Introduction The death penalty is one off the premier issues facing not only criminal justice professionals, but every day citizens as well. The purpose of this paper is to examine the death penalty in the United States including ways to carry out and arguments to abolish, the costs involved, and possible alternatives. “In 1972, the Supreme Court declared that under then-existing laws ‘the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty… constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.’ (Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238),” (source). In 1976, the United States Supreme Court decided on the case Gregg v. Georgia that the death penalty would be reinstated after some years of being considered unconstitutional. However, with the wording of the decision, the states have the right to decide on the methods and justifications for their execution process (Gregg, 2015). Since that year, there have been over fourteen hundred executions. More than 150 people have been exonerated while they sat on death row, awaiting their death, with ten individuals exonerated after their execution (Executed, 2015). There are currently five ways in which people are put to death: lethal injection, gas chamber, electrocution, hanging, and firing squad.
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Many individuals and groups are actively trying to abolish the death penalty nationwide for different reasons. Some argue that the government does not have the authority to put someone to death. Other argue that the costs involved are the number one thing to consider in this. Others still argue that the killing of anyone is wrong and a society should not advocate for the deaths of anyone. The death penalty is the most expensive method of prison incarceration and punishment, compared to life imprisonment and other alternatives. Literature Review With a lethal injection, the convict is strapped down and injected either a combination of chemicals or a single substance. Different states use different methods when performing a lethal injection. “Eight states have used a single-drug method for executions--a lethal dose of an anesthetic (Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington). Six other states have announced plans to use a one-drug protocol, but have not carried out such an execution (Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee).” (State, 2015). There are three different substances used by different states today in the execution process: pentobarbital, propofol, and midazolam. Ten states have started using compound pharmacy substance injections, where multiple chemicals are injected when the substances listed above (pentobarbital, propofol, and midazolam) are not available or not enough of the substances is available (State, 2015). In a gas chamber execution, the convict is led into an air tight chamber where they …show more content…
The ACLU is a private entity that works to protect the liberties of all Americans, regardless of creed or opinion. According to the ACLU, there are eight objections to the death penalty: capital punishment is cruel and unusual, capital punishment denies due process of law, the death penalty violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, the death penalty is not a viable form of crime control, capital punishment wastes limited resources, opposing the death penalty does not indicate a lack of sympathy for murder victims, changes in death sentencing have proved to be largely cosmetic, and a society that respects life does not deliberately kill human beings
Many individuals and groups are actively trying to abolish the death penalty nationwide for different reasons. Some argue that the government does not have the authority to put someone to death. Other argue that the costs involved are the number one thing to consider in this. Others still argue that the killing of anyone is wrong and a society should not advocate for the deaths of anyone. The death penalty is the most expensive method of prison incarceration and punishment, compared to life imprisonment and other alternatives. Literature Review With a lethal injection, the convict is strapped down and injected either a combination of chemicals or a single substance. Different states use different methods when performing a lethal injection. “Eight states have used a single-drug method for executions--a lethal dose of an anesthetic (Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington). Six other states have announced plans to use a one-drug protocol, but have not carried out such an execution (Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee).” (State, 2015). There are three different substances used by different states today in the execution process: pentobarbital, propofol, and midazolam. Ten states have started using compound pharmacy substance injections, where multiple chemicals are injected when the substances listed above (pentobarbital, propofol, and midazolam) are not available or not enough of the substances is available (State, 2015). In a gas chamber execution, the convict is led into an air tight chamber where they …show more content…
The ACLU is a private entity that works to protect the liberties of all Americans, regardless of creed or opinion. According to the ACLU, there are eight objections to the death penalty: capital punishment is cruel and unusual, capital punishment denies due process of law, the death penalty violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, the death penalty is not a viable form of crime control, capital punishment wastes limited resources, opposing the death penalty does not indicate a lack of sympathy for murder victims, changes in death sentencing have proved to be largely cosmetic, and a society that respects life does not deliberately kill human beings