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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  • Good job overall Jaydn! The topic has been done before and I would like to see your summary a tad longer.

  • I think that the death penalty can and will be justified when it needs to. I personally think that child predators and ruthless murderers should be killed by the death penalty. I think this because they obviously have something wired wrong in their brain and are disgraces to human life.

  • I think that if the person is guilty I think that it can be justified. If someone murders a ton of people they should be able to go to the death penalty. If I could get rid of the death penalty completely I probably wouldn't because it can be used to kill bad people.

  • I personally am not sure if the death penalty is justifiable or not. I understand both sides. If I had to pick someone to get the death penalty I might choose a child rapest, child killer or someone with multiple things like that because in my mind that is the worst. I'm not sure about getting rid of it or not.

  • I think the death penalty is justifiable. Crimes that people can commit to get it should include murder, rape, and terrorism. Obviously, I would never get rid of the death penalty completely, but I do believe that a life sentence can be worse. Death is sometimes mercy.

  • I personally think that sitting in a cell for the rest of your life is worse than the death penalty. However, I think that if they continue with the death penalty, then it should be if someone is a serial killer or does something insanely cruel.

  • I think that the death penalty is never justified. I think this because if someone were to comit a crime that terrible they would rather die than sit in captivity. I feel that instead of giving them the pleasure of death let them sit in a high security cell.

  • I personally don't think that the death penalty is justified. I think that nobody deserves death no matter what they do. In all, if there is a person that commits crimes bad enough to where the death penalty may be in the scopes of punishment, I think that suffering in jail is worse than simply dying. They have more time to regret what they did and fellow inmates would also not be nice to them.

  • I feel at some point the death penalty is most definitely justified. As you stated, a mass murderer or serial killer definitely deserves the death penalty for their actions. I think to be charged with the death penalty you would have to do something really bad, like multiple murders, or rape. I feel like it can't be just one murder, because a lot of women, and men, murder their significant others because they have no other way to escape the abuse. But I feel like it would also make sense to get the death penalty if you gruesomely murdered someone without a reason. If I could get rid of the death penalty I don't think I would, because like I stated, in some cases, it can be useful.

  • I think there should be a death penalty because it someome goes out and kills 20 people and they deserve to die. I think you need to of killed someone to get the death penalty or do something really really bad. I dont think that they should get rid of the death penalty.

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