CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Every year there are about 250 people added to death row and 35 executed. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment enforced in the United Sates today. Once a jury has convicted a criminal of an offense they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death penalty and the judge agrees, then the criminal will face some form of execution. The most common form used today is lethal injection. Capital punishment was once ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, from 1972 to 1976. After new methods were introduced, the decision was reversed. Capital punishment is an effective way to get rid of convicted killers in our society today; therefore we support the death penalty

If there was no death penalty, the worst punishment you could get, would be a life sentence. This would end up costing the taxpayers a lot of money. Although the cost of execution is about three times more that keeping a man for a life sentence, it is certain that many people would be willing to pay it if they knew that there would be one less murderer in the world. A large majority of the population is for the capital punishment; especially for serious offenders such as murderers, “ an eye for an eye, a life for a life,” is a very popular statement by the famous lex talionis.

In our society today, killing happens everyday, and many get away with it. Those who do get caught, don't stay in a jail cell for the rest of their live, many convicted criminals only end up serving one-third of their sentence. If we could get the murderers off our streets, it could mean a safer place for everyone; people would once again begin to feel safe in their own homes. The only other argument we can offer is the knowledge that no executed murderer has ever killed again.

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