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Kirsten Riggins

Mrs. F. Fok

AP English Language and Composition

13 June 2010

Justice Served with Capital Punishment

A serial killer named Kenneth Allen McDuff was executed on November 17,

1998. McDuff¶s notoriety results not just from the frightening nature of his crimes, but

also from the journey that returned him to death row after having been paroled from the

first death sentence he received for murders he committed in 1966. McDuff is the only

convicted killer in American history to have been assigned two different death row

numbers and sentenced to two different forms of execution by three different juries.

McDuff¶s parole in 1989 made it possible for him to murder again. Capital punishment

has become a controversial matter over the years. Capital punishment which is also

known as the death penalty is the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment

for an offence. Crimes that can result in the death penalty are known as, capital crimes

or capital offences. Those who oppose capital punishment because they feel that it is

another form of murder; however, murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a person

with malice and forethought. In other words there is an obvious difference between

murder and the death penalty. States that have the death penalty include: Washington,

Alabama, Virginia, Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, and so forth. Capital punishment

should continue to be legalized because it brings needed justice, it allows the voices of
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the victims to be heard, it has a deterrent effect, and most importantly it allows one to

believe in a brighter and safer future.

Dead or alive, justice should also be given in the end. Once a person commits a

crime, he or she is held solely for it, and whether they want to or not they will be held

responsible for their actions. Justice allows that person to be held responsible for those

actions. Without justice one will not have to face the consequences of their actions, nor

the damages and hurt they have caused someone. As Wesley Lowe, a lawyer in the

justice system states, ³Justice is about enforcing consequences for one¶s own actions to

endorse personal responsibility´ (Lowe). Justice allows a person to face what they have

done head on. If they are not prepared to deal with the consequences then they should

not have committed the malice act of murder. Eyes should not only be on the murderer,

but the victim of that murderer as well. Without justice victims are just forgotten about as

if they served no importance what so ever in society. These victims deserved to be

treated fairly even after death. Richard Bryne, also a lawyer in the justice system

stated, ³«distinctions between good and evil, the value of an innocent life over one of a

cold blooded murderer must be acknowledged.´ Capital punishment is a fitting

punishment for murderers who even when put in jail will still continue to take lives even

if they weren¶t as innocent as other victims. Everyone has the right to live however

according to Lowe the Revelation states, ³He who leads into captivity; he who killed with

the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints´

(Revelation 13:9-10) (Lowe). If one is willing to commit murder then one must be aware

that they will have to face a punishment most fitting for their actions.
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Everyone has a voice of their own, but who speaks for the victims of these

murderers? How are they able to have their voices heard? According to Richard Bryne,

³The focus should be on the life of the innocent and the death penalty, a statement that

for certain acts; a person forfeits any right to a life of their own.´ If one takes an innocent

person¶s life against their will then they should not have the right to live theirs when the

person they murdered cannot. Anti-death penalty speakers say that everyone is

guaranteed life and that the government should not have the right to take it; however,

Article 3 states, ³Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person´ but

Wesley Lowe comments, ³We would have to abolish charging taxes and fines since

they violate one¶s ³security of person´´ (Lowe). Death penalty abolitionists are quick to

stand up for the rights of murderers, but forget to take into account the victims and their

families. In 1985, 13-year-old Karen Patterson was shot to death in her bed in North

Charleston, S.C. Her killer was a neighbor who had already served 10 years of a life

sentence for murdering his half-brother Charles in 1970. Joe Atkins cut the Pattersons'

phone lines, and then entered bearing a machete, a sawed-off shotgun, and a pistol.

Karen's parents were chased out of their home by Atkins. Karen's mom ran to the Atkins

home nearby, where Joe then murdered his adopted father, Benjamin Atkins, 75, who

had worked to persuade parole authorities to release Joe from the life sentence. Joe

Atkins showed no mercy for a little girl or the man that helped him get paroled. These

people he killed all had family and friends that cared deeply about them yet the

concerns fall on the man who murdered them. If this man had gotten the death penalty

then these innocent people and that little girl would be alive still living their lives as they

had originally planned on.

