The death penalty in a punishment that is given for capital offenses. Common capital crimes in the United States that attract death penalty include terrorist, treason, mass murder, espionage, piracy, war crimes, genocide and attempting to overthrow the government. The main reason which I decided to study this topic is due to the gradual increase in the cases of death penalties, especially by the states. ‘The number increased from  20 executions in the year 2016 to 23 deaths in 2017 and 25 in 2018’( Banner, 345). This gradual increase indicates that the death penalty is acquiring dominance and the rate is likely to keep on shooting. My research question therefore is; is the death penalty justifiable?

One of the arguments for the death penalty is that one murders someone else; they are deemed to have given up their human rights which includes the right to stay alive. This indicates that murder at first place is communication that shows the cruel nature of the murderer. Therefore by killing, one tells that he/she is inhuman and having lost humanity, loses the rights of a human being too. This shows that one who kills accepts to be killed also.

In addition, giving the killer a death penalty helps to stop them from killing. The assumption behind this argument is that one who once killed will be tempted to kill, as he has earned the titled “killer” or murder. Therefore to prevent more other deaths from occurring due as a result of acts of the same person, it’s justifiable to offer a death penalty. In this case, the death penalty is seen as a means of preserving future life ( who could have been killed by the current killer).

It also sends a warning to other people who have the incentive to kill, hence helps them to correct themselves as a result of fear of the waiting punishment. Therefore, the death penalty helped to keep off other murderers. Thus, executing one person is seen to have a total social benefit to society.

Furthermore, execution is constitutional as it does not violate the Eighth Amendment. ‘The 8^th amendment prohibits the imposition of excessive fines, bails as well as cruel and unusual punishments including torture’ (Bedau, 34).Besides the death penalty helps the government to dafe the costs of food, health care and other expenses that are associated with the sustenance of life on incarcerated individuals serving life. It is, therefore, a cheap method that helps save government funds and such funds which can be used to develop the economy.

On the other hand, the death penalty can be argued to be unjustifiable because of various reasons.One is that through the death penalty, innocent people can be wrongly executed.This is in cases where one has been wrongly accused hence causing unfair death. ‘Besides, the death penalty goes against basic human right, the right of life’ (Samuel, 45). From this standpoint, no one has any right to take the life of another person even at whatever cost. Therefore from this argument, the death penalty is perceived to be a crime against criminal for a crime committed.

Although death penalty assumes that the executed dies a painless death, being killed by lethal injection or even being electrocuted is never a smooth death that is painless. Also, the assumption that killing murderers stop other peoples from committing similar crimes does not hold as it has never been proven. There are instances where one person is executed and similar crimes in society increase.

In conclusion, the death penalty is justified. This is because it has more benefits that its adverse effects. Death penalty helps to prevent one from committing further killings as well as warning others who have such intentions. It also benefits the society by acting as mitigation against future deaths by the person hence resulting in a social benefit. The study will include thorough analysis and evaluation of the past studies about the topic as well as data from the government documentaries, and other fundamental secondary sources. Interviews and questionnaires will also be used to get first-hand information about the issue. The conclusion from the data analysis will be based on the research question.

Work cited

Banner, Stuart, and Stuart Banner. The death penalty: An American history. Harvard University Press, 2009.

Bedau, Hugo Adam, ed. The death penalty in America: Current controversies. Oxford University Press, 1998.

Brian, Jum. “Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments.” Death Penalty ProCon.org, 5 June 2016, deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resource

Samuel R. Gross. “Hardening of the attitudes: Americans’ views on the death penalty.” Journal of Social Issues 50.2 (1994): 19-52.