Captial Punishment Essay -- essays research papers fc

Capital Punishment Capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty and since ancient times it has been used to punish a wide variety of offenses. The Bible prescribes death for murder and many other crimes such as kidnapping and witchcraft. Major felonies carry the death penalty and some of these felonies are treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape, and arson. In the 1800's however, England enacted many new capital offenses, and hundreds of persons were being sentenced to death each year. In the United States prior to the Civil War the death penalty was imposed on slaves for many crimes, but the penalty for others were less severe. Today, in 37 of the 50 states you can be sentenced to death if found guilty of a crime worthy of the death penalty. The United States is the only western democratic nation that has not banned the practice of capital punishment (Levine 160). Capital punishment is not answer to crime. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; onl y light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction" (mccsc.edu). Due to lack of a fair trial, innocence on death row, and the myth that it saves citizens money, the death penalty should be abolished. The US constitution states, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense." The US system is very good about keeping this right for every accused criminal. Although, there are those lawyers who don't car e about the people they represent. There are lawyers who have passed the bar, and have taken the oath to honorably defend. However, because of their illegal and immoral actions they were disbarred. Lawyers like this should not defend the accused, but they do. This does not protect the right to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. A major aspect of the death penalty is ... ... 1. Berns, Walter. For Capital Punishment. New York: Basic Books Inc, 1974. 2. Courtney, Bryan. "Fighting the Good Fight." The National Law Journal. 3 January 2000. 3. Daley, Suzanne. "Europeans Deplore Executions in US." New York Times 26 Feb. 2000. 4. Hood, Roger. The Death Penalty. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. 5. Ingle, Joseph. Last Rights. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990. 6. Jean, Loren. "In New Hampshire, another look at Death Penalty." Boston Globe 5 Mar. 2000. 7. LaBrie, Stephen. "1999 was a good year for Death Penalty." American Lawyer Media. 29 December 1999. 8. Levine, Herbert. Political Issues Debated. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993. 9. Mills, Steve and Armstrong, Ken. "A Tortured path to Death Row." Chicago Tribune 17 Nov. 1995. 10. Innocence and the Death Penalty: The Increasing Danger of Executing the Innocent. Washington, DC. 1 Apr. 2000 11. MLK Speeches. Atlanta, Georgia. 25 July 2000. http://www.mccsc.edu/ ~bhsntech/speeches.html 12. Amnesty International: Program to Abolish Death Penalty. 13. Armstrong, Ken and Steve Mills. "Inept defense Clouds Verdict." Chicago Tribune. 15 November 1999.