Ebun\'s Rogerian Essay PDF

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The essay is on Capital punishment...

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No More Capital Punishment Capital punishment has been a debate and a very controversial topic for many years now. Capital punishment, which is also known as the death penalty, is a practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime committed. As there are two every story there are two sides and the two sides to this story is capital punishment is immoral and inhumane act and capital punishment is the only way to punish severe crime. I for one is not a fan of capital punishment. I find it brutal and very unnecessary but looking at this topic from the other side also makes a lot of sense and makes capital punishment look like the right thing to do. “They did the crime; they do the time” is a common saying when this topic is being discussed. Criminals should know there is a consequence to their action, either it is community service, jail time, capital punishment etc. If past criminals have gotten capital punishment for severe crime committed, it serves as an example for people that may want to commit such crimes. It makes them think twice because no one really ever wants to die. It is believed that executing a criminal is cheaper than keeping them in prison. On average, it costs about $30,000 a year to keep a prisoner in jail. $30,000 a year can go into something much better like schools, hospitals or roads. Taxpayers are not responsible for prisoners and their money should not be used to put highly dangerous people in jail to waste away the rest of their lives. Capital punishment also reassures families and loved ones of the victims. They are reassured that the criminal would never be brought back into the society and hurt anybody anymore. They usually feel calmer and better when the criminal is gone. Bruce Fein, JD, constitutional lawyer and general counsel to the Center for Law and Accountability, in an American Bar Association’s website section titled “Individual rights and Responsibility – The Death Penalty, but Sparingly” wrote: “The crimes of rape, torture, treason, kidnapping, murder, larceny, and perjury pivot on a moral code that escapes apodictic [indisputably true] proof by expert testimony or otherwise. But communities would plunge into anarchy if they could not act on moral assumptions less certain than that the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. Abolitionists may contend that the death penalty is inherently immoral because governments should never take human life, no matter what the provocation. But that is an article of faith, not of fact, just like the opposite position held by abolitionist detractors, including myself… The death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor able to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat him as an animal with no moral sense, and thus subject even to butchery to satiate human gluttony. Moreover, capital punishment celebrates the dignity of the humans whose lives were ended by the defendant’s predation.” -Bruce Fein, JD

A reason why there should not be any capital punishment is you can’t fight fire with fire. Killing someone for killing someone isn’t going to solve the problem or bring the victims back. Why waste about $90,000 to out someone on death row when you can just out them in jail or in solitary confinement. Another reason is religion. Religion is against killing people no matter what they did. They believe everyone should be forgiven and given the chance to repent and live. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in an Apr. 9, 2007 website section titled “The Death Penalty: Questions and Answers,” offered the following:

“It [capital punishment] is immoral in principle, and unfair and discriminatory in practice… No one deserves to die. When the government metes out vengeance disguised as justice, it becomes complicit with killers in devaluing human life and human dignity. In civilized society, we reject the principle of literally doing to criminals what they do to their victims: The penalty for rape cannot be rape, or for arson, the burning down of the arsonist’s house. We should not, therefore, punish the murderer with death… Capital punishment is a barbaric remnant of uncivilized society.” -The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Many people including me believe that no one is allowed to take a life because they cannot create one. God is the creator of life and He created everyone. Even if someone takes someone else’s life, their lives should not be taken because they do not have the right. Killing people takes a lot of courage and anyone that can do it easily should be seriously checked. Most people that commit severe crimes like murder are usually prepared to die. They don’t care if they die. 75% of school shooters commit suicide when they have committed the crime. The best way to punish them is to put them in solitary confinement. They will absolutely hate it and suffer the consequences if their actions. Everyone has their opinion about capital punishment, and this will forever remain a debate. But for now, the best thing is to reach a compromise. The state should limit the amount of people being executed and only do when that is the only option because a lot of people on death row are innocent of the crime, they have been incinerated for and of course a lot of innocent people’s blood have been shed due to this. The state should look more into solitary confinement and reduce the amount of people on death row.

Sources: Howard, Jeffrey. “Death Penalty: Is Capital Punishment Morally Justified?” The Conversation, 1 Aug. 2015, theconversation.com/death-penalty-is-capital-punishmentmorally-justified-42970. “Is the Death Penalty Immoral? - Death Penalty - ProCon.Org.” Death Penalty, 3 Jan. 2020, deathpenalty.procon.org/questions/is-the-death-penalty-immoral. Amnesty International. “5 Reasons Some People Think the World Needs the Death Penalty.” Amnesty International Australia, 19 June 2019, www.amnesty.org.au/5-reasons-some-peoplethink-the-world-needs-the-death-penalty. McKirdy, Euan Cnn. “Death Penalty: Inhumane or Necessary Deterrent?” CNN, 18 Feb. 2015, edition.cnn.com/2015/02/17/world/death-penalty-explainer/index.html. Managing Editor, Erik Cliburn. “Death Penalty Is Still Needed, despite Its Inhumanity.” The Reflector, 11 Apr. 2018, reflector.uindy.edu/2018/04/11/death-penalty-is-still-needed-despiteits-inhumanity. Bessette, Joseph Edward M. Feser. “Why the Death Penalty Is Still Necessary.” The Catholic World, 18 July 2017, www.catholicworldreport.com/2017/07/18/why-the-death-penalty-isstill-necessary. Wikipedia contributors. “Capital Punishment.” Wikipedia, 17 Feb. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment....