The Death Penalty and Capital Punishment Essay

Introduction

Chapter nine has illustrated the issue of the death penalty and capital punishment by beginning with its history to show how this started in the United States of America. According to the given account, the European settlers, especially the English, introduced the issue in the US. Moreover, the chapter also describes the progress on the same and how various viewpoints and laws adopted affected the death penalties. Since, its introduction, death penalty, and capital punishment have been on the decline because of the public opinion, which was and is mostly against it considering it as cruel and unethical because it does not solve the issue of crime. Moreover, Constitutional changes in the United States of America as well as in other regions have played an essential role in this decline. The chapter also highlights several theories that are mainly used in analysing such types of punishment. Some of these theories include the retributive theory, reform/rehab theory, forfeiture theory, and deterrence theory. However, although some of this theories support capital punishment, some are well focused in ensuring that it is reduced or abolished and some solutions can be found in resolving the issue of crime without necessarily turning to the death penalty that is not effective enough to contain offences.

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Free Speech and Personal Liberties

Although free speech is a human right in the society, the chapter begins by showing that what is termed to be free does not hold to the meaningful in some circumstances. Some of the individual expressions of opinions and ideas have resulted in adverse consequences for individuals, which should not be the case. Moreover, it is also noted that "free speech" as a right has led to increased hate speech because many people apply this right negatively to attack others through satire. For example, in the case of Terror in France, verbal and non-verbal expressions were targeted to attack religion and political groups. Moreover, the issue of drug use and their legality is considered is included and this has been seen to be posing a challenge because people believe that they have personal liberties to use the substance that they wish; however, there are some legal restrictions. Therefore, the main issue discussed is about the usage and control of these drugs is the effects they produce concerning the lives of the users and the other in the society. It is ethically recommended that the drugs that have profound adverse effects on the users and the community are limited. Therefore, various regulations have to be embraced for a better society.

The Struggles for Equality

The chapter well illustrates that the enlightenment period in the 18th century led to the adoption of democracy in the United States of America and France embraced equality of all people in 1789. Many rights were instituted to ensure that all people could enjoy equality by being humans following, various incidents. Therefore, the opportunities provided were to be based on qualification and not concerning the backgrounds of the individuals. However, multiple challenges are expressed in the race to promote equality because some of the people such as President Lyndon B. Johnson were not ready to accept the concept. Moreover, the history of slavery in America is highlighted, and the Constitution in 1787 stipulates that slavery should be banned resulting in freedom of all citizen, and this played a significant role in promoting equality. However, the text also looks at the challenges facing the issue through various instances and cases that the Whites were against equality even though every person in a free state has his or her freedoms. Nonetheless, it is notable that segregation and marginalization were still present and is noticed in the modern society following the historical events that took place. However, the human rights movement played a significant role in turning on the table, and the effects are shaping the modern society.