PHI 103 Week 1 Assignment, Is it Permissible to use Capital Punishment on persons convicted of certain crimes

PHI 103 Week 1 Assignment, Is it Permissible to use Capital Punishment on persons convicted of certain crimes Is it Permissible to use Capital Punishment on Persons Convicted of Certain Crimes? NAME PHI 103 Informal Logic Instructor DATE Is it Permissible to use Capital Punishment on Persons Convicted of Certain Crimes? What is Capital Punishment? Capital Punishment also Known as death penalty, is considered as execution of an offender sentence to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. According to several articles and online research capital punishment is considered for many different crimes such as murder, treason, arson, as well as rape. Capital punishment is a very controversial topic in the United States over the years on only grows tremendously. Opposers believe that it violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment and that it doesn’t promise due process of law as well as equal protection under it. While individuals who support capital punishment believe that the guilty should be punished for certain heinous crimes, stating that it gives victims family closure and it will deter crime that criminals are less likely to committed crimes such as murder if we have harsher punishments. During this paper we will be analyzing both aspects to help address whether it could be permissible to use capital punishment for certain crimes. First Argument Throughout the history of the United States the death penalty has served as the ultimate platform of punishment for serious crimes in America. According to an article “The Right to Kill in Cold Blood: Does the Death Penalty Violate Human Rights? (2015)”, “The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, while the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution ensures that an accused individual receives a speedy and public trial in front of an impartial jury” (2015). Also, the article states that the Federal Government has a responsibility to weigh the moral consequences of taking human life and ensuring a fair trial for the accused. Accordingly, the death penalty violates Eighth and Sixth Amendment rights and therefore should be deemed unconstitutional and morally in-just” (2015). According to “The American Civil Liberties Union” article “Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic system. The death penalty is uncivilized in theory and unfair and inequitable in practice” The American Civil Liberties Union. (2018). The ACLU’s opposition to capital punishment incorporates the following fundamental concerns such as “The death penalty system in the US is applied in an unfair and unjust manner against people, largely dependent on how much money they have, the skill of their attorneys, race of the victim and where the crime took place. People of color are far more likely to be executed than white people, especially if the victim is white” The American Civil Liberties Union. (2018). Defense for First Argument: The argument for individuals against capital punishment clearly states the fundamental concerns on why this believe the death penalty system in the United States are applied unfair and unjust. The concerns suggest that people who are poorer, African American with maybe a court appointed lawyer or unskillful attorneys are mostly liked to be executed than of a crime than a white person if the victim is white. Nonetheless, there is no definitive proof that support that the death penalty can reduce violent crimes in the US only debates. Most will argue that the death penalty is a waste of taxpayer funds. According to the “The American Civil Liberties Union, “a law enforcement professionals surveyed agree that capital punishment does not deter violent crime; a survey of police chiefs nationwide found they rank the death penalty lowest among ways to reduce violent crime. They ranked increasing the number of police officers, reducing drug abuse, and creating a better economy with more jobs higher than the death penalty as the best ways to reduce violence. The FBI has found the states with the death penalty have the highest murder rates” (2018). Other reasoning for individuals being against the death penalty