The Death Penalty

The Death Penalty

Introduction

The death penalty is a controversial issue in our culture. Many people support or oppose capital punishment. Many writers and researcher worked on this topic to date and gave several justifications in both favor and oppose. My intention in this paper is to write in favor of the death penalty because it provides justice and maintain equality in the society. The whole discussion about the death penalty is in this paper.

Death Penalty is also very common with the name of capital punishment is the punishment of death for a person who has committed some offence or crime. Crimes that lead to the death penalty are serious crimes like murder, drugs smuggling, rape, theft of some confidential data etc.

Death penalty has a very ancient history; first official death penalty by law executed in the 18th century B.C. Later on, in the tenth century A.D. it became usual method to punish the offenders upon the seriousness of the crime. Laws relating to it are different from country to country and even form society to society. In USA, it remains a controversial issue that several times people come on streets in favor of it and some time for against it. Several times court made amendments in the law of the death penalty (Anckar & Carsten, 2004). Still in USA, there are several limitations for the death penalty that persons of age 15 or younger would not be punished, insane persons would not be punished and so on and so for.

As part of state laws, federal government also has employed it for offenses like murder of an official person, kidnapping, drug smuggling, betrayal acts. In US courts have ordered several times to change the constitution for the death penalty and set some limitations for the death penalty. In the past, there are several cases in which people protest against the court's decisions and tried to influence on court's decisions (Walker, 2008).

Thesis Statement

Death Penalty is fair action as it controls crime

Limitations on the Death Penalty within USA

After Second World War, many countries restricted the death penalty due to some human laws impact and several other issues. USA retained the procedure of the death penalty with some limitations which are as follows.

In late 1970s, Supreme Court ordered that the death penalty for rape of an adult is unconstitutional if the victim is alive (Walker, 2008).

In 1986, the Supreme Court ordered that this punishment for insane persons is no more, and Mental retardation would ideally be a justifying factor to be considered during sentencing (Walker, 2008).

Court ordered that the racial inequalities would not be accepted as a constitutional violation of “equal protection of the law” unless deliberate racial bias against the suspect could be shown (Britt, 1998).

In 2005, the Supreme Court ordered that the death penalty for those who had done crimes under 18 years of age was unusual punishment and hence stopped by the Constitution (Britt, 1998).

Reasons to Support Death Penalty

From society and legal authorities' view point, death punishment should be ...