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Troy Kovalcheck

Research Paper

December 15, 2017

The Death Penalty

A wise man named Thomas Paine once said “Give me liberty, or give me death” (“A

Quote from Common Sense.”). The death penalty has been around since the settlement of

Jamestown in 1607. This a part of America’s history and needs to continue to be in use. In the

quote Paine's words were used as the colonist fought for their rights against Great Britain. My

question asks, is the death penalty a necessary way to serve justice? There's pros and there's con

sentencing the death penalty including serving justice to the ones affected and then the pain to

the family of the perpetrator as they are still a person.

The background of the death penalty started on the continental America back in 1607

with the first British settlement at Jamestown. The first execution later came in 1608 for

Treason. In the year 1682, Pennsylvania the first of many to change their death penalty laws

changes the crime needed for capital punishment to murder and treason. Following that, in 1775

around the time of the Revolutionary war hanging was the most common method of death for

crimes that included but not limited to treason, arson, rape, and murder. Carrying on into the

constitutional conventions the founding fathers including the death penalty in the constitution but

was later contradicted by the 8th amendment not allowing cruel and unusual punishment.

Between the years 1833 and 1835 governments came to the realization that a public execution

was cruel. George Barrel Cheever and John O’Sullivan are the first to hold open debates on the

death penalty starting in January 1843. They argued that life in prison was enough as it is and

others argued that nothing is more scary than the threat of death. In 1852 the first state that
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included treason with abolition of the death penalty is Rhode Island as six years earlier Michigan

did the but included treason. In the time period known as the Second Great Reform nine states

abolished the practice of the death penalty. The next big step for the opposers fight against death

penalty was the supreme court case Weems vs United States. This stated that the cruel and

unusual punishment circumstances can change over time as society constantly changes. The last

of public executions came in 1936 in Kentucky. Skip ahead 40 years and seven more states have

abolished death penalty and in 1972 the US Supreme Court found the death penalty cruel and

unusual, later overturning 900 death sentences (“Historical Death Penalty Timeline”).

In Present day there are 41 different types of crimes worthy of capital punishment (41

Federal Capital Offenses). Capital Punishment according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is

defined as the practice of killing people as punishment for a serious crime. The top capital

punishments consist of cases involving murder, rape, treason, and espionage. Capital penalty was

created first by public hangings to give criminals who went against the colonies what they

deserved. There are arguments that even though that with these crimes that are considered

capital punishment that no matter what the crime is they are still morally incorrect (Top 10 Pro &

Con Death Penalty - ProCon.org). The feeling of being morally correct is the number one

argument when it comes to debates about the death penalty. Being that is the conversation if its

constitutional or not which it may not be directly in there but the 41 capital offenses have been

added since the constitution was writing making those who commit one of the 41 crimes to be

tried for death sentencing.

In today's society there are two types of people when it comes to the death penalty.

There are the supporters, which includes 32 states that still have the death penalty in affect.

There are 18 states who have already gone through the legislative process to abolish slavery. For
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the states who are still using the death penalty they use methods such as lethal injection,

electrocution, firing squad, lethal gas, and hanging. There are many purposes in why the death

penalty should be legal in every state and the district of columbia. The main reason why it

should be legal is to serve justice to the heartless rapist, murders , and citizens who go against the

greatest country in the world. The death penalty is enforced to serve the justice to those affected

by it. It is effective in reason that no killer should be left to live the rest of their life in prison

meanwhile an innocent person is no longer on earth living the life they were entitled to. Some

killers are sometimes even found innocent due to lack of evidence but with our corrupt justice

system evidence that can come in later years, that person who was found innocent cannot be tried

for the same crime twice. More reasons why the death penalty should be allowed because in

America the longest religion that has been around is Christianity. Christianity follows the bible

and in the bible it says “an eye for an eye”, that means one who kills only deserves to be killed in

return. This should be the penalty for any murder who takes one's life that is not in self defense.

Under the law, any mentally retarded being cannot be sent to death row after verdict in the

Atkins vs Virginia Supreme Court Case. I think that there are people who are actually born with

mental disabilities who should be protected under this law but my belief is there is a way for

criminals to claim mental retardation to protect themselves in court. After all, the death penalty is

the best way to serve justice to those who have to live everyday of their life without a love one

while the murder remains alive with perhaps a chance to be free one day.

There are always people who are against something and in America as of today there are

19 states and the District of Columbia who have already abolished the use of the death penalty.

Their arguments include the cost of the death penalty process. Many states have and currently are

doing studies on the cost of the death penalty(“Death Penalty – Amnesty International USA”).
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The death penalty has been deemed slightly costly for taxpayers dollars. States like California,

Kansas, North Carolina, Florida, and more state they find it costly but California along with

Texas are known for the amount of executions and death row prisoners (“Costs of the Death

Penalty”). The average number a death row case cost is around 1.25 million dollars

(McFarland). That is supposedly more costly than holding a inmate in a high security prison for

their entire life. According to an article from the Washington Post, in 2011 a execution cost

around 83 dollars for the lethal injection but in 2012 that number has risen to around 1300

dollars (Safdar). In the Ethics of Capital Punishment by he talks about 10 fallacies on why the

death penalty can be seen as cruel and unusual (Fisanick). A few of the more important ones are

cost, innocence, DNA testing, and christian forgiveness. The DNA testing and innocence are

separate but can be seen together meaning the DNA testing goes on years after one is executed.

There is evidence found with the advancements of technology showing one's innocence years or

even decades after they have been sentenced to either life or death.

The death penalty may be costly according to some states but there is no price tag on

justice. The price to get a life back is infinite. Life has no price tag and to consider the cost of

taking someones live who took an innocent life can never repay or be too expensive to give the

killer or rapist-murder what one deserves.

Works Cited

“41 Federal Capital Offenses - Death Penalty - ProCon.org.” Should the Death Penalty

Be Allowed?, 9 Dec. 2012,

deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004927.
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“Costs of the Death Penalty.” Costs of the Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information

Center, deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty.

“Death Penalty – Amnesty International USA.” Amnesty International USA,

www.amnestyusa.org/issues/death-penalty/.

Fisanick, Nick. The Ethics of Capital Punishment. Greenhaven Press, 2005.

“Historical Timeline Death Penalty.” Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed?, 13 Aug.

2013, deathpenalty.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000025.

McFarland, Torin. “Scholarly Commons.” "The Death Penalty vs. Life Incarceration: A

Financial Analysis" by Torin McFarland, 2016,

scholarlycommons.susqu.edu/supr/vol7/iss1/4.

“A Quote from Common Sense.” Quote by Thomas Payne: "Give Me Liberty, or Give Me

Death.", www.goodreads.com/quotes/924587-give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death.

Safdar, Khadeeja. “Legally Killing People Has Gotten A Lot More Expensive.” The

Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Mar. 2012,

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/lethal-injection_n_1391408.html.

“Top 10 Pro & Con Death Penalty - ProCon.org.” Should the Death Penalty Be

Allowed?, 9 Dec. 2016,

deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000#1.