I am writing a persuasive paper on why the death penalty should be abolished (this is not necessarily my opinion, it is just what my paper has to be about). I need to have some reasons why people should even care about the issue. for example, if someone has never had a family member killed or has never been related to someone who is on death row or has been executed, then why should they care about the death penalty? anyone have some input on this?
2007-02-10 05:36:18 · 12 answers · asked by krystal 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
okay these are all good answers but not exactly what i am looking for. so maybe i should rephrase it, why do you care about the death penalty?
2007-02-10 05:47:44 · update #1
Some people tend to think that they would do better rotting away in a tiny prison, and that death is too good for them. They would be getting an easy way out, and some aren't afraid to die.
In some ways the death penalty is seen by inmates as a good thing, because basically they have a licence to do whatever they want, as they are going to die anyway.
So that's negative in that point.
Other people think that it's unfair to take another's life, even if the inmate themselves has done so. The authorities have essentially got a free murder card.
2007-02-10 05:42:05 · answer #1 · answered by Mr. Maul 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My personal opinion is that the death penalty is a failure of our society. It is a failure first because we allowed a horrid murder to occur. Second because the penalty is usually handed out based on very biased and illogical reasoning - the value (and race) of the victim is weighed heavily as if the murder of some people doesn't matter as much. Third - Inadequate legal representation is also often a factor - if you can afford a good lawyer you can literally get away with murder. Fourth, mistakes are made all the time with innocent people put on death row. It is a definite reality that innocent people have been executed for crimes they did not commit. Fifth, it is a failure because it is giving in to an ugly emotion - revenge - instead of reliance on justice. And sixth, it is a failture because we as a society cannot find a better way to deal with all these other failures than to commit ANOTHER murder to try to rectify the situation. How can you take a life to show that taking a life is wrong?
2007-02-10 05:46:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i care about the death penalty for two reasons:
1. there needs to be a higher order of punishment for the really "sick" criminals other than jail or prison. Most felons given death are multiple offenders, rapist, cold blooded killers, or have killed law enforcement officials.
2. The death penalty serves as "closure" for the family affected by the tragedy of having their loved one stripped from them. Unless we, personally were involved with the crime as a victim, we can never assume that there is a better way, nor do i believe we have the right to assume anything other than offering every possibility to the family. That criminal will live on, but the person he killed will no longer be able to make a contribution to society.. no longer with he/she be able to have more children.. no longer will he/she make memories or fathom new ideas.. that person was taken away by someone else's hand and the death penalty serves as a viable solution to the victim's family.
it is not our duty to assume that the family would want them not to be killed.
it is not our duty to assume that the family would want them to serve the rest of their time in jail.
it IS our duty to give the victim's family both options and let them choose.
2007-02-10 15:17:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason we care is because we know if someone gets out we could be the next victim, or worse our children.
This is just an example but if a man or a woman kills their child then they should be put to death. The reason is because they have shown they cannot be in the world without being a threat. The reason we care without knowing these people is because we have children, we know children, and we don't want that same thing happening to them because someone didn't get the punishment they needed.
This example can apply to any situation. Most people have the urge to watch out for their own and watch out for others. To protect ourselves. Even animals who don't know any better know that if another one of their kind starts acting irrational then they have to go or be killed.
2007-02-10 05:51:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't believe this either but
the opponents of the death penalty point of that our court system is not perfect, that sometimes innocent people get convicted regardless if they didn't do the crime. because of such a flaw, this goes against the 6th amendment of cruel and unusual punishment. also research shows that the death penalty does not deter people from committing crimes, hence it is ineffective and should not be allowed. regulating death and proving that it is not painful also make the ACLU say that 6th amendment violations occur. Also black have been put to death in a higher number compared to whites under death penalty laws so you can always play the race card in trying to get people to appeal to your side of the argument (even if it is the wrong side of the debate)
2007-02-10 05:54:33 · answer #5 · answered by JJ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Personally I'm for the death penatly. But the strongest argument against the death penalty is that it cannot be reversed. If we accidently execute the wrong person we can't go, oops, and put them back. If we make that mistake then we have done irrepariable harm.
Getting wrongly convicted is somthing that could happen to anyone. So everyone should be concerned about that.
2007-02-10 05:42:39 · answer #6 · answered by Roadkill 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why shopuld people care if they haven't directly experienced it? Because we are part of society. How society operates is all our business. For anyone to take a life is wrong, to use the power of the state to take a life is an obscenity and to agree with it is to compound that wrong. From the perspective of a european, one of the best reasons for an american to be against the death is that anything which can make an unpopular nation like yours look more civilised will mean you're less likely to have to pretend to be canadian in London.
2007-02-10 05:47:12 · answer #7 · answered by terri2luce 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that the death penalty should not be used until the gov. can guarantee that no one innocent is put to death.It has been proven that innocent people have been put to death and several others have been freed at the last minute.Maybe you would care if it happened to you.Please remember they are killing people in our name.Also remember that this country was founded on individual rights.I guess it is better to keep a real killer in jail for life than to kill one innocent person. XM
2007-02-10 06:04:26 · answer #8 · answered by Jack M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am against because the legal system in imperfect, you cant give someone their life back when you realize the wrong person was convicted. Also as seen in Texas it is used disproportionally in regards to the poor and blacks. Not all attorneys are created equal - the poor get screwed again. It also it more expensive to execute someone than to have them serve a life sentence due to the appeals process and it cant bring back the victims of the original crime.
2007-02-10 05:45:18 · answer #9 · answered by jillmarie2000 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"The authorities have a free murder card"
This is what everyone thinks - "I'm not killing anybody, the authorities are".
Wrong. WE ARE THE AUTHORITIES. So every citizen is responsible for this killing.
How many people would agree to be in the execution chamber and "pull the switch"?
They can't even get a real doctor to give the lethal injections, check that one out for your persuasive paper.
2007-02-10 05:51:00 · answer #10 · answered by Ed F 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