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The positive side to capital punishment is that is causes a deterrent effect. This

means the deterring of other potential criminals from committing murder and other

crimes. David B. Muhlhausen who has a Ph. D stated, ³«a link between executions and

decreases in murder rates´ (Muhlhausen). Murderers that are kept off the street save

could be future victims of murder. The death penalty assures this and allows one to feel

a sense of safety and content. Adrian Vermeule another lawyer, agrees that, ³Each

execution saves lives´ (Vermeule 42). A message is also sent that if one wants to

murder then that person could soon end up receiving a lethal injection for his or her

actions. This sense of fear established in a criminals mind keeps them from committing

foul acts in society. By warning criminals that death could be one of the consequences

of murder lets them be aware that even if they have murdered before that they should

not attempt to try again.

With horrible serial murderers and rapists removed from society, one can feel a

sense of safety. Though it is a fact that murders will always occur in society; however,

with the death penalty, the worst of the worst no longer have the chance to hurt anyone

again. Wesley Lowe pointed out, ³As long as the murderer lives, there is always a

chance, no matter how small, that he will strike again. And there are people who run the

criminal justice system who are naïve enough to allow him to repeat his crime´ (Lowe).

To disregard the fact that a murderer will murder again is not possible. By making use of

capital punishment this is less likely to occur. Some claim that the death penalty is used

more often towards certain races, but murder is murder no matter who commits it. The

law is not made specifically for one individual; the same rules apply for everyone. No

matter there color, class, or IQ, a murderer is a murderer. One of the jobs the
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government has includes the ³moral duty to defend the safety and security of their

decent citizens,´ states Wesley Lowe. In the past when the nations signed the

Universal Declaration of Humans Right they were still using the death penalty and

continued to use it after. ³«signers back then had the moral coherence to appreciate

the distinction between murders and executions «´ Wesley Lowe brings up so why are

abolitionist not able to see the distinction. Many abolitionists bring up Christianity. If one

looks in the bible like Dr. Carl F. H. Henry did, ³nowhere does it repudiate capital

punishment for premeditated murder; not only is the death penalty for deliberate killing

of a fellow human being permitted, but it is approved and encouraged, and for any

government that attaches at least as much value to the life of an innocent victim as to a

deliberate murderer, it is ethically imperative´ states Dr. Carl F. H. Henry. The

government¶s duty is to protect its citizens from harm and by executing those who truly

deserve it then they are doing their job. A small possibility exists that an innocent

person may be executed; however, if capital punishment is eliminated just because one

innocent man may have been executed and tons of serial murderers and rapists for

sure have been executed, then that will be a small risk that the justice system will have

to take to protect its citizens. Not every system is perfect in a society and each system

will always have its flaws.

With those who are for capital punishment come those who are not. Some say

violence does not stop violence and killing is the same no matter what justification says

otherwise. They speak of it being morally wrong and that god would not allow such an

act to occur. Where does the killing end if we all follow the act of the murderer and take
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his or her life? It is the right of every human being to live and no one should have the

right to take it away.

Capital punishment, an issue debated by many has continued to be discussed

even up to now. Many say society today has evolved and should not continue to use a

system such as capital punishment. If that is true, then why are people still dying at the

hands of those who see killing as one big game? Though everyone is guaranteed the

right to live is a fact, but what about the families who lost loved ones, friends, neighbors

to such killers. If everyone was to just look the other way while it happened, then what

does that make everyone else? People will judge everyone and see that they are no

better than the murderer because they all just let it happen with out properly punishing

the wrong doers. What about prisons then? They only serve the purpose of keeping

those murderers away from more innocent people, but that does not mean they will stop

killing. The only way to insure they no longer have the right to kill and to take an

innocent person¶s life such as Karen Patterson and her family is to end their life. Many

people state the flaws or cons of capital punishment and look at it in a negative way. Yet

if one is to try on the victims of murderers shoes, then they would be able to understand

why some people refuse to look down on capital punishment and see clearly how

today¶s society benefits from this. If people allow serial murderers and rapists to

coincide with society then there will only be more victims and pain and suffering

following closely right behind. A society that removes individuals such as McDuff that do

not have the right to belong in society with everyone else does not make the people

who agree with such an act despicable or also murderers, but creates a society that is

not full of never ending pain and suffering.