The Moral, Legal, and Economical Aspects of Capital...

Capital punishment has long been a topic for heated debate throughout the United States of America and the civilized world. For many politicians, the death penalty has been a key pillar to winning a state or election; and, to some extent, politics have been a key influence in America’s justice system. Many nations have outlawed capital punishment, with the United States included between 1972 and 1976. In the United States, there has been a renewed movement for this â€Å"eye for an eye† method, citing such arguments as â€Å"deterrence† and â€Å"victims’ rights.† This movement begs a single question – is there any economical, legal, or statistical support for the ultimate punishment? This article will strive to answer that question by evaluating several†¦show more content†¦Georgia, one can easily make the statement that the taking of a human life in return for another does not agree with the standards of decency of our maturing soc iety. Justice Brennan goes further to state that â€Å"death is not only an unusually severe punishment, unusual in its pain, in its finality†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Brennan 32). This argument is one of the major summarizing points of Brennan’s argument – the death penalty is incredibly severe and irreversibly final. According to an article in the USA Today by columnist Jacqueline Blais, 117 people have been freed from death row on account of innocence (Blais). This figure is astonishing when one considers the innocents who slip through the cracks in states like Texas, where the average death row inmate has just ten years to prove his or her innocence from behind bars. Opponents might argue that the death penalty provides closure to the victim’s family. However, this view makes an assumption about the U.S. Justice system that should never be made – that the system is about retribution and not about justice. Interestingly, in a survey conducted in a Kentucky college classroom, only 43% of participants considered capital punishment to be about justice while 71% of participants found justice to be the pursuit of the justice system as a whole (Coursey). How then does one bridge the gap between the goals of the justice system and the goals of capital punishment? The simplest answer to this question is thatShow MoreRelatedIs the he lawful infliction of death as a punishment the death penalty. Capital punishment1000 Words   |  4 PagesIs the he lawful infliction of death as a punishment; the death penalty. Capital punishment continues to be used in several countries despite controversy over its merits and over its effectiveness as a det errent to serious crime. A sentence of death may be carried out by one of many means, through electrocution, hanging, lethal injection, gas chamber, and firing squad. The debate as to whether capital punishment is right or not is an emotive one. 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