Objective Reasoning Against Capital Punishment - 736 Words

â€Å"Off with their heads!† was the answer to most problems of the Queen of Hearts, a famous character from â€Å"Alice in Wonderland.†1 Capital punishment has always been a controversial topic with proponents of both sides presenting numerous arguments to support their positions. A large portion of these arguments are of a moral or ethical nature. Defenders of the death penalty claim that it is the only just sentence for those who have taken a life, that such people do not deserve to live, and that it invokes fear in potential killers, to list but a few. Opponents of this form of punishment believe that vengeance and retribution are morally wrong, that even murderers have the unalienable right to live, that the act itself is cruel and barbaric, and so forth. The major problem with these arguments is that they are highly subjective. I believe that capital punishment should be abolished, but not for the subjective reasons just mentioned. It should be abolished because i t is objectively ineffective. The purpose of the death penalty and incarceration in general, is to act as a deterrent, to prevent, or at least to reduce the frequency of a specific type of crime. However, sending criminals to death row has not been proven to decrease the number of homicides, and in some cases, data suggest that it has actually increased it. A survey in 2009 of the United States’ top criminological societies showed that â€Å"88.2% of the polled criminologists do not believe that the death penalty is aShow MoreRelatedThe Death Penalty Is Justified1248 Words   |  5 PagesExecutions have occurred in many forms for thousands of years. From Roman crucifixion to American lethal injection, capital punishments have one common goal: to offer retribution to a guilty party. However, in recent years, the death penalty has come under intense scrutiny. There are a great number of people who believe it should be abolished entirely and some who believe it should be us ed only in the most humane ways. In this paper, I will argue that the death penalty is justifiable in casesRead MoreThe Case Of Kennedy V. Louisiana976 Words   |  4 Pagesrape was so brutal. Louisiana law authorized capital punishment for the rape of a child twelve years and younger. Mr. Patrick Kennedy challenged his sentence under the eighteen amendments as cruel and unusual punishment. The Louisiana Supreme Court declined the challenged that the death penalty was not too harsh for such a wicked crime. In a Supreme Court decision Coker v. Georgia 1977 the United States Supreme Court concluded that capital punishment for rape of an adult women was not applicableRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Immoral1521 Words   |  7 PagesKemmler’ case has explained the punishment to deprive the person subjected to execution life so as to realize the way of the death penalty. Death punishment is necessary for those murders (Warden 394). The U.S. Supreme Court in the interpretation of the death penalty not as a torture, it is self-consistent with logic reasoning, but the reasoning depends on the correctness of the two major premises. One is for the death penalty is the one of mitigation of punishment system. Secondly, the meaning ofRead MoreEthics3978 Words   |  16 Pagesviewpoints that helped us define morality and how to apply it in new ways of thinking and reasoning when dealing with issues in our lives: consequential reasoning and non-consequential reasoning. Through an evaluation of my collected works, I will attempt to show an improvement in the areas of analytical skill building, knowledge acquisition, and practical application that are the key objectives of this class. The objective of these three skill areas was to help us better understand how to think ethicallyRead MoreSocial Punishment And Its Impact On Society Essay1628 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout time, the use of punishment has changed drastically. Not only has the actual infliction of p unishment changed, the reasoning behind this punishment has also changed. There have been numerous scholars, educators, and researchers that have presented various theories on the reasoning behind societal punishment. Some of these theories are closely similar, however some are drastically different. It is important to note that these theorists have broad perceptions that can be rooted back to specificRead MoreAbolition of The Death Penalty Essay1051 Words   |  5 Pagesabolition of the inhumane act of capital punishment. Intense controversy over the legality of the death penalty in the United States has always been multi-faceted and emotionally charged. Constitutional lawyers insist the founding fathers made provision for the death penalty in the 5th amendment which guarantees â€Å"due process of law before a person can be deprived of life, liberty or property†, while ignoring the 8th amendment which bars cruel and unusual punishments (Singh, 2003). There is no constitutionalRead MoreWorking Class Forged Through Violence. W.E.B. Du Bois Challenges1598 Words   |  7 PagesBois challenges and modernizes Karl Marx view of Marxism in Black Reconstruction. Unlike Marx, he concludes that capitalism is imbedded in slavery and stresses that capital will use prison labor. In Capital, Vol. I, Marx neglects the role of violence in creating the working class. Du Bois emphasizes the use of violence used by capital to create a working class. Bloodshed is what allowed slaved to enter the working class. Du ring the Civil War, slaves joined the Northern troops to changed the narrativeRead MoreThe Legacy Of The Civil War1508 Words   |  7 Pagesspeeches, Lincoln states â€Å"I shall take care, as the constitution itself expressly enjoins on me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all states (Wills).† Along with â€Å"This war is to preserve the Union, not a crusade against slavery (Wills).† The objective was to bring seceded states back into the union, not to abolish slavery. War efforts shift gears from bringing the union back to abolishing slavery after Lincoln witnessed terrible treatment given to African Americans. The emancipationRead MoreGreat Philosophers : Moral Knowledge1430 Words   |  6 Pagesabout the inherent morality of an action—whether the essence of something is good or bad, right or wrong, and to what extent. Moral knowledge is impossible because there is too much disparity between moral judgments, as moral claims do not refl ect objective truths, but are manifestations of emotions, attitudes, and interests. Moral judgments do not stem from moral knowledge, for there are far too many discrepancies in what constitutes a moral act, quality, or behavior between cultures and individualsRead MoreCurrent Situation Regarding Prisons and Punishment1775 Words   |  7 PagesAlthough it may not be at the forefront of our minds, the current situation regarding prisons and punishment is worth discussing. On the matter of this often overlooked topic, Pope John Paul II said â€Å"Not to promote the interest of prisoners would be to make imprisonment a mere act of vengeance of the part of society, provoking only hatred in the prisoners themselves.† (July, 2000) The prison system is a global issue that affects the human potential, free will and innate goodness in man. (Lyons