Capital Punishment

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the debate over the death penalty in the United States justuce system. It discusses the history of capital punishment laws in the United States and discusses the arguments for and against capital punishment. The writer suggests that capital punishment is morally wrong and should be eliminated all together and discusses why this is so.

From the Paper:

"According to research by Radelet and Borg, American support for the death penalty is slowly declining, and with time, it will not exist all together (Radelet & Borg, 43). One of their main arguments is that as long as the death penalty is used, there will be innocent people who are put to death. The researchers write "Today the argument is not over the existence or even the inevitability of such errors, but whether the alleged benefits of the death penalty outweigh these uncontested liabilities" (Radelet & Borg, 50). It is better to have some people (who deserve capital punishment) serve life sentences than to put even a few innocent people to death. Appreciating the fact that several innocent inmates die under current capital punishment rules should be enough to make many Americans concerned, and it should be enough to reinstate the policy that existed prior to 1976."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Capital Punishment Statistics." Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2007. <http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/cp.htm> Accessed December 4, 2007.
• EU Policy & Action on the Death Penalty. European Union. <http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/deathpenalty/deathpenhome.htm> Accessed December 4, 2007.
• Mitchell, Hayley. The Death Penalty. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc, 2001
• Gallup Poll: Who Supports the Death Penalty?" <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1266&scid=>Accessed November 19, 2007
• Haag, Ernest van den. "The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense." Harvard Law Review, Vol. 99, No. 7. (May, 1986), pp. 1662-1669.

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