Capital Punishment Just or Unjust - 953 Words

A man by the name of Gary Mark Gilmore spent most of his life either in trouble or in jail being punished for it. He was born December 4 1940 and he grew up in Portland, Oregon. He was abused by his father and when the family moved to Salt Lake City, he started on a life of crime. When the family moved back to Portland, Gilmore became a neighborhood tough and dropped out of school at the age of 14. His involvement in a car theft ring opened his long criminal record. He was arrested a second time, and was sent to a boy s reformatory, where he spent most of the time in solitary confinement. After his release, he was arrested again and spent much of the two years in jail. In 1961 he moved back with his parents, but was arrested two more†¦show more content†¦In 1986 a young white woman was killed at a dry cleaners in Monroeville, Alabama. For the next 8 months the police were unable to come up with any likely suspects. Finally, police arrested Walter McMillian, a black man w ho lived in a nearby town. McMillian denied murdering the woman; he claimed he was with his relatives all day, in fact, his story was corroborated by several people. Nevertheless, he was arrested, tried, convicted, and imprisoned on death row even before formal sentencing. For more than six years McMillian was on death row until finally was proved innocent. A study by the Stanford Law Review found that between 1900 and 1985, 349 people were incorrectly convicted of capital crimes and later found to be innocent on the basis of reexamination of cases. Of these, 23 were actually executed. The debate over the merits of capital punishment had endured for years, and continues to be an extremely indecisive and complicated issue. I, personally am for the death penalty. I believe in the eye for an eye punishment. If someone kills they should be killed, no questions asked. I just would not want an innocent person executed for a crime that they did notShow MoreRelated Capital Punishment: Just or Unjust? Essay1927 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment: Just or Unjust?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Can you imagine knowing the exact day, time, and place you were going to die, not to mention how your death was to come about? Day after day of mental pain just knowing that days, hours, minutes and even seconds from now you are going to be killed. The night before, tossing and turning, playing through your head just the way you imagine your death is going to be, asking yourself heaven or hell, suffering or short? If only you can take that one momentRead MoreRacial Discrimination And Capital Punishment1682 Words   |  7 Pagesand capital punishment has been a heated topic discussed ever since the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia. In the article, â€Å"Does Racial Discrimination Make Capital Punishment Wrong?† by Stephen Nathanson, his position in this argument is affirmative as he argues that racial discrimination makes capital punishment wrong since death penalty is administered in an arbitrary manner. Arbitrariness is the quality of being determined by chanc e or impulse, and not by reason or principle. He claims capital punishmentRead MoreAnnuling Capital Punishment Essay602 Words   |  3 PagesHomicide is unjust. Since youth we have been taught this unquestionable truth. Ask yourself, then, what is the death penalty? In its easiest structure, the death penalty is characterized as one individual taking the life of another human. Incidentally, that is the meaning of homicide. There are 36 states with capital punishment, and they should change. 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However capital punishmentRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is A Capital Punishment1271 Words   |  6 Pages What is the death penalty? The death penalty is a capital punishment that is punishable by death or execution. This is usually given to people that have committed serious offences or capital crimes. There are 31 states in the United States that are for the death penalty. Crimes that are punishable by the death penalty, vary from state to state. Examples of such crimes are; first degree murder or premeditated murder, murder with special circumstances, such as: intended, multiple, and murder whichRead MoreCapital Punishment And The Death Penalty1106 Words   |  5 Pages Jesse Jackson once said, â€Å"Capital punishment turns the state into a murderer.† Capital punishment has been around for several hundred years, the first documented execution in America taking place in 1608, but more recently this form of punishment has been raising questions on its morality. While the form of execution has changed over the years, from firing squad to lethal injection, all forms succeed in their purpose: to kill. Support for capital punishment is still very strong in America, the reasonsRead More Capital Punishment Essay1685 Words   |  7 PagesCapital Punishment Works Cited Not Included Capital Punishment was basically thought of for the good of society. The objective of Capital Punishment is to stop people from committing violent and offensive acts. Capital Punishment or the death penalty has failed however, to prevent or discourage crime. Moreover, it is cruel and gruesome. At present there are five methods of execution. The most commonly used form of execution is by lethal injection. In this method the convict is first injectedRead MoreA Look on the Impact of Capital Punishment in Canada1240 Words   |  5 PagesCapital punishment was the most severe punishment within the Canadian Justice system before it was abolished in the 1970’s. It is still used in many other countries around the world such as the United States, China and India, as it is believed to lower the crime rate within their country. Capital punishment was basically a form of torturing the suspect, but to their death as a consequence of their heinous crime. Many believe that capital punishment should be reinstated into Canada, while others are