Death for the Crimes You Commit

Mrs. Flamenco

English 3

March 19, 2005

Death for the Crimes You Commit

“If men were angels,” wrote James Madison, “no government would be necessary.” However, since neither men nor women are angels, governments establish and enforce laws and impose punishments when those laws are violated. The severest of all these punishments is the death penalty (Egendorf 9). Typically, when one thinks of capital punishment, one tends to place it into a moral realm. Whether you are for or against it depend on your religious and/or moral beliefs. After digesting a lot of information regarding the death penalty and the controversy that it relates to, I would like to discuss some major issues that are for and against it.

Capital punishment, also known as society’s ultimate sanction, has existed as long as has human culture. The first state to conduct executions within the walls of its prisons was Pennsylvania in 1834. This sentence is usually reserved for the most severe crimes such as murder, violent sexual assault, and treason (Wekesser 12). Capital punishment has been in use for many years in America, with the exception of 1972 to 1976 when it was deemed unconstitutional. It was viewed as cruel and unusual punishment. Over the years capital punishment has been in effect with 38 states having laws permitting the death penalty in the mid 1990’s (Capital Punishment 193).

Capital punishment is a very hot-topic in today’s society. Support for the death penalty has fluctuated throughout the century. According to surveys, in 1936 61% of Americans favored the death penalty for persons convicted of murder. However, by 1966 support had reached an all time low of 42%. Over the decades, the percentage of Americans in favor of the death penalty increased steadily. The most recent survey shows that 80% of us are supporters. The fact is that there are more people who are actually for punishing crimes by death than there are people that are against it (Amnesty 4).

Supporters of the death penalty tend to focus their feelings and beliefs toward the victims of the criminal. For instance, John Albert Taylor was executed for the murder and rape of a young, beautiful, energetic, 11-year-old girl. Charla Nicole King had just arrived home from school to fix her afternoon snack of macaroni and cheese when John Taylor found her home alone. He tore off the little girl’s clothes, stuffed her mouth with a dishtowel, raped her and strangled her with a telephone cord. “We will never know the agony, the fear and the suffering that Charla King endured,” prosecutor Reed Richards told the court in his closing argument. Supporters of the death penalty view this as justification for the execution of John Taylor. Whatever Taylor experienced in his final moments, it was nothing next to the anguish of his victim (Williams 31).

Religious issues are a significant thread within the moral debate of capital punishment. Michael Pakaluk, Clark University philosophy professor, stated “If no crime deserves the death penalty, then it is hard to see why it was fitting that Christ be put to death for our sins and crucified among thieves (Williams 129). Some supporters of capital punishment believe that the law should be based on the idea of “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” This view can be backed up in the Bible in the book of Leviticus. It reads as follows: “If the person strikes another and kills him, he must be put to death. Whoever strikes an animal and kills it is to make restitution, life for life. If anyone injures and disfigures a fellow countryman it must be done to him as he has done - Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth (Leviticus 24:17-20).

Supporters