Death Penalty
The death penalty is an extremely controversial topic that is developing within our society today. According to Andre and Velasquez in “Capital Punishment: Our Duty or Our Doom,” 2000 people in the United States are currently awaiting capital punishment due to atrocious crimes (Andre and Velasquez 2013). This issue is becoming more controversial as more states are beginning to consider ratifying this concept states Andre and Velasquez (Andre and Velasquez 2013). The reason this issue is becoming more controversial is due to the fact that this punishment is at the peak of severity. Capital punishment is the legal process for a court to deem death upon an individual due to the severity of the crimes committed. These crimes can range anywhere from murder, to treason under certain circumstances. Sociologically, numerous activist groups due to the fact of the extreme controversy of the task at hand are questioning this issue. Does living in a free country necessarily give the courts the right to take a person’s life just due to the crimes, or is another punishment necessarily acceptable in certain circumstances? Does a judge, or any person for that matter, have the rights to sentence a person to death? Andre and Velasquez state that morally, the death penalty is wrong on the basis that society has a moral obligation to save as many lives as possible, not take them (Andre and Velasquez 2013). Andre and Velasquez further state that there is no supporting evidence to say that another punishment has a stronger effect then let’s say death (Andre and Velasquez 2013). The death penalty is an extremely controversial topic due to the severity of the punishment; however, certain measure must be understood to fully implicate the reasons for the establishment of this punishment within our society today. The death penalty can be considered a benefit towards criminals for many reasons. A person who has nothing to lose can think to himself or herself that they can
References: Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. "Capital Punishment:Our Duty or Our Doom." Santa Clara University. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2013. . "Case Study Kennedy Vs. Lousiana."Death Penalty Information Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2013. . Walter Berns, For Capital Punishment (New York: Basic Books, 1979.) Locke, Mandy. "Death Mate Inmate to go Free; Levon 'Bo ' Jones won 't be retried in the 1987 slaying of a Duplin bootlegger."North Carolina Coaliton for a Mortuarium. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2013.