DAETH PENALTY

Death Penalty

Death Penalty

IntroductionThe death penalty is a legal capital punishment that concern taking the life of a condemned person under established legal procedures. Throughout the 20th century, Americans have debated whether or not the use of capital punishment is ethical, practical and constitutional. Recently, the focus of the debate surrounding capital punishment has taken a dramatic shift. Rules governing executions and the popularity of the death penalty vary widely from state to state. Death penalty has been a subjective debate issue these days, whether it should be retained in contemporary legal system or not.Death Penalty in Contemporary AgePublic support for capital punishment has risen slowly, but steadily since the early 1970s, when the Supreme Court first began hearing cases concerning its constitutionality. By 1981, two-thirds of Americans said they supported capital punishment, and by May 1995, 77% expressed support (Cassell, 2005). Supporters of capital punishment are often reluctant to impose the death penalty in actual cases, when as jurors they confront the person whose life is in their hands. The chances that a defendant will receive a death sentence are greatly influenced by where his or her case is tried, critics say. Despite their strong support for capital punishment, Americans do believe that innocent people have been sent to death row. Eighty-two percent say they think an innocent person has been sentenced to death row sometime in the past 20 years (Cassell, 2005).The ruling, in Arizona v. Rumsey, upheld a decision by the Arizona Supreme Court. The high court majority, led by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, held that an initial refusal to impose a death sentence was tantamount to an acquittal on the question of executing a convicted killer (Mandery, 2011).In April 1998, the United Nations (U.N.) Commission on Human Rights voted for the second year in a row to call for a worldwide moratorium on state executions, overriding U.S. objections. Bacre Waly Ndiaye, ...