What Should Happen To The Death Penalty?
Introduction
The United States is different from the rest of the world when it comes to the death penalty. Only 65 countries out of the 195 countries in the world retain the death penalty and still use in law and practice (Capital Punishment, 2008). However, each state in the United States sees itself as a “separate country,” and 36 states still have it. The big question being asked in the United States is should it be allowed? Should it only be allowed in exceptional circumstances? Should it not be outlawed? This research will attempt to illustrate the pros and cons of each position.
Statement of the Problem
With the number of states abolishing the death penalty decreasing, the big issue of whether to put an end to the death penalty is being constantly asked. Many states that have already eliminated the death penalty are still campaigning for the rest of the states in the United States to follow suit and do the same. The death penalty is currently used only for major crimes such as murder or federal crime, although only three federal crimes have been punished by the death penalty since 1963 (Death Penalty Focus).
The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes (Death Penalty Information Center). With these laws, the death penalty was used for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes and killing chickens (Death Penalty Information Center). More recently, in the late Seventeenth Century A.D, the death penalty was far more agonising, using means such as drowning and being burnt alive. Since then, the laws have been changed to using means such as lethal injections leading to instant death and the hanging firing squad.
The issue over the death penalty in the United States is not new. Since the early Eighteenth Century, the question has always been discussed. Although the death penalty was in...
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