Ethics of Death Penalty essays

Ethics of Death Penalty essays Throughout the ages, the death penalty has been used as one of the severe ways to punish or deter people from breaking all range of laws from petty theft to murder; and many times as to set forth an example of a consequence when an individual betrays communal entity such as nationality and kindred. Evidently, the capital punishment is the ultimate punishment, for the determined offender is given no opportunity of repentance or rehabilitation. Over the years in the United States, the standards for sentencing the  ¡Ã‚ °ultimate ¡ punishment has changed. The constitutionality of the death penalty is a highly controversial issue leading to seemingly circular arguments. Both the pro and the anti capital punishment viewpoints can be justified in legal scope, however the validity of the death penalty policy can be further examined. The death penalty satisfies the public ¡Ã‚ ¯s need for retribution, relieves the anguish of the victim ¡Ã‚ ¯s family, permanently removes the actual incorrigible criminal from society. The capital punishment can be justified in many ways. In 1976 the US states began creating a bifurcated(dual) trial procedure that would legally allow imposing the death sentence. The states did so in response to the 1972 (Furman vs. Georgia) supreme court decision which ruled that death penalty statutes were too vague and ambiguous, thus unconstitutional and illegal. The notion of the capital punishment dates back thousands of years back to the primal justice system. For example, many western cultures embrace the Holy Bible as their moral and ethical foundation. God set forth his words as a guide by which to live our lives. God ¡Ã‚ ¯s commandments are eternal. Even though one of the ten commandments states  ¡Ã‚ °Thou shall not kill ¡, there are many incidents in the old testament wh ere the book promotes  ¡Ã‚ °an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth ¡ principle as also set forth in the ancient book of Hamurab...