Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Mariah Petersen
Cydney Sheffield
Robyn Snyder
Mrs. Wolverton
English 1010
January 8, 2015
An Evaluation of the Morals and Ethics of the Death Penalty
Capital punishment is wrong for various reasons including: the expense, legality
issues, racial and economic discrimination, moral and religious issues, errors in
prosecution, and immoral methods of execution. We propose that a lifetime term,
without parole, in a State or Federal penitentiary could offer a suitable and substantial
alternative to this dilemma.
Regarding the legality issues, often those who have been charged with a crime
large enough to be confronted with the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney
so the state is obligated to appoint two public defenders and cover the cost of trial.
Capital cases are far more complex than non-capital cases. Professionals are essential
to find forensic evidence, mental health and the social past of the convict. Jury selection
in capital cases is more costly and time consuming. Most death rows involve solitary
incarceration in an exclusive facility that requires more security and other
accommodations. To minimize mistakes, every inmate is designated to a series of
appeals. The costs are at the taxpayers' expense. Death penalty trials typically last over
four times longer, requiring juror and counsel compensation; in addition to court
The 1960s challenged the legality of the death penalty. Before then, the Fifth,
Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as permitting the death penalty.
In 1958, the Supreme Court had decided in the Trop v. Dulles case, that the Eighth
Amendment contained an "evolving standard of decency that marked the progress of a
maturing society." Although Trop was not a death penalty case, it was thought that the
United States had, in fact, progressed to a point that its "standard of decency" should no
longer tolerate the death penalty.
The death penalty suggests that some perpetrators of capital offenses lives
are worth more than others based off of their racial and economic status. Those who
receive the death penalty still tend to be poor, poorly educated and represented by
public defenders or court-appointed lawyers. Jeffery and Colleen Johnson in their
argument about the economic equality in prosecution state, Our argument is not that
we should somehow pity the vicious first degree murderer because of his economic
misfortune, or in any way excuse or mitigate the moral and legal gravity of his offense,
but rather that the most severe and solemn form of criminal punishment must be
administered in a more economically evenhanded way in order for any of us to take
comfort in believing that justice was served by the murderer's death at the hands of the
state.
American Bar Association in 2007 found that one-third of African-American death row
inmates in Philadelphia would have received sentences of life imprisonment if they had
not been African-American. Senator Russ Feingold on Civil Rights stated in 2003 "We
simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when
racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate
punishment."
The death penalty also raises the question of whether it is morally and
ethically wrong. It is a popular thought that murder is wrong. The majority of the
population would tell you that without second-guessing it. Premeditated murder is a
crime, and so should execution. Humans dont have the right to kill other humans. It
could be said that the question is not if prisoners should be killed but if anyone should
kill. Human life is of great worth. Capital Punishment lowers the value of human life as
seen by the general population and brutalizes society. It is based off a need for
revenge. It dehumanizes society as a whole and compromises our belief and value
system. It completely violates our belief that a person can change. No one has the
right to murder and question that worth. When the government declares a prisoner so
dehumanized through murder, how is it that the response would be to do the same?
If its not a moral issue, what are the religious reasons to oppose death penalty?
Before the 10 commandments there was the Law of Moses. An eye for an eye was the
general consensus back then so it would be perfectly acceptable if you took a life to be
killed in return but, that no longer applies to us because we have matured as a society
since then. Those who are religious can tell you that it is made simple through the Ten
Commandments found in the Bible, Thou shalt not kill. On the other hand The Bible
requires the death penalty for a wide variety of crimes, including practicing evil sorcery,
adultery, some form of homosexual behavior, doing work on Saturday, women (but not
men) for having sexual relations before marriage, being missionaries for religions other
than the state approved religion etc.
With the exception of those who believe that we should continue living like those
in the past people feel that the death penalty no longer applies to society. The reasons
that the death penalty was used in biblical times no longer applies to society and should
not be used in arguments in favor of keeping capital punishment in todays justice
system. In the Bible it teaches of the first murderer, Cain, and how he was not killed
but exiled as a consequence. Never has capital punishment been morally correct or
advertised through religion.
Since 1973 150 people have been proven innocent and released from death row.
There is no way to tell how many of the over 1,000 people executed since 1976 may
also have been innocent. Courts do not generally entertain claims of innocence when
the defendant is dead. After the defendant dies for the crime they committed the court
simply does not care. No one really does. A Chicago Tribune investigation released in
2006 revealed groundbreaking evidence that Texas most likely executed an innocent
man in 1989. The defendant, Carlos DeLuna, was executed for the death of a store
clerk Wanda Lopez in 1983. New evidence uncovered by reporters cast doubt on
DeLunas guilt and points towards another man, Carlos Hernandez. This is the fourth
investigation in the past two years pointing to the execution of a probably innocent man.
There is no way to tell how many cases such as this exist. Although Utah hasnt
had any cases (that we know of) where an innocent man was executed, the fact is that