Capital Punishment (840 words)

Capital Punishment
I believe that the death penalty is the best and fairest punishment for people
who have taken other people’s lives. Here are some interesting facts about the
death penalty. Did you know that 70% of all Americans support the death penalty?
Murder rates have also been down since the death penalty was reinforced. And
rehab techniques are so underdeveloped that no one is ever certain that a
murderer can be rehabilitated (supporting capital). First of all, if someone has
taken someone else’s life, in most cases their life should be taken also. If a
person is so imcompassionate for human beings and just doesn’t care what
happens to anyone; if they are sick enough to take the life of someone else,
their life should be taken also. Second of all, would you rather pay for someone
to be in prison for life in an environment that is most likely better than where
they were if they weren’t there? You can argue that capital punishment costs
more tax dollars. However, would you rather pay for someone who has brutally
taken the life of someone else to die than have them stay in a prison that is
nicer than where they would be on the street if they weren’t in prison? For
example, Consider crime as a career alternative. It is, you know. Granted it’s
not a viable alternative for me or you. The consequences of being caught would
be far too great — we have too much to lose. But consider, of all the things
we’re not willing to risk sacrificing, there are lots and lots of people who
don’t have those things. For someone in that position, consider the advantages:
No education requirements. No previous experience needed. No startup capital
required in most cases, and minimal capital required in any case. Flexible work
hours. Be your own boss. Medical and retirement plans provided free by the
government. Low risk. Low risk? Well, yes. The odds of being apprehended at all
are very low, and even if you are arrested you’ll get free legal assistance
(Savage, Leo). And plus, prisons are becoming more and more crowded. The
government’s solution to overcrowded prisons is to spend billions of tax
dollars to make more of them. This is a lot more than it is going to cost the
government to execute someone (Stern, Eric). Next, since most inmates receive
parole when they have life in prison for killing someone, the murderer is back
on the street in 20-40 years. Would you want them back out there killing more
innocent people? Since the prisons are becoming more and more crowded, people in
the prisons are more likely to be let out earlier to make room for more
prisoners, putting the original murderers back out on the streets (Stern, Eric).

Lastly, and I believe, most importantly, what if someone were to brutally murder
one of your family members. Wouldn’t you want the murderer to die? Why would
you want them still in a jail, knowing that he is receiving ample amounts of
food and still living his life after killing someone so close to you? Most
people who are against the death penalty argue that it is cruel and unusual
punishment (pragmatic arguments). What they don’t think about is what the
murderer did was also cruel and unusual. You can also argue that the death
penalty is not biblically right, but I believe God was addressing the legal
community in Leviticus 24:7 when he says, “And he that killeth any man shall
surely be put to death,” and in Numbers 35:31 when he says, “Ye shall take
no satisfaction or ransom for the life of a murderer which is guilty of
death:but shall surely be put to death.” Men have never ceased to kill their
own kind. They have killed in war, in anger out of envy or gain, and have
enacted laws authorizing them to kill those who violate God’s laws. In doing
these things, they have violated God’s law which forbids the killing of all
men (Berns, Walter). The solution to the question of “is the death penalty
morally right?” is YES. For someone who has murdered someone else, the death
penalty, in many cases, is the solution. We do not need these murderers living
in our world any longer. It’s simple: the death penalty is the best solution
to people who have brutally taken the lives of others. Why would you want
someone who has killed another person: -to be back on the streets in 20-40 years
killing others? -if the person who they have killed is a member of your family,
the murderer only get life in prison? -to be supported by your tax dollars in a
prison with substantial food and recreational facilities? Let’s have the US
continue to support the death penalty.

Bibliography
For Capital Punishment. Basic Books, Inc. 1979: 12-13 Marcus, Noreen.

“Steps In The Death Penalty Court Process.” SIRS Researcher. Winter 1998.

Wilson, Tom. “Pragmatic Arguments Against the Death Penalty.” Personal Home
Page. Online. Microsoft Internet Explorer. 22 September 1999. Savage, Leo.

“The Crime Wave.” Personal Home Page. Online. Microsoft Internet Explorer. 8
October 1999. Stern, Eric. “Lawmakers Hear NC’s Tale of Targeting Prison
Expansion.” Iowa Gazette Online. 12 January 1999. “Supporting Capital
Punishment.” Medina High School Online: Civics Projects. Online. Microsoft
Internet Explorer. 22 September 1999.