THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE UNITED STATES.

The Death Penalty in the United States.

The Death Penalty in the United States

Today, the death penalty remains an effective method of punishment for murder and other heinous crimes. Capital punishment, whose definition is “the use of death as a legally sanctioned punishment” is an acceptable and efficient means of deterring crime. Currently capital punishment is practiced in most states and by the federal government in the United States. Thirty-eight of the fifty states allow the death penalty but each state using it had different laws regarding its methods, age limits, and crimes which qualify. Most commonly, the death penalty is challenged as a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which states that the U.S. cannot use “cruel and unusual” punishment. Due to the fact that “punishment” is a legal infliction of suffering, it must be somewhat cruel.

As for it being unusual, it is anything but, due to the long history of its usage. People will plunder, take advantage of others, and commit crimes and long as it is in their best interests to do so. The purpose of our entire criminal justice system is to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property. To do this, the punishment for the crime must be harsh enough to deter potential criminals. Under this mindset, the death penalty makes perfect sense. Crime is an evident part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. Therefore, the death penalty should not be banned in the United States because it serves as a justified and valid form of punishment.

Supreme Court Justice William Brennan's description of the executions he witnessed during his career:...the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on (his) cheeks. The prisoner often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells and his skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire...Witnesses hear a loud and sustained sound like bacon frying, ant the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber. (Bedau 2004, p. 17)

These images are graphic and disturbing and it may be difficult for some people to believe anyone would commit a capital crime, if they knew that this gruesome fate would be the punishment for such an act. It might be difficult for some people to believe anyone could want to watch another person die, but in reality, how often does the average person slow down to observe the scene of a bad accident. Humans have always been fascinated by death and that is a fact, which is unlikely to change anytime soon. 20,000 people attended one of the last public executions, which took place in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1936 (Bedau 2004, p. 15). Americans, as a society, have a very strong attitude about the consequences of aggressive acts towards itself as a country, but is a little weaker in that attitude in its own ...