Capital Punishment in the US Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 690 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 2

death penalty in the United States today?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reporting for the U.S. Department of Justice that in 2013 "the estimated number of murders in the nation was 14,196"(www.fbi.gov). According to The Death Penalty Information Center, between 1976 and February 2015, the number of cumulative executions per capita was the highest in the State of Texas, with 521. The state with the highest number in population California, reported 13 such executions for the stated period. Considering the number of under 1500 of the total of cumulative executions in the U.S. between 1976 and February 2015 on one side, and the estimated number of murders in only one year in the U.S., I am safe to conclude that a very small number of murders are effectively punished with the death penalty in the U.S. This is vital information concerning the death penalty and its use in the U.S. It takes years of gathering evidence, testimonies and deliberation before reaching a verdict of the death penalty.

The deterrence justification of the death penalty is highly debatable because without the credible confessions of most potential murderess it simply unreliable. Numbers alone are also weak justifiers or arguments for or against the death penalty in the U.S. A better approach would be to take a look at the alternative: long life imprisonment without the right for parole.

Stuck Writing Your "Capital Punishment in the US" Essay?

View All Our Example Capital Punishment in the US Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Some might even consider this a harsher punishment than the death penalty. However, most of those who are on the death row are asking for a sentence commutation, appearing to favor life long imprisonment with no chance forever being released from prison instead of being put to death.

I agree with J. Angelo Corlett who is emphasizing in his book Responsibility and Punishment the vital role of considering any form of punishment from its relationship with the degree of responsibility it carries. After all, why should it be humane to incarcerate a human being for any number of reasons and less humane to terminate one's life? Angelo Corlett dismisses thus the role deterrence may play in coming up with arguments pro-or against the death penalty. With this "moral issue" out of the way, Corlett concludes that "capital punishment can be justified so long as the offender was strongly responsible for illicitly taking the life of, say, at least one other innocent person with attending circumstances such as rape, assault, with no….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Capital Punishment In The US" (2015, April 27) Retrieved June 27, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/capital-punishment-2150072

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Capital Punishment In The US" 27 April 2015. Web.27 June. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/capital-punishment-2150072>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Capital Punishment In The US", 27 April 2015, Accessed.27 June. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/capital-punishment-2150072
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example