Essay Example on Opposing Death Penalty, Supporting Corporal Punishment: A Debate

Introduction

I oppose the death penalty to the accused, but I support other corporal punishment, which includes life imprisonment. There have been talking relating to the death sentence on the accused person. The death penalty has been a controversial issue that has attracted the attention of different people in society. There is a reason which one would put across, which depicts the reason why a death sentence should be eliminated in the court law and replaced with some other corporal punishment. For instance, the death penalty is very unfair to the accused person and also violates the human rights of the person who is accused. In the course of our discussion, we shall consider the reason why the death penalty should be banned and replaced with other punishments.

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It's Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The death penalty has been termed as cruelest and unusual punishment that has been there for long in the country. For instance, those people who are sentenced are hanged, which is a ruthless and also unusual punishment. (Engle). It's against the human rights to hand someone despite the offense the person has committed, which depicts the reason why this kind of punishment should be eliminated. However, the question which many people could ask is to measure the cruelty of the punishment.

It Doesn't Deter Criminals

Even though the death sentencing has been there for a long period, it has not deterred the criminal's acts in the country. There have been cases of criminals in the country even though the court has been issuing death penalties to those people who have been convicted. However, in Canada, after the elimination of death sentencing in the year 1976, the homicide rates have been reducing, which depicts the reason why the death penalty should get abolished (Engle). It's essential if the government could abolish the death penalty and replace the sentence with other corporal punishment, which could help recollect the behavior of the prisoner. It's through this way in which the government could be able to reduce criminal cases in the country.

Its Unlawful Killings

The death penalty has been termed as unlawful killings in the modern days by human rights. However, most of the victims who have been prosecuted committed murder cases that could lead to death sentencing (Gross 3). However, according to the Federal crime codes, if someone committed murder which falls under unique circumstance should be sentenced to death. Its time for the government to consider other measures that could be used in place to punish the offenders in the country.

Types of Cases Punishable By Death

Several cases are punishable by death in the US. Rendering the Federal death sentencing, most of these crimes will involve the murder, which has been committed in a special circumstance, include children and protected class murder cases. Currently, many prisoners have been convicted for the death penalty due to the murder which they committed in the modern era. However, most of the cases of the death penalty were a result of the rape crimes which were committed by black people on whites ("Eighth Amendment | The National Constitution Center"). In the year 1976, the death penalty was reinstated, and it gave the courts the authority to impose the death punishing on those who have been found guilty. A few years later, the court ruled out that the death sentences were unconstitutional. After several reviews by the Supreme Court in the country, it has restricted the use of these punishments in most cases and therefore reducing the rate of those people who get convicted for murder.

The death penalty is the most unfair system which has been made to punish those who have been victims of key crimes. For instance, in the past, most of the cases which caused the death penalty resulted in discrimination based on the color of the skin. These blacks people have been violated during the trials compared to what the whites people have been going through.

Age for The Death Penalty

There are two categories of ages, which include minor and adults age. In the United State, some young people have been convicted in the court of law for death sentencing due to the crimes which they committed. For instance, there is a native American who was involved in a robbery and also murder cases when he was only ten years old. However, after long time trials, he was prosecuted in the court at the age of twenty-three years. Other juveniles have been convicted in the US, but in the supreme court lifted the death penalty. On the other hand, adults have been sentenced in the past due to rape cases, killing in special circumstances in the country. However, there is a need for a court of law to ensure there is a fair trial for the defendants in the case when someone has committed such crimes.

Races Convicted For the Death Sentencing

Statistics in the US indicate that there are specific races that have been convicted of murder in the country. Racial bias against most of the defendants who are black has been evident in the country compared to the white's race. Some black people have suffered in the hand of the courts during the trials, which have led to them being denied their justice. Most of the prosecutor has been discriminative during the trials. Since the past, the death penalty has been under severe scrutiny from various people in the society due to the claim that it's racially biased ("Race"). For instance, during the past few decades, research indicates that 89% of the rape prosecution were black people compared to white people. However, in the modern era, there are cases where there have been cases where the prosecutor has been condemned for racial discrimination. In the year 1987, the Supreme Court considered the racial disparities regarding the death penalty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the death sentencing has been common in the country, with many people sentenced to death. However, after several reviews by the Supreme Court, the court decided to lift the death sentence for the defendants. I oppose the death penalty in the country, and there is a need for consideration for other punishment compared to the death penalty.

Works Cited

"Eighth Amendment | The National Constitution Center." Constitutioncenter.Org, 2020, https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-viii/clauses/103.

"Race." Death Penalty Information Center, 2020, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/race.

Butler, Ryden, et al. "Revisiting white backlash: Does race affect death penalty opinion?." Research & Politics 5.1 (2018): 2053168017751250.

Engle, Jeremy. "Should We Abolish The Death Penalty?". Nytimes.Com, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/learning/should-we-abolish-the-death-penalty.html.

Forst, Brian. "Hugo Adam Bedau is Austin Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. He received his Ph. D. degree from Harvard University in 1961. He is author of Justice and Equality (1971), The Case Against the Death Penalty (1973), The Courts, the Constitution, and Capital Punishment (1977), and Death is Different (1987); editor of The Death Penalty in America (1982); and author of." The Socio-economics of Crime and Justice (2016): 327.

Gross, Samuel R. "The Death Penalty, Public Opinion, and Politics in the United States." Saint Louis University Law Journal 62.4 (2018): 3.

Radelet, Michael L., and Scott Phillips. "Capital Punishment/Death Penalty." The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems 2 (2018): 433.