CTTO

Death Penalty Position Paper

Introduction:

The death penalty has been a controversial and very debatable issue for
centuries. People have been sentenced to capital punishment since the beginni

ng of civilization it has been accepted as fair punishment by governmental bodies of any

period in time. Over time capital punishment has become more human going from
beheadings, to electric chairs, to now a lethal injection, however the execution may be
processed the point is that they still take place in civilization today. The issue with the
death penalty is that some people think it is inhumane or immoral, even
unconstitutional, while others think the exact opposite and believe that it is necessary
for a well established governmental system.

The death penalty is supported by all members of the Supreme Court

(abcnews2012) meaning that in fact it is constitutional, if it is legal and takes place in the
United States today it is because it is in fact following all guidelines within the
constitution such as the 8th and 14th amendments. The issue then becomes about how
capital punishment has lead to executions of innocent people living many people
arguing how it is an abomination to have such punishments specially when innocent
people go through flawed trials and are executed or in other words murdered in vain.
Those are the main issues with the death penalty today.

Discussion:

As I supporter of the death penalty, it is clear that this form of capital punishment
is not only proper for severe cases when criminals have committed unthinkable crimes,
it is necessary. Certain people such as Jeffry Dahmer who murdered 17 men and
children, and who not only dismembered his victims’ bodies, he also ate some of his
victims (biography2012); or John Wane Gacy who murdered 33 men and children while
dressed as a clown and before murdering them raping the victims, this man’s last word
were “kiss my ass” (biography2012). These two particular example are extreme cases
were serial killers obviously got pleasure from murdering their victims and felt no regrets
of the crimes they committed, there for the death penalty was a correct punishment for
these people. After all the pain they had brought to the victims’ families and the
violations of the law in such extreme manner the only reasonable and well earned
capital punishment was death.

The point is not to give the death penalty so freely to every criminal who
murders a person, but only those very extreme and severe cases where the person
committed the crime was a serial killer or someone who got pleasure form murdering
the victims. The death penalty should only be given after much investigation and a
certainty of who the criminal is in order to prevent executions of innocent people.
However it is certain that this punishment is necessary for several reasons. For starts
one of the biggest upsides of the death penalty is that once the criminal is executed the
families of the victim gets closure and feel safer that that person is no longer a threat to
them. Also this is a way of the legal system to show potential criminals that capital
punishment will be issued and perhaps stopping people from committing certain crimes
out of fear of being prosecuted to the point their life will be taken away. In only special
cases then, the death penalty is not only a reasonable punishment it is necessary.

Conclusion:

Being a conservative Texan and having old conservative morals I agree with this
particular quote form student daily “To a conservative Texan politician the death penalty
it is neither ‘cruel’ or ‘unusual’ executing a murderer is the appropriate punishment for
taking an innocent life” (studentsnewdaily 2010) The death penalty does not seem cruel
or unusual in any way. Certain people just deserve to be punished in such harsh
manner due to the crimes they committed. The death penalty follows the constitution
and does not break any amendment, it might seem immoral to some people or even
inhumane but that is not the point, the point with this form of capital punishment is to
serve justice and bring comfort to those affected by these criminals, the point is to have
a strong sense of justice in the country to stop men and women from becoming serial
killers and struck fear to those who feel pleasure when killing innocent people. There for
I know that if a family member of mine was a victim of a serial killers killing spree I
would want that person to be prosecuted and get the death penalty, some people just
simply deserve it.

Abstract:

The death penalty is indeed controversial and has many issues with it but one
thing is very clear, it is constitutional and major body figures such as Rick Perry the
Governor of Texas and the Supreme Court members are strong supporters of it
(Alarcon 2012) (prisonpolicy.org.). These people support it for a good simple reason, it
works. If the system was flawed or simply cruel or unusual the punishment wouldn’t
even be an option. Criminals convicted to death row are extreme cases where the right
and constitutional thing to do is convict them to the death penalty. To have justice and a
strong control on crime capital punishment is needed as an example to show that
murder and rape will not be tolerated here, giving civilians a sense of security and
comfort that they are well protected against these psychopaths, and giving myself a
sense of security.
1. It deters bad people to commit heinous crimes.
One reason supporters of the capital punishment are for death penalty is its
effectiveness as a crime deterrent. According to the advocates for death
sentencing, potential criminals will be scared to suffer such harsh
punishment and as a result, they will be hesitant to commit crimes like rape
and murder. In fact, for them, it is the greatest deterrent of criminal acts. If
an offender commits a crime that is punishable by death and gets
executed, this will be known by the public, including those who are potential
criminals. For fear of suffering the same plight, they will be discouraged to
commit crimes.
2. It is what hardened criminals deserve.
Some of the crimes that are under capital punishment include murder and
rape, depending on the country or state legalizing the practice. For pro-
death penalty, there are criminals who are repeat offenders and not scared
to rape and murder again, knowing they will only be imprisoned. These
types of people and those who cannot be transformed should be put to
death to project the majority.
3. The government need not spend for criminals who are murderers
and such.
If there will be no death penalty, criminals who have committed grave
offenses will only get life sentences and stay in prison. With the increasing
number of incarcerated individuals, the government will be spending more
and more on food and health care of these inmates. According to some
critics, spending for people committing heinous crimes is impractical and a
waste of taxpayers’ money.
4. It reduces the number of committed crimes.
People who are for death penalty posit that without it, the number of major
crimes like murder and homicide will escalate since bad elements will not
be afraid to do whatever they want., from dealing drugs to killing other
people. Without harsh punishments for their offenses, criminals will be
taking advantage of weaker people and victims.
5. It is humane, clean and safe.
Advocates for the death penalty claim that with lethal injection being
practiced by more states and countries over other forms of death sentence
executions, it is the better option. Death by lethal injection is not as barbaric
as hanging or firing squad that can be messy and more painful.

Miriam Santiago told the media that she wants to re-impose death
penalty

She told the Philippine Star that she was actually against it before. “But
today, yung mga ginagawa ng mga kababayan natin, eh makakapatay ka
talaga eh (With what our countrymen are doing, you would really want to
kill). Yes, I’m seriously reconsidering my previous decision. Before the
arguments were very clear-cut and I felt I had no choice because of the
lobby of the Catholic Church perhaps,” said Santiago, according to
the Philippine Star.