Is the death penalty sometimes justified?

America first started using the death penalty when European settlers came to the new world. They brought the practice of capital punishment. The first recorded execution in the new colonies was Captain George Kendall in Jamestown, 1608. He got the penalty for spying and trying to kill John Smith, the president of Jamestown. In 1972, the supreme court of the U.S. decided it was unconstitutional and they struck down capital punishment in Furman v. Georgia, reducing all pending death sentences to life imprisonment at the time. In most states, the death penalty was not reinstated until 1988.

 In 24 states, the death penalty is still active. On average, 26.3 people have been executed annually since 2000. Overall, executions are on the decline. In 2000, 85 inmates were executed across the country; in 2020, only 17. 

In my opinion, the death penalty can be justified. People can be very cruel and there's definitely crimes, like mass murders, that deserve the death penalty. I think because 24 states still have it to prove the death penalty  can be justified.

 

1) Do you think the death penalty can be justified?

2) What crimes do you think would have to be done do get the death penalty?

3) If you could get rid of the death penalty completely, would you? 

 

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/ 

https://www.crf-usa.org/images/pdf/HistoryoftheDeathPenaltyinAmerica.pdf 

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  • I think that the death penalty can be justified if the person did something terribly wrong. For example, killing many people on purpose or anything closely related to that. Some people think that the recipient is not getting what they deserve when given the death penalty.

    • I agree, the dealth penalty is a serious matter and the person has to do something terribly wrong. Such as, what you stated, killing many people. 

  • I think the death penalty could be justified if the crime is bad enough. I think crimes like murder because they took someones life so they don't deserve a life either. It is good justice if the crime affects other people. Even rapists should be able to get the death penalty.

  • I don't believe in the death penatly and don't think it is justified. I don't think anyones life ever deserves to be taken away from them on purpose. There are some terrible crimes and I do believe they should be punished, but ending someones life even if they did it themself is a very serious matter. The gospel states that it is "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of a person", and should not be pushed. I do believe that there are many cruel people who deserve punishment but I don't believe the death penalty is the answer. 

    • I agree that it is a very serious matter. I also see where your coming from, its very sad how peoples lives can get taken away however, sometimes i feel its necessary. Theres people in the world with the same mentality as serial killers and are dangerous to everyone. 

  • I think the death penalty should be justified for freeing up space in the jail and giving the family of the victim justice. However, I think that it should be used sparringly and mostly used for taking someone elses life and not something as small as littering. I would not get rid of the death penalty. 

  • I don't really think that the death penalty is justified ever. In my opinion, two wrongs don't make a right. Although there are people who do terrible things it doesn't mean they deserve their life to be taken. That is constitutionally unjust because it is cruel and unusual punishment.

    • I can see where your coming from. Two wrongs dont make a right however, the things people have done are so bad that if they were put in prison they would be a danger to everyone else inside. Even if they were quarentined and not with other people, there could still be a posibility they could escape. 

  • I think that the death penalty is justified if the person or crime is bad enough. Crimes like mass murders and genocides are definetley on the list. I would not get rid of the death penalty because some prisoners are so dangerous they kill many people in prison. Some prisoners also are escapists and could get out and do more crimes.

  • I think that the death penalty is needed in some situations. I think death penatly is honestly better than some people deserve. Some people deserve to spend the rest of their life in prison for what they have done. 

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