Pro Death Penalty Personal Statement

Capital Punishment: the pro death penalty essay with personal statement. The most severe sentence that is banned in many countries but is still practiced in most states of the U.S. is capital punishment, (execution) or better known as the death penalty. There are five methods of this form of punishment sometimes used in specific states and they are lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad, and hanging. Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one and sometimes even multiple drugs into a living being, (typically a barbiturate, potassium, and paralytic solution) for the express purpose of causing a rapid and immediate death. Electrocution, is the execution of a person using what is called an electric chair. A chair in which the condemned criminal is strapped to a specifically built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the legs and head resulting in death. Lethal gas is the method of executing condemned prisoners by a toxic and deadly gas. Firing squad, is where typically five anonymous executioners who are certified police officers stand about 25 feet away behind a black curtain and through a brick wall with a special opening for firearms and shoot the condemned criminal. Of the the total guns being used, one is loaded with a blank so that no one can be able to determine who fired the fatal shot. Hanging is the fatal method where the condemned is weighed to determine the length of the ‘drop’ necessary to ensure a quick death without any hassle. Their hands and legs are secured, she or he is blindfolded, and a noose is placed around their neck in the appropriate spot. The execution takes place when a trap door is opened and the prisoner falls through ultimately resulting in being put to death.

In class we discussed the topic of deterrence and how it specifically relates to the death penalty. It can be used in context in two ways, from a specific deterrent standpoint, and a general deterrent standpoint. From a specific deterrent standpoint, an offender who is dead is no longer able to commit any more crimes. From a general deterrent standpoint, proponents maintain that an execution may produce a significant decline in the U.S. murder rates. In other words, the capital punishment was used to also frighten criminals/potential criminals and prevent more crime. Siegel & Worrall also stated that putting prisoners and dangerous criminals to death also conforms to the requirement that the punishment must be equal to in proportion to the seriousness of the crime. Pro death penalty also believes that before the brutality of the death penalty is considered, the cruelty with which the victim was treated should not be forgotten. A majority of the general public believe that criminals who kill innocent victims should forfeit their own lives as an equal exchange. It is also less costly than maintaining a murdering in prison for life where money is being spent to meet the common needs of a human such as food and water. Shelter also takes a part in this as well, the less people executed the more build up of the criminals in prisons resulting in crowding and lots of funding.

Another time in my criminal justice 1010 class, we had a discussion relating to arguments against the death penalty, specifically the possibility of error and the condemning of an innocent person. There is also a relation where innocent people are convicted of a crime and choose to plea guilty in order to receive a lenient sentence. Evidence also shows that capital punishment may possibly be influenced by factors such as the physical characteristics of the criminal and the circumstances of the crime. To counter what pro death penalty supporters believe, the general consensus among death penalty researchers today is that murder rates are barely being affected by the threat of capital punishment as well. Capital punishment is also thought to be tarnished by ethnic, racial, and other biases. Because of this more people are consequently being put to death, and capital punishment is used more often in nations with a more large minority population. This has specifically led to what is called the “minority group threat hypothesis” which states that the use of extreme or more harsh punishment is related to the regulation of groups that are racially, culturally, or ethnically different. Many of the population feels that the execution of people is also a very cruel and inhuman thing to do to a living person and that no one’s right to live should ever be taken from them.

After discussing and learning in class and from he book about this specific topic, capital punishment and being able to understand and get a grasp of each side of the spectrum of the argument, I believe I stand more towards being for capital punishment. The justice system has changed over time and still is continuously changing to be better when it comes to finding and accusing the correct offenders for their crimes. I personally feel that someone who takes the life of another or others, or commit a serious unforgiving crime, they shouldn’t deserve their right to live. Overall I learned a I learning many things about the topic of death penalty and the many viewpoints and aspects of it. Before I took this class I never realized how in depth and controversial the topic is, I felt out of the loop but now that I know more about it I now realize that there’s much more than what realized by the general publics eye. Things like the cost of incarceration, the problems with charging the innocent, and the funding of capital punishment itself.

References

• Siegel, L. J. & Worrall, J. L. (2017) The Essentials of Criminal Justice. Punishment and Sentencing, p. 224-225.
• Ruddell, R. & Urbina, M. (2004) “Minority Threat and Punishment: A Cross National Analysis,” Justice Quarterly, p. 903-931.