The Death Penalty.

Essay by smokyadamtHigh School, 10th gradeA-, August 2003

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The problem currently at hand is whether the death sentence is still a viable and ethically correct form of punishment. This is a very significant problem as life is held in such high regard. Human life is valuable, no matter whom the holder is. If it is a crime to take a person's life in cold blood then it should be a crime to eradicate this person as a form of punishment. Many people believe in the saying 'An eye for an eye', but is this the correct way to educate people into believing.

The people involved in this serious matter are as a matter of fact, the public. The death sentence could be applied to any member of the public, if they commit a serious crime that warrants that type of punishment. The main people involved in this however are the criminals on 'death row' and the victims of the crimes committed.

Most of the victims and/or their families feel that this is the only way to feel safe or at ease. Some feel that the death sentence is a relief to the victims. It can also seem as though justice is served. There is often the belief that by assigning the death penalty to a murderer, that he/she will not commit another crime as their life would have been taken. However, people don't realise that by sentencing the criminal to a life sentence, they are suffering just as much and they are unable to affect the lives of the innocent members of the public. Not to mention, since the death penalty came into place in America at least 111 people have now been freed from death row due to actual innocence, more evidence that the death penalty is a very flawed and error-prone public policy.

There are only...