Capital Punishment: The Moral Maze of Modern Society
Capital Punishment refers to when a convicted criminal is sentenced to death as punishment for their crime. The crimes that lead to this sentence are known as capital crimes and involve the most serious offenses. Supreme Court cases have outlawed the practice for juveniles and the mentally ill, but the debate still continues over its application on the rest of the populace.
Proponents of Legal Capital Punishment
Supporters of the death penalty often believe that such punishment is necessary for those criminals who have committed the most obscene crimes and that, in the big scheme, it deters crimes from happening. They argue against the opinion that capital punishment qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment, prohibited by the U.S. constitution, citing the Supreme Court case Gregg v. Georgia, which maintained it as constitutional. These proponents are often known to be more “tough on crime,” in general, than their counterparts. According to a poll, 60% of U.S. adults support the death penalty when the prisoner has committed murder and 27% strongly favor it.
Links To Get Involved With Organizations Advocating For Legal Capital Punishment:
Proponents of Banning Capital Punishment
Those who support outlawing the death penalty often center their argument around the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that punishments for crimes must not be cruel or unusual. They also argue that no evidence currently exists to prove that the death penalty deters crime. Even further, there is always a possibility that an innocent person could be killed. At the crux, they believe that the criminal justice system was created to rehabilitate criminals, not punish them to the extreme. These proponents tend to favor rehabilitation over being “tough on crime.” According to a poll, 39% of U.S. adults are against the death penalty and 78% believe that there is a chance of an innocent person being executed.
Links To Get Involved With Organizations Advocating To Ban Capital Punishment:
American Civil Liberties Union
Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support the Death Penalty
See where your representatives stand.
Photo Source (Library of Congress)
