Death Penalty Essay: Barbaric Capital Punishment -- Argumentative Pers

Barbaric Capital Punishment      Ã‚   During the past three decades the issue of capital punishment has been very controversial inside the United States. During 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was a form of "cruel and unusual punishment." However, this decision did not last long; in July 1975 the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment did not violate any parts of the Constitution. Executions as they had before 1972 resumed again. Since then 180 prisoners have been executed. The United States Supreme Court should abolish the death penalty because it is a form of "cruel and unusual punishment."    Under our current U.S. Constitution which has been around for over 200 years, prisoners of the government cannot be subjected to any kind of punishment which is deemed cruel and unusual. However all the forms of capital punishment that the government uses are questionable as to whether or not they are legal according to the Constitution. Forms of capital punishment that are still used in the United States include hanging, firing squad, electrocution, gas chamber, and lethal injection. With hangings a rope is attached to a persons neck proceeded with them being dropped from a certain height with the other end of the rope attached to something higher than them. The result is either strangulation which can take a while or complete decapitation. With the firing squad option a prisoner is tied to a chair and blinded. After this a firing squad composed most of the time of five individuals fires gun shots at a target attached to the prisoners chest (ACLU).    The most widely used form of execution has been electrocution. With this method of elect... ... obtain its goal. Because the death penalty fails its main objective and because of the reason stated above it should be abolished.    Works Cited American Civil Liberties Union. "Briefing Paper Number 8." gopher://gopher.pipeline.com:70/00/society/aclu/publications/papers/8. Associated Press. "PD Chiefs: Death Penalty Fails". news:death-penaltyURcb0_5FN@clarinet.com:Thu, 23 Feb 95 4:40:09 PST. Bedau, Hugo Adam. "The Case Against The Death Penalty". gopher://gopher.pipeline.com:70/00/society/aclu/issues/death/case_against. Blumstein, Alfred and Jacqueline Cohen. Deterrence and Incapacitation: Estimating the Effects of Criminal Sanctions on Crime Rates. National Academy of Sciences: Washington, D.C., 1978. Van den Haag, Ernest. Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question. Basic Books, Inc.: New York, 1975.    Death Penalty Essay: Barbaric Capital Punishment -- Argumentative Pers Barbaric Capital Punishment      Ã‚   During the past three decades the issue of capital punishment has been very controversial inside the United States. During 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was a form of "cruel and unusual punishment." However, this decision did not last long; in July 1975 the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment did not violate any parts of the Constitution. Executions as they had before 1972 resumed again. Since then 180 prisoners have been executed. The United States Supreme Court should abolish the death penalty because it is a form of "cruel and unusual punishment."    Under our current U.S. Constitution which has been around for over 200 years, prisoners of the government cannot be subjected to any kind of punishment which is deemed cruel and unusual. However all the forms of capital punishment that the government uses are questionable as to whether or not they are legal according to the Constitution. Forms of capital punishment that are still used in the United States include hanging, firing squad, electrocution, gas chamber, and lethal injection. With hangings a rope is attached to a persons neck proceeded with them being dropped from a certain height with the other end of the rope attached to something higher than them. The result is either strangulation which can take a while or complete decapitation. With the firing squad option a prisoner is tied to a chair and blinded. After this a firing squad composed most of the time of five individuals fires gun shots at a target attached to the prisoners chest (ACLU).    The most widely used form of execution has been electrocution. With this method of elect... ... obtain its goal. Because the death penalty fails its main objective and because of the reason stated above it should be abolished.    Works Cited American Civil Liberties Union. "Briefing Paper Number 8." gopher://gopher.pipeline.com:70/00/society/aclu/publications/papers/8. Associated Press. "PD Chiefs: Death Penalty Fails". news:death-penaltyURcb0_5FN@clarinet.com:Thu, 23 Feb 95 4:40:09 PST. Bedau, Hugo Adam. "The Case Against The Death Penalty". gopher://gopher.pipeline.com:70/00/society/aclu/issues/death/case_against. Blumstein, Alfred and Jacqueline Cohen. Deterrence and Incapacitation: Estimating the Effects of Criminal Sanctions on Crime Rates. National Academy of Sciences: Washington, D.C., 1978. Van den Haag, Ernest. Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question. Basic Books, Inc.: New York, 1975.