The Death Penalty: A Just Method of Punishment Essay examples -- Capit

Ever since the dawn of man’s search for justice, the death penalty, has been a consequence for particularly heinous crimes. Over the years society has debated whether the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. People who oppose of the death penalty view supporters as gun-slinging "rednecks" who live in the backwoods of America. Likewise, supporters view those who oppose the death penalty as uptight "suits" who live in mansions and believes that every person, no matter their crime, deserves to live. Those who oppose the death penalty argue that life in prison is a preferable solution to the death penalty. The supporters of the death penalty argue that Hammurabi’s code, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life, is an accurate mantra for the death penalty. The death penalty has a long debatable history, but it is a justifiable and fitting punishment for crimes that require more than a slap on the wrist and probation. The death penalty has been a form of punishment since the beginning of time. The first death penalty laws are dated back as far as the Eighteenth Century B.C. These laws were put forth in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon (Death Penalty Information Center, n.d.). Then around Tenth Century A.D. hanging became the new and usual method of execution (Death Penalty Information Center, n.d.). Today the chosen methods of execution are lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, and firing squad (Amnesty International, n.d.). According to Amnesty International USA, thirty-five of the states that have a death penalty use lethal injection as a form of execution (Amnesty International, n.d.). Also, according to Amnesty International USA, nine states use electrocution, six states use lethal ga... ... Center. National statistics on the death penalty and race. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-death-row-inmates-executed-1976. Death Penalty Information Center. Part I: history of the death penalty. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-penalty. Newport, F. (2007, October 7). Sixty-nine percent of americans support death penalty. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com. Harrison, K., and Melville, C. (2007). The death penalty by lethal injection and hill v McDonough: is the USA starting to see sense? Journal of Criminal Law, 167-180. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jcriml71&div=41&g_sent=1&collection=journals. ProCon.org. Top 10 pros and cons: should the death penalty be allowed?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000#3