Death Penalty Essay

Death Penalty

Criminal Justice
November 28, 2013

Abstract Page
The Death penalty is a very controversial topic. There are people who are with the death penalty, and there are people who are against it. There are many reasons to back both sides up. The used capital punishment has been around for a long time. It goes back as far as the Eighteenth Century B.C. There are many types of execution methods. One of the famous execution machines use back then was called the guillotine. Now they use methods such as the electric chair, lethal injection, firing squad, and also hanging. There have been some cases were people have been wrongfully framed and executed. To me I really don’t believe in capital punishment. Death Penalty

Death penalty, also called capital punishment, is when a government or state executes someone usually because he or she has done a serious crime such as murder. The death penalty is a disputed and controversial topic. Most countries obtain the death penalty but other abolished the act. The death penalty was and would always be a highly controversial topic in the United State. There are 33 states that have the death penalty and 17 that abolished it. Based on my opinion, I don't believe the death penalty is a way to punish anyone. I think that the death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment. The 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prevents the use of “cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is highly restricting this law. I also don’t believe that the death penalty is the most effective way to deal with criminals because there are alternatives to the death penalty and it is not necessarily cost effective.
Facts state that the death penalty is more expensive than a prisoner having life without parole. This is because the constitution has to go through judicial process. Only because they don’t want to wrongfully execute the inmate if they didn’t commit the crime. And even with this process there are still some cases that says to be guilty but really wasn’t. There are many different types of execution methods. Lethal injection, Electrocution, Gas chamber, Firing squad, and Hanging are all methods of execution. Not all of these methods are used in every state. The Lethal injection is the most common one used in the United States.

Types of methods:
Lethal injection: In 1977, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection as a form of execution. Today 35 of the 36 states that have the death penalty use this method. They place the prisoner into a gurney and the bound it down. They insert two needles, and extra one only if needed. Usually they get inserted into the inmates arm. The inmate is injected with sodium thiopental to put him/her to sleep. Next, pavulon is inserted. This paralyzes and stops the breathing. Then they inserted potassium chloride. This stops the heart .Last, they will certify that the inmates dead.
Electrocution:
New York built the first electric chair in 1888.The electric chair was built because they was looking for a more human method other then hanging. Execution by electric chair, the person is usually shaved and strapped to a chair. Then they put a metal skullcap electrode onto the inmates head with a sponge moisten with saline under it. Second they add another electrode but this one is moisten with conductive jelly. They attach it to the inmate's leg to reduce resistance to electricity. Then they blind fold the inmate. The warden would signal the executioner, who pulls the handle to connect the power supplies. A jolt of between 500 and 2000 volts, which last for about 30 seconds, is given. The doctor wait a few minutes then check to see if the inmate is still breathing. If so, then another jolt is applied. Defecation occurs. Steam or smoke rises and there is a smell of burning.
Hanging:
Until the 1890s, hanging was the primary method of execution used in the

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