Capital Punishment Research Paper

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Karson Knudtson

Robert Wilson

English 110

4-11-2012

Capital Punishment

The word “Law” is defined in the Webster’s Dictionary as “A rule established by authority, society or a custom.” When a person violates one of these laws, the society expects that he or she is to be punished and referred to professional help to understand their actions and how they were wrong. If a person were to violate a set of laws simultaneously, what would the government do about it? Gary Leon Ridgeway, known as the Green River Killer, killed and raped women. This man should be put to death by society rather than serving life sentences without parole so we do not have to pay thousands of dollars to keep this man alive in prison.
The reason for capital punishment is said to be a way of revenge. Capital punishment is retribution and morals. Revenge is used to get even with someone that has been injured, even if it was illegal. The people that have broken laws to these magnitudes are not suitable for society. If criminals suffer punishments by a state’s laws equal to their crime, then killing a murderer is equal.
The fact remains that some religious people disagree about killing another person, but others agree with some key parts in the Bible that agree about execution. First, in the Ten Commandments, it says, ” thou shall not kill.” Next is Exodus 21:12 which states, “Whoever strikes a man a mortal blow must be put to death” (Hartman 21). A few Christian scholars, Catholics and Protestants, agree that execution is morally acceptable to punish sadistic murderers not able to be rehabilitated (Gow 81). The Bible was written for everyone, including murderers. Genesis 9:6 states, “If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has man been made.” Children are taught every day that violence and killing is wrong and punishment is always included. When a violent person kills, he or she loses their right to have the options of choosing anymore. Granted, some people will oppose capital punishment for the sake of society when it is a safeguard for society.
People make decisions everyday; all of these decisions refer back to if the person is a respectable and good citizen or choose to embrace crime and breaking the laws. People who oppose capital punishment do not realize the victim of murderers are permanent, and so is capital punishment for the criminal. Punishment is effective on lawbreakers. Society is securely protected when a murderer is removed from society, but only if it is permanent.
Most people will say that rehabilitation is far better than execution, but it is wrong to give the legal chances to escape the murderers punishment. If someone commits a serious crime, such as murder, he or she will not be easily forgiven or excused from punishment. A lot of murderers could be released if rehabilitation was the government’s goal for punishment. When a criminal is in jail, we the people of the United States punish him or her for what they have done, but not for what they are capable of in the future. The Romans thought that every human was sacred to every other human being but were hypocrites because they would execute murderers at a drop of the hat. To believe that a murderer has the same right to live as his victim is crossing the line, because it does not define moral reasons but instead physical equalities. A murderer’s life is not as sacred as the life of the innocent victim he or she has killed.
There will always be people who break laws, but when criminals commit serious crimes are executed accordingly, it should help deter other criminals away from capital punishable crimes. The current system of crime and punishment is far from perfect and needs work. Capital punishment has not been effective
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