The Death Penality

The Death Penalty
Chris Miree
PHI 200: Mind and Medicine Instructor Thomas McCarty
Aug 1, 2011

The issue that I will be discussing is The Death Penalty. I chose this issue because there is a lot of controversy surrounding the Death Penalty. Some people say that everyone deserves a second chance and that people don’t deserve to die by way of the death penalty. Others claim that if you take someone’s life yours should be taken. It’s an interesting debate that continues to create buzz and controversy.
I think an argument you can make against the Death Penalty is that is certainly doesn’t help the crime rate go down in fact in some states when someone is put to bed by the death penalty the crime rate goes up for that day. I think if you think about it logically when you kill someone for killing another person you’re just encouraging more violence and justifying it by continuing the process of a lost life. So it can be said that the death penalty only causes more violence and encourages people to keep killing others.
Another issue with the Death Penalty is the risk of putting down innocent men. Several states had to do away with the death penalty due to the humiliation and shame they faced after killing what turned out to be innocent men on death row. If you don’t put somebody on death row and give them a life sentence they have the opportunity to better themselves in jail and become a better human being rather than being six feet under the rest of their lives. It will give an innocent person the opportunity to become free and live a long life.
There is also the other side to the death penalty issue which is the pros of having death row and putting people away. Frank Carrington talks about some of the pros in having the death penalty. “Frank Carrington (1978) states- is there any way one can tell whether the death penalty deters murders from killing?  There is no way one can tell whether the death penalty deters murderers from killing.  The argument goes on...