Question.1286 - Provide two separate lists: one of arguments in support of capital punishment and another of arguments against it. Of these, which do you think is the most compelling and why?
Answer Below:
Hello everyone, First, considering the arguments for capital punishment, wherein retribution or just desert suggests that the death penalty is a punishment for certain heinous crimes, like murder. According to the Pew Research Center's study to understand the Americans' views pertaining to the death penalty with over 5000 participants in 2021, 60% of the participants were inclined towards favoring the death penalty, particularly for people who were convicted of murder ("Most Americans favor the death penalty despite concerns about its administration," 2021). The results tend to show a sense of justice completion for the victim's family and also uphold ethical order within the scope of punitive measures by reflecting the severity of the crime; for instance, Carey Johnson, a black man who belonged to an inter-city gang in Richmond, Virginia, was sentenced to death in the early 1990s for a series of murders; although execution dates were set, it was challenged based on the lethal injection process; however, Johnson was executed in 2021 ("Death Penalty Information Center," n.d.). Another example is Lisa Montgomery (third woman on the federal death row), a white woman who was sentenced to death in 2007 for abduction and murder of a white woman and stealing her unborn baby, who was executed in 2021 ("Death Penalty Information Center," n.d.).? With this understanding, in terms of deterrence, several proponents believe that the death penalty tends to dissuade probable criminals from capital offenses, and the fear of execution serves as a stronger deterrent than life imprisonment. A study conducted by Ernest Van Den Haag around the 1980s showed that capital punishment had the power to alter the rates of homicides, but a more recent study by John Donohue and Justin Wolfers, who studied statistics, stated that there was no credible evidence to prove deterrence (Radelet & Phillips, 2018). On the other hand, the argument against capital punishment comes from the primary notion of risking the execution of an innocent. Like the protection granted to a convict on the grounds of the Eight Amendments in terms of mental health, that is the case of Madison v. Alabama in 2019, which ruled if a person does not remember committing a crime due to mental health issues like dementia, can be executed ("Death Penalty & Criminal Sentencing Supreme Court cases," n.d.).? The Jones v. Mississippi 2021 case ruled that there is no need for a sentencer to make separate factual findings of permanent incorrigibility before sentencing a murderer who is under 18 to life without parole ("Death Penalty & Criminal Sentencing Supreme Court cases," n.d.).? The Graham v. Florida 2010 case provided that the 8th Amendment does not allow a juvenile offender to be sentenced to a life sentence in prison without the scope of parole for a non-homicide crime ("Death Penalty & Criminal Sentencing Supreme Court cases," n.d.).? Considering both the arguments there is no easy yes or no nods to this, since there is a life at stake that depends on the decision made by the judiciary, and also encompasses varying moral beliefs that could come at a social cost. References Case summaries for modern federal death sentences. Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.). https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/federal-death-penalty/case-summaries-for-modern-federal-death-sentences Death Penalty & Criminal Sentencing Supreme Court cases. Justia Law. (n.d.). https://supreme.justia.com/cases-by-topic/death-penalty-criminal-sentencing/ Pew Research Center. (2021, June 2).?Most Americans favor the death penalty despite concerns about its administration. Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/02/most-americans-favor-the-death-penalty-despite-concerns-about-its-administration/ Radelet, M., & Phillips, S. (2018). Capital Punishment/Death Penalty.?The Cambridge.More Articles From CRIMINAL LAW MANAGEMENT
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