Capital Punishment Essay - Death Penalty Needed :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Death Penalty Needed to Protect Society The death penalty is an issue that will continue to be debated over for many years to come. Some believe the death penalty should be abolished while others believe the death penalty should remain an option. Although there are things I would change dealing with the death penalty, I do not think it should be completely abolished. The death penalty should be administered to those who commit heinous crimes, whether it involves murder or not (Lopez, Camilla p.1). One can look at judicial history and tell that just because someone is sentenced to the death penalty does not mean it actually happens. People have become so liberal that they are willing to give everyone a second chance. People want to give the man who raped and murdered ten women in a matter of days the same second chance as the little boy who stole a candy bar from the grocery store . It might just be me, but I see a huge difference in the effect of those crimes on the rest of the population. Women are not going to live in fear about going to the grocery store because a little boy stole a candy bar, but they are going to think twice about going shopping by themselves at night when they've heard that a serial rapist and murderer is among them. I think all crimes should have an equal punishment, but I do not necessarily believe in the eye for an eye way of thinking. Remorse can so easily be faked which is why, I think, punishments and sentences have been lightened over the years. There are many cases and points that opponents to the death penalty bring up, but there are also several good points that pro-death penalty believers argue. Opponents of capital punishment believe the death penalty is not beneficial, but "we execute those who commit these atrocious crimes so that they do not have the chance to kill again" (Lopez, p.1). Heinous crimes seem to be no big deal and no shocking occurrence, like they used to be, which makes me very sad. The headlines are covered with people who have committed terrible crimes and sit on television laughing about what they've done, knowing they're not going to receive the death penalty for their crime. The government and the judicial system has now become a joke to people just as jail houses have become jokes to people living in them.