Respond to Peers: Respond to at least two of your classmates' posts. In your responses to your peers of at least 200 words each, extend the conversation by examining their claims or arguments in more depth. Keep the discussion on target and try to analyze things in as much detail as you can.
For instance, analyze your classmate's argument concerning age in the application of the death penalty. Are the examples they provide balanced or biased towards one viewpoint? Also, support your analysis with examples from the required material(s) and other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.
Student 1:
Describe one argument that supports the death penalty.
To support the death penalty, some try to use the topic of crime deterrence. Some are under the thought process that if people know that the death penalty is in place if they commit certain crimes, then those people will not commit the crimes as they will be "too scared" that the death penalty will be their punishment. Without the death penalty for certain crimes, many victims and their families may possibly feel that the crime itself is going "unpunished". It is an "eye for an eye" mentality.
Describe one argument that opposes the death penalty.
An argument in opposition to the death penalty is that there are many effected by the death penalty who are innocent victims in the situation - kids, parents, spouses - who are now being punished in their own ways by the death penalty. Many have heard the old phrase "When a person gets sentenced for a crime, the whole family serves the time".
This seems truer in the recent decade than ever before. If you commit a crime and are taken into custody, there is little concern for the ripple of effects on your children and loved ones; those effected by the justice and judgement are not considered in the courtroom often. Justice is to be served and depending on the crime, the death penalty or capital punishment is on the table. The loss that they feel is also nonfinite (Bruce & Schultz, 2001) in that it is continuous and denies the families all of the hopes, dreams, and expectations that they had for their loved one who now sits on death row.
Explain which argument is the most credible, reliable, and valid. Why?
The most reliable defenses, in my opinion, come in support of the death penalty. Crime punishment is a deterrent - we are taught that in schools as kids: Do the crime, do the time. It is engrained in us that if we break the law, we get punished and I agree that if someone commits such a heinous crime that is worthy of a death penalty charge in any state, then that is the punishment given. Capital punishment, in my eyes, is there for a reason.
There are demands by society to find a manner to bring justice to those who are needing it most. Some may be the members of the family and friends of those who may have been murdered, and some may be those who had to experience the case emotionally as an outsider. Either way, the Supreme Court has allowed capital punishment to be allotted and legal and even in some cases worthy to some offenders and their crimes.
This is not to say that the legal system is always right, because it is not. However, as a member of society, I need to believe that jurors and the legal system are always working towards the right thing and justice for those who deserve it most. In some cases, that justice will and should come in the form of capital punishment and the death penalty.
Bruce, E.J., & Schultz, C.L. (2001). Nonfinite loss and grief: A psychoeducational approach. Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
Mauer, M., & King, R. (2007). Uneven justice: State rates of incarceration by race and ethnicity. The Sentencing Project
Student 2:
Describe one argument that supports the death penalty.
An argument that I often hear when it comes to capital punishment is that it preserves law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. Some people say capital punishment is a way for retribution or "an eye for an eye" honors the victim, helps console grieving families, and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have an opportunity to commit future crimes.
Describe one argument that opposes the death penalty.
An argument that I often hear when it comes to people who oppose capital punishment is that it has no effect on crime, wrongly gives governments the power to take human life, and perpetuates social injustices by targeting people of color and people who cannot afford good attorneys. They say lifetime jail sentences are a more severe and less expensive punishment than death.
Explain which argument is the most credible, reliable, and valid. Why?
As we learned in our reading, in a multi-year statistical study, African Americans were far more likely than whites to receive the death sentence for identical crimes (Ivers, 2013). I find it hard to support the death penalty if the government uses death penalty laws to kill African Americans. On December 13, 2005, an African American by the name of "Tookie" Williams was sentenced to death after killing four innocent people. I can't help to think if "Tookie" was killed just because the color of his skin.
Another reason why I am hesitant to support the death penalty is due to the cost. Studies have shown that the state's death row prisoners cost $184 million more per year than those sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole (Deathpenaltyinfo.org, n.d.) These statistics are why Californians, in my opinion, are not supporting the use of capital punishment and my argument is the most credible, reliable, and valid.