The Death Penalty Debate

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the complex ethical, judicial, social, economic, racial and political issues that capital punishment raises. The paper discusses the perspectives of opponents and supporters of the death penalty and offers the opinion that the societal advantages of the death penalty far outweigh the disadvantages.

From the Paper:

"Despite the frequent use of the death penalty throughout most of American history, it continues to be a controversial issue in the United States. Americans continue to debate whether capital punishment is morally acceptable, whether taking a convicted criminal's life is an effective means of deterring other criminals from committing violent crimes, and whether capital punishment is applied fairly, regardless of social, economic, or racial factors. (Kurtis 188) Ultimately, because of the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, the death penalty is likely to be imposed in appropriate cases by America's criminal justice system for the foreseeable future."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Banner, Stuart. The Death Penalty: An American History. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2003.
• "Death Penalty." ACLU. Online. Available: http://www.aclu.org/DeathPenalty DeathPenaltymain.cfm. 3 August 2006.
• "Ideas for an Open Society: The Death Penalty Debate." JOSI. Journal of the Open Society Institute. July/August 2004.
• Kurtis, Bill. The Death Penalty on Trial. New York, Public Affairs, 2004.
• Lutton, Linda. "The End of Executions?" Online. Available: http://www.thirdworld traveler.com/Justice/End_Executions.html. 3 August 2006.

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