FREE ESSAY ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

In Favor of Capital Punishment
I believe that the death penalty is the best and fairest punishment for people
who have taken other people's lives. Here are some interesting facts about the death
penalty. Did you know that 70% of all Americans support the death penalty? 
Murder rates have also been down since the death penalty was reinforced. And
rehab techniques are so underdeveloped that no one is ever certain that a murderer
can be rehabilitated (supporting capital).
First of all, if someone has taken someone else's life, in most cases their life
should be taken also. If a person is so imcompassionate for human beings and just
doesn't care what happens to anyone; if they are sick enough to take the life of
someone else, their life should be taken also. 
Second of all, would you rather pay for someone to be in prison for life in an
environment that is most likely better than where they were if they weren't there? 
You can argue that capital punishment costs more tax dollars. However, would you
rather pay for someone who has brutally taken the life of someone else to die than
have them stay in a prison that is nicer than where they would be on the street if they
weren't in prison? For example, Consider crime as a career alternative. It is, you
know. Granted it's not a viable alternative for me or you. The consequences of being
caught would be far too great -- we have too much to lose. But consider, of all the
things we're not willing to risk sacrificing, there are lots and lots of people who
don't
have those things. For someone in that position, consider the advantages: 
No education requirements. 
No previous experience needed. 
No startup capital required in most cases, and minimal capital required in any
case. 
Flexible work hours. 
Be your own boss. 
Medical and retirement plans provided free by the government. 
Low risk. 
Low risk? Well, yes. The odds of being apprehended at all are very low, and even if
you are arrested you'll get free legal assistance (Savage, Leo). And plus, prisons are
becoming more and more crowded. The government's solution to overcrowded
prisons is to spend billions of tax dollars to make more of them. This is a lot more
than it is going to cost the government to execute someone (Stern, Eric).
Next, since most inmates receive parole when they have life in prison for
killing someone, the murderer is back on the street in 20-40 years. Would you want
them back out there killing more innocent people? Since the prisons are becoming
more and more crowded, people in the prisons are more likely to be let out earlier to
make room for more prisoners, putting the original murderers back out on the streets
(Stern, Eric). 
Lastly, and I believe, most importantly, what if someone were to brutally
murder one of your family members. Wouldn't you want the murderer to die? Why
would you want them still in a jail, knowing that he is receiving ample amounts of
food and still living his life after killing someone so close to you?
Most people who are against the death penalty argue that it is cruel and
unusual punishment (pragmatic arguments). What they don't think about is what
the murderer did was also cruel and unusual. You can also argue that the death
penalty is not biblically right, but I believe God was addressing the legal community
in Leviticus 24:7 when he says, "And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to
death," and in Numbers 35:31 when he says, "Ye shall take no satisfaction or ransom
for the life of a murderer which is guilty of death:but shall surely be put to death."
Men have never ceased to kill their own kind. They have killed in war, in anger out
of envy or gain, and have enacted laws authorizing them to kill those who violate
God's laws. In doing these things, they have violated God's law which forbids the
killing of all men (Berns, Walter).
The solution to the question of "is the death penalty morally right?" is YES. 
For someone who has murdered someone else, the death penalty, in many cases, is the
solution. We do not need these murderers living in our world any longer.
It's simple: the death penalty is the best solution to people who have brutally
taken the lives of others. Why would you want someone who has killed another
person:
-to be back on the streets in 20-40 years killing others?
-if the person who they have killed is a member of your family, the murderer
only get life in prison?
-to be supported by your tax dollars in a prison with substantial food and
recreational facilities?
Let's have the US continue to support the death penalty.
Bibliography
Works Cited
Berns,Walter. For Capital Punishment. Basic Books, Inc. 1979: 12-13
Marcus, Noreen. "Steps In The Death Penalty Court Process." SIRS Researcher.
Winter 1998.
Wilson, Tom. "Pragmatic Arguments Against the Death Penalty." Personal Home
Page. Online. Microsoft Internet Explorer. 22 September 1999.
Savage, Leo. "The Crime Wave." Personal Home Page. Online. Microsoft Internet
Explorer. 8 October 1999. 
Stern, Eric. "Lawmakers Hear NC's Tale of Targeting Prison Expansion." Iowa
Gazette Online. 12 January 1999.
"Supporting Capital Punishment." Medina High School Online: Civics Projects.
Online. Microsoft Internet Explorer. 22 September 1999.