The Death Penalty
by: Julia Bendel
About the Death Penalty
The Death Penalty
The Death Penalty or Capital Punishment is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime.
Who gets the Death Penalty
The death penalty mostly applies to those convicted of murder but, can also apply to those convicted of treason, espionage, or other crimes
Death penalty supporters and opponents.
main arguments presented about the death penalty
- Whether it actually decreases homicides and crimes
- The cost of executions vs. life of imprisonment
- The families of victims deserve justice
- families deserve closure from the crime
- The bible says "an eye for an eye"
Pro Death Penalty
Those who are supporters of the death penalty believe it is an important factor in maintaining law and order. Supporters believe the "eye for an eye" metaphor honors the victim and their families.
No Death Penalty
Opponents of the Death penalty believe the government should not have the power to take a human life. Also, that a life of imprisonment is more severe to criminals and less expensive than lethal injection.
Death Penalty Facts
In the U.S.
In the United States only 18 of the 50 states have abolished the death penalty. Japan is the only other democratic nation other the the United States to not abolished the death penalty. There are 140 countries worldwide who have abolished the death penalty which is about two-thirds of the countries in the world.
Ohio and the Death Penalty
Since 1981 there has been 320 death sentences in Ohio. As of now Ohio has 139 men who have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution on death row. Although, only 53 men have been executed since 1999 in Ohio. The most recent man to be executed was Dennis McGuire who was executed on January 16 of 2014.
The History of The Death Penalty
- Pennsylvania was the first state to abolish public executions in 1834.
- Executions were at the highest levels in the 1930's.
- The death penalty was abolished for a short amount of time from 1972 through 1978.
The death penalty is not as common as some may believe. Out of 22,000 homicides, less than 100 of those convicted were put on death row to receive the death penalty.
Roper v. Simmons
The case was in march 1, 2005, about three teenagers who planned a murder of Shirley Crook. One teen did drop out from the murder but the other two broke into her house covered her eyes, tied her hands, and through her off a bridge. The case made the execution of juveniles unconstitutional and no one under the age of 18 can get the death penalty. before this case any one over the age of 16 could be granted the death penalty.