Capital Punishment Argumentative
Capital Punishment Argumentative
Elyse Godding
Mrs. Cramer
Comp 1
15 May 2020
In 2013, Dzhokhar Tsarnave, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev carried out the bombing of the
Boston Marathon. Two years later, the federal jury gave them the death sentence. Knowing that
these men killed three and injured hundreds, polls showed the American majority supported the
sentence. At this point in time capital punishment was at its lowest point since the 1970s
("Capital Punishment" 1). A capital crime is punishable by death if convicted by the court of law.
Some examples of capital crimes are murder, treason, and crimes against humanity. Having
capital punishment as option for capital crimes shows other criminals that if they commit a crime
that fits into those specific categories they will be punished. Some believe that capital
punishment is a merciful way of punishing cruel killers and opponents argue that sometimes
executions are botched. Moreover, crimes that are severe and destructive towards society deserve
capital punishment because it is a just punishment, it is humane, and it decreases the amount of
violent crimes.
Furthermore, capital punishment is a just way for the justice system to punish heinous
criminals. Nebraska's governor Paul Ricketts argued to oppose the effort to repeal the veto of
capital punishment in Nebraska in May 2015. He said we should look to the government to
enhance public safety not to have them weaken it. The decision to repeal capital punishment will
evaluate the Legislature's prosecutorial tools to control the capital crimes ("Capital Punishment"
Current 4). This also tests the prosecutorial means to advocate the horrific cases. Capital
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punishment sustains public safety and making it illegal will weaken it. "We hear so much about
the innocent people who've gotten off death row," National Review's Jonah Goldberg wrote, but
"We hear very little about the criminals who've had their guilt confirmed by the same
techniques.… Death-penalty opponents are less eager to debate such cases because they want to
delegitimize 'the system'" ("Capital Punishment" Current 4). The opposing side are less
ambitious to debate the guilty cases because they just want to reject the system. Even though
capital punishment is a life or death situation and it is vital that the right killer is punished
(Bushman 1). The justice system needs to know beyond a reasonable doubt that the offender
committed the crime, a violent crime. If that occurs and the judge and jury sentence the criminal
to capital punishment, then they should be sent to death the proper way.
injection is a method of execution and it uses a combination of three chemicals, which are
intended to put to sleep, paralyze. This is an improvement over other methods of executions, it is
not the perfect way of execution, but these problems are being fixed. "In 2014, for example,
Joseph R. Wood, who had been convicted of the 1991 killing of his ex-girlfriend and her father,
took more than two hours to die after he was injected with a combination of legal drugs"
("Capital Punishment" 1). This shows that there needs to be fixed by having regulations to lethal
injection and having an overview of the criminal's medical record to make sure that it will work
the proper way without any complications. Additionally, the justice system must be fair in
prosecuting cases to give the defendant humane treatment. The death penalty is constitutional. In
his concurring opinion in Glossip v. Gross in 2015, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote:
"Petitioners…were afforded counsel and tried before a jury of their peers—tried twice,
once to determine whether they were guilty and once to determine whether death was the
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appropriate sentence. They were duly convicted and sentenced. They were granted the
right to appeal and to seek postconviction relief, first in state and then in federal court...
This shows that the justice system works by reviewing cases if they are appealed.
Moreover, capital punishment deters capital crimes which improves society and
intimidates criminals. "Proponents claim that the threat of death is the ultimate fear, and that this
fear can be harnessed to dissuade people from committing the most heinous crimes" (Goldman
91). Knowing the consequence is death, fear can show criminals and or people that breaking the
law in and committing a crime that is severe is punishable by death. On the other hand, capital
punishment can be used against the system. The death penalty provides a way for the criminal to
commit suicide by the state. For example, Daniel M. Colwell allegedly said that he killed due that
he could be executed because he could not do it himself (Goldman 91). A way to regulate state-
is or was mentally stable during the time of the crime. On the contrary that, having rules and
regulations regarding the conviction of a criminal should be emplaced to keep people safe. On the
contrary, the opposing side will not have a false assumption that the justice system fair. In addition,
the idea that capital punishment deters the amount of capital crimes are reinforced. To show, "...
the Supreme Court had indirectly relied on the idea that the death penalty deters murders. Voters
tend to list deterrence as an important reason for supporting the death penalty" (Goldman 91). The
Supreme Court relied on the deterrence of crime from capital punishment. Furthermore, voters
listed deterrence as a reason for supporting capital punishment, it showed that capital punishment
Altogether, capital crimes deserve capital punishment because they are adverse towards
communities, capital punishment is just, humane, and it deters capital crimes. Having a just way
to punish criminals that commit capital crimes is vital because it gives a sense of safety towards
the public. Even though capital crimes are heinous acts, there is a humane way to punish the
violators of the law - lethal injection. Capital punishment is the solution to decrease the capital
crime rate because it intimidates the offenders which are apprehended - committing these crimes
is not an intelligent idea. In June of 2015, Tsarnaey is sentenced to death by the court of law and
Works Cited
Bushman, Brad. "The Death Penalty Is a Flawed Form of Punishment." Death Penalty, edited by
Context,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010955214/OVIC?u=pl1949&xid=d3323b18.
Accessed 8 Feb. 2018. Originally published as "It's Time to Kill the Death Penalty,"
“Capital Punishment: Should Capital Punishment Be Allowed in the United States?” Infobase
justice/capital-punishment.aspx?issueID=15213&hd=1608.
DREHLE, DAVID Von. “Capital Punishment: The End of the Death Penalty.” Time, Time, 8
Goldman, Raphael. Capital Punishment. Edited by Ann Chih. Lin, CQ Press, 2002.
Bushman, Brad. "The Death Penalty Is a Flawed Form of Punishment." Death Penalty, edited by
Context,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010955214/OVIC?u=pl1949&xid=d3323b18.
Accessed 8 Feb. 2018. Originally published as "It's Time to Kill the Death Penalty,"