The Death Penalty is EthicalJay TommieACCT 2101Ed Bagley15 July 2011 All crime is punishable by law and the ultimate punishment for those crimes is death. The death penalty has been used for centuries in ancient and modern society.
The death penalty is often time called capital punishment. Capital punishment is sentenced for many crimes, the most common are felony murder, which includes killing for hire, killing a police officer, judge or firefighter, and killing more than one person, treason, and kidnapping. Capital punishment is the ultimate punishment if a judge or jury finds the crime to be especially cruel, horrible, or brutal. The death penalty is ethical for many reasons that are passionately debated for by those that are in favor of the death penalty. The claims for capital punishment are that it discourages criminals from a life of crime, provides closure for the victim??™s family, and protects citizens from criminals under the Constitution. One of the reasons that capital punishment is ethical is because it is a deterrence factor for criminals.
The theory concerning the death penalty is that the threat of death discourages criminals from a life of crime. This theory has not been proven or disproven thus far. The FBI Uniform Crime Report from 2009 showed that the highest murder rate was in the south and accounts for over 80% of executions. However, the death penalty does stop the convicted murderer from ever killing again. Advocates of the death penalty argue that would-be murderers are ???not in their right mind??? when they decide to take another human??™s life. Therefore, most murderers do not think about the death penalty at the time the crime is committed. If murderers do not have any respect for human life that means that they really do not fear the death penalty.
Limitations are place on the death penalty when it comes to criminals that are mentally disable or a juvenile. Capital punishment is also ethical because it protects citizens from criminals under the Constitution. Many would argue that capital punishment violates the eighth amendment of the U.
S. Constitution in the sense that it is ???cruel and unusual punishment???. In 1967 the U.S.
Supreme court made a ruling that the use of capital punishment was not in accordance with the Constitution and as a result was not implemented in the U.S. for almost a decade afterwards. In 1972 the Supreme Court set standards for the death penalty as a result of the 1972 Furman v. Georgia case. The Supreme Court ruled that punishment would be ???cruel and unusual??? if it was too severe for the crime, if it was arbitrary, it if offended society??™s sense of justice, or if was not more effective than less severe penalty.
Capital punishment was put into effect once again in 1976 referred to as the Gregg decision cooperatively because of the Supreme Court decisions in the case of Gregg v. Georgia (428 U.S. 153), Jurek v.
Texas (428 U.S. 262), and Proffitt v. Florida (428 U.S. 242). The decision the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was constitutional in Georgia, Florida, and Texas and reinstated in these states (Death Penalty Information Center). The Supreme Court also ruled that the death penalty was constitutional under the eighth amendment.
After this point sentencing guidelines were set and procedural reforms were approved.The death penalty protects citizens from criminals because they are a threat to society. A responsible society would protect their citizens from criminals at any extent, even if that means killing that threat to make society safer. Capital punishment is an expression of society??™s moral outrage at offensive conduct. It is essential in a society that asks citizens to uphold the laws and allow the legal system to punish wrongdoers. At the same time it provides closure for the family of the victim. The death penalty ensures justice for all for victims who died or survived.
Bruce Fein a constitutional lawyer and general counsel to the Center for Law and Accountability states it the best about the morality death penalty on the American Bar Association??™s website. Fein wrote:”The crimes of rape, torture, treason, kidnapping, murder, larceny, and perjury pivot on a moral code that escapes apodictic [indisputably true] proof by expert testimony or otherwise. But communities would plunge into anarchy if they could not act on moral assumptions less certain than that the sun will rise in the east and set in the west??? (Fein 2008).As clearly seen by Fein??™s statement capital punishment is the appropriate punishment for criminals that commit crimes that goes again society??™s moral standards and violates another person??™s right to live according to the freedom and liberties afforded them under the Constitution. Capital punishment is the way of ensuring that justice is done to the fullest extent of the law at all costs.
Fein is correct when he states that chaos would ensue if citizens could not act on moral assumptions because as citizens in the U.S. a person assumes that they are safe from malicious conducts from others and if they become victims the law will be upheld to the highest degree, which is capital punishment. Overall, capital punishment is used in cases where cruel and unusual crimes were committed. Standards and guidelines are followed by the judge and jury when it comes to deciding on the death penalty so that it is in accordance with the Constitutional and cannot be deemed unethical. Capital punishment is a way of deterring would-be criminals but has not been proven to date. It also provides closure for the victim??™s family and ensures the safety of society from ruthless criminals.
Capital punishment is society??™s tool for dealing with those who do not respect the values and morals of society and do not contribute to the well-being of citizens.Summary The research entitled The Death Penalty is Ethical explains why the death penalty is moral, citing Supreme Court cases and opinions of those in favor of it. The topic of the death penalty has a long history in the U.S. and has been taken out of states as a form of punishment and reinstated by the Supreme Court. After being reinstated rules and regulations concerning the death penalty have been put in place to guarantee that the Constitution is not violated.
The death penalty is ethical for the reasons explained in the research. The death penalty can be seen as the tool of a responsible society who wants protection and do not tolerate the vicious crimes committed.Sources Cited”Is the death penalty immoral – Death Penalty – ProCon.org.
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