In the United States of America, people who commit the most atrocious crimes get the death penalty. However, why are we able to decide when to take a person's life away? This is and immoral act. For those who are strong in their faith may believe that only God has the right to give and take away life. I am strong in my faith; and I believe that the death penalty should come to an end. Whether or not someone has committed a sin does not mean we are allowed to take his or her life away. Instead, we should give them a life sentence in prison. The eighth amendment of the Constitution states that we are not allowed to inflict "cruel and unusual punishments". The government somehow found a loophole through this amendment and the death penalty happens often. This is not right morally. This is not right constitutionally.
There have often been cases where the court has ruled against someone who has not done anything wrong. People simply get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not right to punish people with the death penalty if there is the slightest chance that the person may be innocent of the crime. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind". We should not punish a murderer with a death sentence. By doing this, we are no different than the murderers. We cannot be held responsible for taking away lives of human beings.
Hi Alia! I really enjoyed reading about your point of view on the death penalty in America. I completely agree with you that the death penalty is immoral, and that killing murderers make us no different than them. However, when you stated that there have been cases where the defendant has been wrongly convicted of a crime, I think your argument could have been strengthened if you would have mentioned a few specific cases when this occurred. Also, I feel the addition of a statistic showing how many in-mates are killed per year by the death penalty would stimulate more emotion from readers. Overall, I think you made a strong argument against the use of the death penalty. I really liked your use of Gandhi’s quote!
ReplyDeleteAlia, i enjoyed reading your post. However, I do feel in some cases the death penalty is the right way to go. In our court system to receive the death penalty there can't be any doubt whether you are guilty or innocent. When an individual receives the death penalty, the jury and judge 100% agrees that that person is responsible for the crime at hand. A life sentence to a serial killer is nothing. He/she won't learn from their mistake. However I do agree with Gandhi's quote but in todays world, sometimes you have to be a bit harsh to get a point across to the world.
ReplyDeleteHi there, Alia! I thought your post was interesting so I would like to give you my take on it.
ReplyDeleteThe death penalty has been a practice used for a very, very long time. It traces back all the way from the 18th century BC, from the Ancient Laws of China to the Code of Hammurabi, and so forth. Britain has influenced the use of the death penalty in America, and the practice of it has been diminishing ever since. But to take it entirely away is debatable. It's hard to take a stance on whether it's better to keep to the death penalty or not.
To start, I would like to agree with you on how some ways the death penalty may be immoral and I'd like to point out some of the flaws in the death penalty. From a bystander's point of view, taking a life may seem irritational. It may not accomplish all that much, and also, it would be better to not kill the guilty than to kill an innocent by mistake. Being killed is an irreversible process and seems cruel overall. In some ways, the death penalty isn't a mean of justice, but rather, an act of revenge.
But this doesn't mean that the death penalty doesn't accomplish nothing. Though it is certainly for the most part, unethical, there are some positive aspects to it as well. I would first like to point out your statement on how it may violate the 8th amendment. It's not a direct violation of the 8th amendment per se, and there is a procedure of how the death penalty must be carried out. Death may seem like the worst thing since it's the end of it all, but to some, there are fates worse than death. Today's executions are painless and quick, with a lethal injection. Life sentences may seem like endless torture. Expenses are also to be covered by the government for that person as well and the influence that person may have on other prisoners. There are many things to take into consideration, that is why this is a very debatable topic.