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Important aspects of capital punishment are the methods of execution, costs, and the pros and cons.

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JOSHUA GENDRON PRO/CON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Important aspects of capital punishment are the methods of execution, costs, and the pros and cons. Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is currently the most severe kind of punishment used in the United States and the world. It is the most severe form of corporal punishment, requiring law enforcement to actually kill the convicted offender. Capital punishment is used to punish those that commit violent crimes such as murder. It has been banned in numerous countries; in the United States, however, an earlier move to eliminate capital punishment has now been reversed. More and more states are resorting to capital punishment for serious offenses, namely murder. Even the Bible encourages "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" mentality and people have been using it regularly for centuries. There is a lot of debating over capital punishment today about whether or not it works, or if it is even morally right. ...read more.


These appeals delay the date of procedure, costing more money for taxpayers. The sixth reason, which I think is the most important argument against, is that here is no real certain way of knowing if the right person is on trial for the crime. Occasionally people are released from jails that were wrongfully accused for a serious crime after spending years on death row. Death is irreversible and can be inflicted upon people who are innocent. This raises the question of just how many innocent people were put to death because of being framed or just mistaken identity or other reasons. In terms of the Pro; there are actually some safeguards guaranteeing protection of those facing the death penalty. The safeguards for convicts are that the defendant cannot be insane, and the person's real or criminal intent must be present. Also, minors rarely receive the death penalty because they are not fully mature, not knowing the consequences of their actions. Lastly, the mentally retarded are very seldom executed. ...read more.


The convicts who have been sentenced to walk the green mile have really gotten off easy in my eyes. Many of them have committed cruel, torturous acts on innocent human beings. Why do they deserve to die in a peaceful, humane way? They do not, but under our constitution no one can undergo cruel and unusual punishment, even though that is what they have done to others. Criminals should feel lucky that capital punishment is so humane. By 1967, legislation efforts were underway to try to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that the death penalty violated cruel and unusual punishment prohibitions of the eight amendments. The court answered by holding off the execution, waiting the outcome of the lawsuits. On July 1972, the Supreme Court again ruled on the death penalty and issued five opinions. One decision stated that capital punishment for the crime of murder was not cruel or unusual punishment. They also ruled that to be constitutional a procedure for imposing the death penalty must provide standards for sentencing authorities. In 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that persons less than sixteen when they committed the crime might not be sentenced to death. ...read more.

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