Capital punishment, commonly referred to as the death penalty, is the practice of executing criminals that are convicted of the most serious crimes. Some crimes that warrant the death penalty are murder, rape, and kidnapping. There are currently 32 states that allow the death penalty, and 18 states that have abolished it. Over time, the primary method of executing criminals has become lethal injection because the other methods such as electrocution and hanging were seen as primitive and savage.
The severity of the death penalty begs the question of whether or not it is justified to take a person's life as a form of punishment. Advocates of the death penalty use deterrence theory to justify the use of the death penalty. This is the theory that executing convicted criminals helps to decrease crime rates by instilling fear in the minds of potential criminals. However, some individuals question the validity of deterrence theory. Another reason people state they are in support of the death penalty is that they believe death is the only punishment severe enough to bring justice to convicted murderers or rapists. Also, there are concerns about the morality of the death penalty because of evidence that suggests possible bias in capital punishment trials. Lastly, the financial cost of the death penalty is much greater than the cost of any alternative form of punishment such as imprisonment for life.
All of these problems with the death penalty have spurred a debate about whether or not the death penalty is a good method of punishment. This website will present three different evaluations of the quality of the death penalty.
The severity of the death penalty begs the question of whether or not it is justified to take a person's life as a form of punishment. Advocates of the death penalty use deterrence theory to justify the use of the death penalty. This is the theory that executing convicted criminals helps to decrease crime rates by instilling fear in the minds of potential criminals. However, some individuals question the validity of deterrence theory. Another reason people state they are in support of the death penalty is that they believe death is the only punishment severe enough to bring justice to convicted murderers or rapists. Also, there are concerns about the morality of the death penalty because of evidence that suggests possible bias in capital punishment trials. Lastly, the financial cost of the death penalty is much greater than the cost of any alternative form of punishment such as imprisonment for life.
All of these problems with the death penalty have spurred a debate about whether or not the death penalty is a good method of punishment. This website will present three different evaluations of the quality of the death penalty.