Capital Punishment as a Deterrent to Crime. The majority of American people today reveal that they favor the death

Transcription

1 Que 1 I II Susie Que Professor Seth Hulse ENGL Nov 2013 Capital Punishment as a Deterrent to Crime The majority of American people today reveal that they favor the death penalty for capital crimes. The death penalty is currently practiced in 32 states of America despite the fact that many countries around the world, and the European Union, have abolished it. Capital punishment is mainly applied for crimes of murder, treason, and espionage. As one of the world's most modernized and civilized nations, is it necessary for America to maintain the practice of executing its prisoners, while it can choose to give life sentences instead? It is commonly believed that the death penalty is crucial for the safety of our society since it deters crime and secures social order. Crime deterrence is usually cited as a major justification for the use of capital punishment; however, there are still arguments about whether practicing execution actually reduces crime rates. Exploring debates about capital punishment from academic sources can help unravel the case. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of convicted criminals for hideous crimes. This type of punishment was commonly practiced in the ancient times with torturous and inhumane methods for many different types of crimes, such as stoning (throwing stones at the convicted criminals to death), burning them alive, or beheading. In today's world, the death penalty is mainly used for the crime of murder, and execution methods have become more moral to prevent prisoners from suffering too much pain Introducing topic Issue Question Providing definitions and history

2 Que 2 during the process. Some common methods used in America are lethal injection, firing squad, and gas chamber (prisoners are tied to a chair in a chamber in which poisonous gases, such as hydrogen cyanide, are filled to suffocate them to death). III-a Alan Marzilli argues in his book, Capital Punishment, that the death Dealing with source 1; penalty deters crime effectively. Recent studies show that when each Student paraphrases source text convicted person is executed, many lives of potential victims will be saved (Marzilli 25). More importantly, Marzilli believes that every human being is afraid to die. Therefore, potential criminals will reconsider the consequences of their offenses, that if they are convicted, they have a high chance of being executed (Marzilli 20). For instance, U.S Senator Arlen Specter said that professional burglars and robbers usually chose not to carry weapons with them, in order to prevent any killing that might result in capital punishment (Marzilli 27). He provided an example where two out of the three men, who were involved in robbing a pharmacist, refused to join the third man if he carried a gun. The third man then killed the pharmacist with his hidden gun and was charged with the death penalty. The first two men were free from capital punishment since they did not know it (Marzilli 27). The author also argues that since the U.S has comparatively high crime rates mainly due to drug abuse, gang membership, and illegal handguns, which are hard to be stopped or prevented, the U.S. government needs to keep practicing capital punishment in order to deal with these crimes and decrease the rate of murders (Marzilli 25). Hence, supporters claim that capital punishment is an effective crime deterrent.

3 Que 3 III-b On the other hand, abolitionists (those who favor the abolition of Dealing with source 2; capital punishment), like Rudolph J. Gerber and John M. Johnson, argue that Student paraphrases source text capital punishment does not deter crime. If it serves as a crime deterrent, then the more executions are carried out, the less murders will occur (Gerber and Johnson 65). Surprisingly, prior and recent studies showed that there was no such correlating relationship between the death penalty enactments and homicide rates. In fact, when comparing crime rates between states that have capital punishment in practice and states that have abolished it, it is found that the Southern states, in which the majority of executions take place, have much higher murder rates than other regions (Gerber and Johnson 65). Therefore, putting more people to death does not necessarily prevent crimes. In other words, capital punishment is not an effective deterrent to crime. As a result, opponents of the death penalty argue that if it does not function effectively, the use of it should be reconsidered or at least be restricted for worst crimes only, such as cases with mass murderers, espionage and treason. Other homicide cases should be sentenced with life in prison. IV The use of the death penalty also comes with other problems. Since cases with capital crime have to go through a long and complex judicial process of investigation, capital trials and appeals, they are very expensive. Consequently, taxpayers have to spend hundreds of thousands, even millions, on a single death-sentence case. Furthermore, despite the long judicial process, the risk of executing the innocents cannot be completely eliminated. In many cases around the world, and in the U.S., defendants were found innocent only after being executed. Unlike life sentences, nothing can be done to bring back the lives of innocents. Student begins to give the reader her position

4 Que 4 V VI Opponents of the death penalty often argue that a life in prison is not severe enough in some cases. Of course, those who brutally kill children or murder many people in a row deserve to die. But is it true that death is the most severe sentence they should be punished with? Actually, a life sentence without parole is more frightful for the prisoners. Many life-sentence inmates have attempted suicide or wished that they could have been executed instead because only then does their anguish end eternally. In conclusion, the death penalty has many drawbacks. Even its main purpose, which is to deter crime, has been proved ineffective statistically. Therefore, as a civilized country, America should restrict the use of capital punishment only for cases of mass murder, espionage or treason that leads to irreversible consequences. Otherwise, life sentences without parole should be considered since they cost less and eradicate the risk of executing innocent persons. Student uses rebuttal to further clarify position Conclusion sums up findings

5 Que 5 Works Cited Gerber, Rudolph J. and John M. Johnson. The Top Ten Death Penalty Myths : The Politics of Crime Control. Westport, Conn. : Praeger, Print. Goldman, Raphael. Capital Punishment. Ed. Ann Chih Lin. Washington, D.C. : CQ Press, Print. Hayley R. Mitchell, ed. The Death Penalty. San Diego, Calif. : Greenhaven Press, Print. Kurtis, Bill. The Death Penalty on Trial : Crisis in American Justice. 1st ed. New York : Public Affairs, Print. Marzilli, Alan. Capital Punishment. 2nd ed. New York : Chelsea House, Print. Noah Berlatsky, ed. Capital Punishment. Detroit : Greenhaven Press, Print.