Manalo 1

Triston Manalo
Professor Collins
ENGL 1301
10 October 2016
The Space between Life and Death
The Death Penalty is an issue that has been a point of disagreement between supporters
who find capital punishment to be justified and objectors who find the act to be unnecessary and
unjust. Punishment by death is a consequence of major crimes from most of the countries and
has been a way to terminate criminals for centuries. According to pbs.org, a learning website that
also broadcasts news around the world, capital punishment can be traced far back into the
Sixteenth Century B.C. where, in Egypt, a noble man was forced to take his own life because of
the accusation of his use for magic. In modern times, crimes punishable by death include the use
of lethal injections while some states of the United States will apply the use of electrocution.
Society has battled countless years of debates on whether capital punishment should be abolished
or not. Supporters claim that criminals deserve to be executed in the form of justice while those
who oppose the punishment assume that the Death Penalty will do more harm in society and that
it is a very risky act and should almost never be applied on anyone. The Death Penalty has
become an intriguing debate recently because many opinions have been brought against it while
an equal amount advocate for it.
People who challenge the Death Penalty justify the belief that the act is unreasonable and
morally wrong. In the article States Continue Death Penalty Debate, an article written by
Stephon Johnson to report death penalty debates in the United States, Governor John Kitzhaber,
from Oregon, appraises the belief that capital punishment ruins the status of society by stating, I

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do not believe that those executions made us safer; certainly they did not make us nobler as a
society (States Continue). As a Governor, Kitzhaber has experienced multiple state-sanctioned
killings and has finally decided to take a stand against government execution. He states having to
question and revisit his decisions of his participation on the matter. To further report the
injustices of capital punishment, Johnson then brings up a controversy of racial bias being a
contribution to the death penalty. He states, particularly Black men, have suffered
disproportionately under Americas justice system, especially when it comes to capital
punishment (Johnson). To support this claim, Johnson uses an example of North Carolina
containing eighty-six of the 157 inmates on capital punishment be African-American. Johnsons
article reports that, according to a study by Michigan State University, the odds of individuals
who killed white victims would receive the death penalty increased two and half times (State
Continue). Johnson also mentions that Blacks and Native Americans have higher chances of
facing discrimination. Stephon Johnsons report not only supports the belief that capital
punishment is to be considered as an unjustified punishment, but it also supports the belief that
the act disrupts moral and civil rights. Just like Governor Kitzhaber, anyone who interacts with
the activities involving capital execution may find a darker side to the act. For capital
punishment seeming to be racially biased, problems will build up and emerge as consequences
stay the same. Johnsons report is one that will be useful to testify against the Death Penalty
controversy because he has brought up facts to support the belief that the punishment is
unnecessary and unjustified.
Supporters of the Death Penalty claim that capital punishment serves justice into the law
and that the act of eliminating a criminal will keep injustice from moving forward. According to
the text Americans: Eye for an Eye Top Reason for Death Penalty, a text by Art Swift that

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discusses both reasons for and against capital punishment, supporters of the Death Penalty cite
an eye for an eye as well as Save taxpayers money as the chief reason to enforce capital
punishment. The text also states several other minor reasons as to why people support the act;
such as relieving prison overcrowding, prisoners being unable to through rehab, and untrusted
life in prison sentences. Based on the article, most supporters advocate the Death Penalty
because some prisoners deserve the punishment due to the many lives that have been taken away
and affected. Supporters cite an eye for an eye because whenever innocent lives are taken
away they believe that there is nothing more justified than taking away the life of the murderer as
well. Some supporters push the act of capital punishment in order to keep crimes as devastating
as murder from ever happening again. Many cases have been filed for multiple victims being
violated by the same criminal and crimes being so severe that the victims loved ones would
want the criminals life taken away as well. According to the article Injustice, Texas Style, an
article by Johnathan Alter that discusses the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, there is one case
where a home invasion led to the death of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters. Because
of this incident, many faces likely turn towards the execution of the murderer, Steven Hayes.
Many supporters, as well as Hawke-Petits loved ones, believe that Hayes deserves capital
punishment for murdering three innocent lives and then finishing off his victims by setting their
house ablaze. Supporters of the death penalty would apply this case as evidence on the many
crimes criminals commit for it extends reasoning for the use of the capital punishment. As for
the Government, saving money may as well be the better option. Supporters also believe that
many extreme crimes that have been committed deserve severe consequences like one such as
the death penalty, especially when it comes to murder.

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The Death Penalty is a controversial topic where both sides of the argument have
adequate amounts of information and supporters. Supporters of capital punishment will say that
the act will serve justice by eliminating the problems of society while the opposing side will say
that it is unnecessary and not a noble act of society. People who challenge capital punishment
argue that it might even bring more harm than justice for society. These two sides may never
agree with each other for they both present valid evidence on why each side is a more justified
perspective.

Works Cited

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Alter, Jonathan. "Injustice, Texas Style." Newsweek 156.16 (2010): 22. Academic Search
Complete. Accessed. 12 Oct. 2016. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=54412015&site=ehost-live.

Reggio, Michael H. "History of the Death Penalty." PBS. PBS, n.d. Accessed. 19 Oct. 2016.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/history.html

JOHNSON, STEPHON. "States continue death penalty debate." New York Amsterdam News
Dec. 2011: 4+. Academic Search Complete. Accessed. 10 October 2016
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=69903981&site=ehost-live.
Swift, Art. "Americans: "Eye For An Eye" Top Reason For Death Penalty." Gallup Poll Briefing
(2014): 1. TOPICsearch. Accessed. 31 Oct. 2016. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=tth&AN=99140061&site=ehost-live.