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The death penalty Essay - pros & cons - criminology & penology
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The death penalty essay - pros & cons of the death penalty and history of the death penalty
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One of the most controversial problems in today's society is the death penalty. Thedeath penalty is a long-standing punishment in which a person is executed for his
or her crime. Death sentence rules have existed since the ancient Babylonian
period, and various writings and inscriptions have mentioned this practice. Despite
educational, democratic, technological, and other improvements as a society, this
practice remains in civilized countries like the United States today. In fact, the
United States is the only advanced democracy that has not abolished the death
penalty.1
When an offender is sentenced to death, this takes away all of his or her rights.
Even when the correct process of law is followed, the penalty is still cruel and
unusual because it subjects the guilty to agonizing treatment as if they were
animals at a slaughterhouse. Furthermore, a sentenced prisoner often spends about
15 years on death row before being executed, and such extended delays do not
make the punishment prevent other potential criminals or offenders from carrying
out similar actions.
The death sentence does not always achieve its primary objective of preventing
crimes. This is because most criminals do not consider the possible consequences
of their acts before committing a crime, therefore the claim that capital punishment
prevents or discourages people from carrying out similar crimes is actually false.
According to an Amnesty International assessment, there is no compelling
scientific evidence that the execution of criminals serves as something that will
prevent those who might want to commit crime.2 Additionally, it has been proved
that the majority of those who commit such crimes suffer from mental problems,
which suggests that they should be committed to mental facilities rather than
imprisonment. If society truly wishes to avoid situations where a person could face
the death penalty if a case is brought before a jury, it should identify those who
have a tendancy for acting strangely and insist that they be placed in rehabilitation
1
Connor, Eileen M. "The undermining influence of the federal death penalty on capital policymaking and
criminal justice administration in the states." The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (2010):
149-212.
2
Kim, Dongwook. "International non-governmental organizations and the abolition of the death penalty."
European Journal of International Relations 22.3 (2016): 596-621. Rossum, Ralph A., and G. Alan Tarr.
American Constitutional Law, Volume II: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments. Westview
Press, 2016.
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