this is more of a chance for escape which could lead to harm of the original victim, family of the victim or innocent bystanders. Some also believe that capital punishment is a deterrent for future convicts. Ernest Van Den Haag, PhD once said, “People fear nothing more than death. Therefore, nothing will deter a criminal more than the fear of death... life in prison is less feared.”
There is another side to this story as well, people who are against the death penalty. One of the main arguments against this is simply the inhumane nature of the act. Some believe that we are acting like God by taking someone’s life in an unnatural manner. Also we go back to the age old saying “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. Some think that no matter how heinous the crime, no one should be subject to death.
Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a growing debate in the United States. Each side has reasons why or why not it is a good idea. This is a very important debate because of the subject, a person’s life.
People who are for capital punishment have many strong points of view as to why they are correct. First there is the cost of prison; to keep an inmate in prison for life is extremely expensive, much more expensive than execution. By keeping prisoners in prison longer this means higher taxes for citizens and more chances for parole. Another reason is safety. Usually prisoners that are up for the death penalty are violent and a danger to themselves, their prison gaurds, and other inmates. Also, because of the long time it takes for a person to be executed this is more of a chance for escape which could lead to harm of the original victim, family of the victim or innocent bystanders. Some also believe that capital punishment is a deterrent for future convicts. Ernest Van Den Haag, PhD once said, “People fear nothing more than death. Therefore, nothing will deter a criminal more than the fear of death... life in prison is less feared.”
There is another side to this story as well, people who are against the death penalty. One of the main arguments against this is simply the inhumane nature of the act. Some believe that we are acting like God by taking someone’s life in an unnatural manner. Also we go back to the age old saying “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. Some think that no matter how heinous the crime, no one should be subject to death.