Capital Punishment The Death Penalty Argum Essay Example For Students

Capital Punishment The Death Penalty Argum Essay entative Persuasive EssaysThe Death Penalty The death penalty is a very controversial issue. Many people have different opinions about how a criminal should be disciplined. Over 80% of Americans favor the death penalty. Presently, thirty-eight states have the death penalty, but is the concept of alife for a life the best way to castigate a criminal? Of the thirteen statesthat do not have the death penalty, is crime more likely to occur there than instates that have the death penalty? (The Economist, April 1, 1995, p. 19) Havethere been criminals wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row? Does thedeath penalty really scare criminals off and make them think twice aboutcommitting a crime? Is the death penalty fair to everyone, even the minoritiesand the poor? How does mental illness and retardation come into play? When a person is sentenced to death by lethal injection in New Jersey,the provisions of N.J.S. 2C: 11-3 say that the punishment shall be imposed bycontinuous, intravenous administration until the person is dead of a lethalquantity of an ultrashot acting barbiturate in combination with a chemicalparalytic agent in a quantity sufficient to cause death. Prior to the lethalinjection, the p erson shall be sedated by a licensed physician, registered nurse,or other qualified personnel, by either oral tablet or capsule or anintramuscular injection of a narcotic or barbiturate such as morphine, cocaine,or demerol. In the provisions of the N.J.S. 2C: 49-3, it says that theCommissioner of the Department of Corrections determines the substances andprocedure to be used in execution. The Commissioner shall also designatepersons who are qualified to administer injections and who are familiar withmedical procedures, other than licensed physicians. Also, persons conductingthe execution must be unknown to the person being executed. Under the N.J.S. 2C: 49-7, only certain people are allowed to be present at the execution. Theyinclude: the Commissioner, execution technicians, two licensed physicians, sixadult citizens, no more than two clergymen not related to the person, tworepresentatives from major news wire services, two television representatives,two newspaper representatives, and two radio representatives. No one relatedeither by blood or by marriage to the person being executed or to the victim ispermitted to be present during the execution. (New Jersey Statutes Annotated:Title 2C Code of Criminal Justice: 2C: 37 to 2C: End) There are two very important Supreme Court cases dealing with capitalpunishment. In 1972, in the case of Furman vs. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruledthat under then existing laws, the imposition and carrying out of the deathpenaltyconstitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighthand Fourteenth Amendments. Four years later, in the case of Gregg vs. Georgia,the Supreme Court shifted in t he opposite direction, and ruled that thepunishment of death does not invariably violate the Constitution. The Courtruled that these new statutes contained objective standards to guide,regularize, and make rationally reviewable the process of imposing the sentenceof death. (Bedau, Hugo Adam, American Civil Liberties Union, prodigy) There are many different reasons, pro and con, for the death penalty. The following are the most frequently cited arguments for the death penalty. Some believe that those who kill deserve to die. When someone takes anotherpersons life, they forfeit or sacrifice their own right to live. Murder is oneof the worst crimes a person can commit and it deserves the worst penalty. Thedeath penalty is the greatest deterrent to murder. If people know that theywill be punished by death, they will be less likely to commit crimes and kill. Racism In The Past And Racism Today EssayThe Supreme Courts rulings on the matter rest on the notion that, as apunishment, death is different. It cannot be infringed arbitrarily, it must beimposed consistently. (The Economist, 1995, p. 19-20) Have criminals been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row?The answer is yes. Astonishingly enough, a recent report revealed that between1900-1985, 350 people have been wrongfully convicted of capital offenses. Inthe last two decades, forty-eight wrongfully convicted people have been releasedfrom death row because of innocence. Unfortunately, twenty-three of the threehundred and fifty people wrongfully convicted, were already executed before theevidence came about. Justice Thurgood Marshall, a long time opponent of thedeath penalty feared that if an individual is imprisoned for an offense he didnot commit, the error can to some extent be rectified, but if he is executed,the wrong that has been done can never be corrected. (Jet, March 13, 1995, p. 12-15) William Hance, a former marine, was sentenced to death for the murder oftwo prostitutes and awaiting the chair of death. The day before, the Georgiaboard of pardons and paroles rejected Hances appeal for clemency. The day ofthe execution both the state and federal court refused to halt the execution. Then the Supreme Court denied Hances appeal. The legal skirmishing had gainedhim ninety extra minutes of life. This execution was different though. One ofthe twelve jurors to sentence Hance to death swore that she never agreed to thesupposedly unanimous vote. Gayle Daniels, the only black juror, swore on anaffidavit the she did not vote for the execution because she did not believeHance knew what he was doing at the time of his crimes. There was alsoshocking evidence that race prejudice played a central role in the jurysdeliberations. Finally, Hance may have been mentally retarded. The prosecutorwho helped investigate the first murder case, Douglas Pullen, argued that atthe very least, this man has a borderline I.Q. That is not retarded. ButHances trial in a military court for the second murder ended in the reversal ofa life sentenced after jurors determined that he lacked the capacity forpremeditation. (Smolowe, Jill, Time, April 11, 1994, p. 61) Fortunately, not all cases end unhap pily. In several cases the accusedwere found innocent just in time. Andrew Golden was very lucky. His case wasreversed twenty-six months after he was put on death row. He was sentenced todeath for the possible murder of his wife, Ardelle. She drowned in a lake.