Ethics

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

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The death penalty has been around long before the 1900s but had never been regularly collected and recorded since 1930. From 1930-1967, 3,859 people were executed. The vast majority of people who are executed are men. Twelve states, including the District of Columbia do not have a death penalty.

There are many forms of execution. The electric chair, lethal injection, firing squad is just a few. Only the electric chair and lethal injection are still used today.

When talking about the death penalty you only hear two sides, for or against, never in between. It is impossible to believe strongly about both. People who are for the death penalty talk about how we, the taxpayers, are paying for the criminals who spend life in jail. But in my readings, I discovered that it costs the taxpayers more for a death penalty case then to keep someone in jail for life.

Another reason people are for the death penalty is because once a murderer always a murderer. People believe that they will not be able to be rehabilitated.

I believe that everyone can be helped and rehabilitated. I am a practicing catholic and I believe killing is wrong. I do believe that when people are murdered or raped that there should be a severe punishment, but not death. I believe that death is a cop out. Death is the easy way out; even though many are on death row for years they still do not have to suffer by dying in jail. They should be thinking of their crime everyday of their life in jail. Instead of the death penalty why not life in jail with out the chance too ever see the outside world again? It costs more to sentence and put someone to death than it does...