America s Debate On Capital Punishment - 760 Words

America’s Debate: Should the Capital Punishment be abolished in the United States? Violent crimes such a murder, rape, sexual assault, and robbery are perpetrated by criminals once every few minutes in this country. Lawmakers spend countless hours enacting laws to prevent these crimes. The introduction of the death penalty is an effort to deter criminals from committing heinous crimes. What exactly does the death penalty accomplish? The best description of the term death penalty is the legal execution of criminals as punishment for committing a violent crime. Opponents of the death penalty want to outlaw its use and consider the action a form of judicial murder. Advocates continue to support the use of capital punishment as a way to deter†¦show more content†¦Cases tend to occur frequently in urban areas where poverty and weaker social ties are prevalent. Groups like Amnesty International are working hard to intervene in cases where vital evidence was suppressed, huma n rights were violated, or DNA evidence could have been used to exonerate the individual. Failure of the Appellate Courts to intervene in cases where significant evidence of innocence or human rights violations have occurred is appalling and downright disgusting. The only way for this injustice to be rectified is by amending current laws, remove loopholes that allow governing officials to sit idly by ignoring the problem, or abolish the death penalty altogether. Capital punishment should be abolished in the United States because executions are often times botched. The drafting of the Eighth Amendment prohibits government officials from imposing cruel and unusual punishment against individuals. Opponents to the death penalty often describe their methods as cruel and barbaric; however; advocates tend to disagree. Several times during the past year; there have been botched executions. An article published by the Washington Post newspaper cites the flawed execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Clayton Lockett (Bever). The execution of Mr. Lockett by lethal injection was supposed to be quick and painless, but the event went horribly wrong (Bever). During the injection phase of the execution several of Mr. Lockett’s veins exploded (Bever). Without receiving