Angel Cunningham
Everest College
It is my goal of the essay to enlighten people of the corruptness of Capital punishment, the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime (Hacker 2011). This form of punishment is commonly referred to as the death penalty and is used to punish those that have committed capital crimes. Crime that are considered capital crimes include but not limited to, first degree murder, sabotage, aircraft hijacking, and killing of law enforcement officers. We all can agree that these crime are spine- chilling and those individuals committing them are monstrous humans, but they still have the god giving right to live. There is one giver of life and there for should only be one taker. Punishment should fit the crime, however capital punishment is wrong for moral and religious reasons, and it’s also costly as well as filled with error and against commonly accepted beliefs, but most importantly there are alternative that can eliminated most issue associated with the death penalty. Capital Punishment is against moral and religious values. Since we were old enough to understand we began being taught certain dos and don’ts of life. These particular values mold us as well as set example for the way that we are supposed to live our lives. In life we are taught that violence is not the answer and that murder is a sin, whether you are religious or not. The death penalty goes against everything that we are taught in life. If murder is illegal than why should the death penalty be any different? God puts us on Earth for a reason and only he can take away our lives, as the 6th commandment states “Thou shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13, King James Version). When these values are not upheld people began to get confused, question what is right and what is wrong. The moral question surrounding capital punishment is less to do with whether those convicted of capital crime deserve to die and more so whether state and federal governments deserve to kill them. Capital punishment is murder and murder is moral and religiously unacceptable. . Capital punishment is against commonly accepted beliefs. There are beliefs that citizen form that help instill trust in our leaders in times of need. Capital punishment crushed those beliefs. The belief that government officials should lead by example is the one that stick out in my mind. Our government use murder as a form of punishment, and not just murder but premeditated murder. Dr. Allen Ault, a retired executioner, stated “…it was probably the most premediated murder….even though it’s stated sanctioned it’s still murder.” (Sackur, 2014) Individual sentenced to death are locked in death row cell, knowing that they will eventually give their live for the crime that they have committed. And government officials strategically plan their execution. When the government takes a live it considered legal, and just. When citizens take a live it’s considered murder. The government should set example to the citizens, as this is just double standard.
Another belief that capital punishment goes against is the belief that physician preserves live, and do not end it. At every execution, physicians are there to assist meaning that physician "legal" kill people. A physician is a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, and should not be a participant of a legally authorized execution (Capital Punishment, 1995).
Also capital punishment violates the 8th amendment of the US Constitution. The Constitution of the United States is the supreme laws of the United States of America. The 8th amendment of US Constitution states, among other things, the cruel and unusually punishment should not be inflicted on anyone for any reason. Cost is also a huge misunderstanding when it comes to capital punishment. It is the common misconception that capital punishment rids the state of having to provide to