Sousa |1
Karina Sousa
English 1010
Blog Post
Executing the Death Penalty
Most people don’t think about the death penalty, unless of course it happens to them or to
someone around them. I don’t know any death row inmates either but how ethically right is it to
take away someone’s right to live? At first I thought that if you’re taking someone’s life then you
deserve your own taken away as well. However, what I didn’t think about was that technically
that was ‘an eye for an eye’ assumption and we don’t burn people that commit arson or do we
rape the rapist. Obviously they do deserve harsh consequences, but everyone has the right to a
second chance. I don’t necessarily believe we shouldn’t have the death penalty because it most
certainly should be considered in severe cases such as a massacre or certain abuse cases. Yet,
death sometimes isn’t a punishment.
There are many standpoints on this death penalty issue. Translator and blog writer Casey
Carmical discusses that the death penalty should fit the crime and that we aren’t supporting an
eye for an eye. He quotes, “[r]aping the rapist will only cause someone to degrade themselves by
doing it. It will not prevent the rapist from raping again. Executing murders, however, prevents
them from committing their crime again, and thus protects innocent victims.” Carmical has a
valid point, but how are we suppose to prevent innocent people from getting executed or people
that deserve a second chance? Carmical also states that murderers do get off easy if sentenced to
death in the United States because the two most common execution methods are lethal injection
and the electric chair, therefore, the criminal is unconscious for both of those.
Sousa |2
In a different point of view, the Amnesty International insists that the death penalty is just
wrong and shouldn’t even be considered. Which I half agree with it only because sometimes the
person is just so terribly out of line that they should be put to death. In the “The Death Penalty
Violates Human Rights,” The Amnesty International quotes “[u]ndeniably the death penalty, by
permanently ‘incapacitating’ a prisoner, prevents that person from repeating the crime. But there
is no way to be sure that the prisoner would indeed have repeated the crime if allowed to live”
These supports the thought of giving people a second chance. If in fact they do kill someone else
or commit another severe case then, yes the government should consider death.
Richard Dieter is the Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which
is a nonprofit organization that offers information on issues to do with capital punishment. Dieter
wrote “Capital Punishment Is Too Expensive to Retain.” Dieter brings up statistics and he
implies that the death penalty doesn’t necessarily prevent murder from happening. It is indeed a
waste of money when we need the money to go for other parts of the community. He explains
that a better choice would be life without parole.
Justice Samuel Anthony Alito wrote the article “Capital Punishment Should Be
Considered in Certain Child Rape Cases,” which he expresses that the death penalty should be in
affect only in serious child rape cases. Alito states that it’s difficult for the courts to agree with
this because they feel as if it is harder on a victim to testify in court. This could be true, because
the victim may feel that the rapist may come after them. Alito quotes “[w]ith respect to the
question of the harm cause by the rape of child in relation to the harm caused by murder, it is
certainly true that the loss of human life represents a unique harm, but that does not explain why
other grievous harms are insufficient to permit a death sentence.” This quote is acceptable
because I believe that sometimes these types of cases have an extreme effect on kids and they
Sousa |3
start to lash out and hurt themselves or others. They have effects that could be compared to
death.
However, it’s been argued before, death isn’t always a punishment and it just means that
the criminals get off easy. They should be locked up and put away for years. Although our taxes
that we pay might go to these criminals that don’t deserve it, we at least are making sure that
they are receiving the consequences they deserve. The death penalty will always be an issue that
is difficult for everyone to agree on but we can all agree that the criminal deserves to be
punished. Death isn’t always the answer but if it will keep the criminal from committing the
crime again then sometimes it should be used.
Sousa |4
Works Cited
Alito, Justice Samuel Anthony. “Capital Punishment Should Be Considered in Certain Child
Rape Cases.” The Ethics of Capital Punishment. 25 June 2008. Opposing Viewpoints.
Web. 15 November 2001.
Amnesty International. “The Death Penalty Violates Human Rights.” The Ethics of Capital
Punishment. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 20 November 2011.
Carmical, Casey. “Capital Punishment is Morally Justified.” The Ethics of Capital Punishment.
2011. Opposing View Points. Web. 15 November 2001.
Dieter, Richard. “ Capital Punishment Is Too Expensive To Retain.” The Ethics of Capital
Punishment. October 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 15 November 2001.