Capital Punishment

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that capital punishment is not a means for society to take revenge and can never replace the harm done or return the life that the killer has forever taken; however, people should be accountable for their actions, especially for acts as irreversible as murdering another human being. The author examines statistics to establish that, in proportion to the number of death-sentence type crimes they commit, women are much less likely actually to be executed than men are. The paper states that American attitudes about women who commit acts of violence, represents one of the few remaining sexual double standards, still clearly evident in public institutions because women who kill generally receive light sentences and society's compassion and forgiveness.

From the Paper:

"Since the beginning of the colonial era, 20,000 people have been lawfully executed in America but only 400 of these were women and 27 of these women were executed when found guilty of witchcraft. In the 23 years that capital punishment has been reinstated by the Supreme Court, 5,569 death sentences have been pronounced--yet only 112 of these were to women. It seems that only 2 percent of executions and 1.5 percent of death row inmates are women--these statistic have remained constant for the past 20 years."

More papers on Capital Punishment:

• Argumentative Essay # 22661 : "Capital Punishment and the Washington Sniper"
• Argumentative Essay # 148116 : "Does Capital Punishment Deter Murder?"
• Analytical Essay # 86172 : "Capital Punishment in Texas"
• Analytical Essay # 130903 : "Religion and Capital Punishment"

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