Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?
Should we as Americans be the ones to judge someone to death? That is what happens every time that a criminal is sentenced to death. The death penalty is a major debate that Americans have faced for many years. Who are we though to commit a crime against one who committed the wrongful crime? Doesn’t this make us just as guilty as the criminal? Through this paper we will explore the pros, cons, and whether the death penalty serves to morally normalize society. The death penalty is a major debate in the United States that many feel is wrong, and has been for many years. There are thirty-five states in the United States that still uphold the death penalty. Out of the other fifteen states that have abolished the death penalty three of them have abolished it within the past five years. “New Jersey was the first state to abolish the death penalty in the last forty years” (http://www.democracynow.org/2007/12/14/new_jersey_votes_to_abolish_death). New Jersey and New York both abolished the death penalty because the state commission stated, “The death penalty was too expensive, showed no proof of deterrent effect, and risked killing an innocent person” (http://www.democracynow.org/2007/12/14/new_jersey_votes_to_abolish_death). New Jersey abolished the death penalty act at the same time in which the U.S. Supreme Court was questioning whether the death penalty violated the eighth constitutional right., The eighth constitutional right states, “ Prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment” (http://law.jrank.org/pages/6368/Eighth-Amendment.html). All these reasons that New Jersey abolished the death penalty for is the main reasons to abolish the death penalty all together. The death penalty shows some very disturbing cons that would make anyone think twice about sentencing anyone to death. There are five major cons that will make goose bumps come upon your body after they are explained. These five