In Favor of Capital Punishment I. Background A.

The death penalty has been around since early times and stills is applied in many places. 1. Capital Punishment was first used in the United states in colonial times. a. It came from the British common law and was used in the American Revolution. b. In the years of the Civil War, states in the United states started creating new methods to carry out the death penalty. i. Lethal Injection ii. Electrocution 2. Many places in the world still have the death penalty, but others have abolished it. a. Abolitionist states do not have penalty. i. The first state tto abolish the death penalty was Michigan in 1847. ii. The first country to abolish the death penalty in Europe was Portugal in 1867. b. In the world, 87 countries and territories still retain the death penalty. i. The places include the United States with 38 states, China, and Islamic countries. ii. The United Stes is the only democracy among the Western nations that uses the penalty. B. The death penalty has big a big issue in the federal courts. 1. In 1972, the Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional, but in 1976 the Court reversed its decision and made it legal. 2. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rghts of 1977 opposed the death penalty on minors, signed by President Carter. a. In 1989, the Supreme Court impose the age of 16 for murder. b. The reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act signed by President Bush in 2006 exteneded the death penalty to people involved in terrorist attacks. II. Fair Punishment that Deters Crime A. The death penalty deters murder and prevents murders from killing again. 1. The death death puts fear of death in the eyes of killers. a. A person is less likely to do something if he or she thinks harn will come. b. A number between 3 and 18 lives could be saved with the execution of a killer. 2. A murder who has mercilessly killed people once may escape from prison and end up killing others. a. A 2004 study by an Emory University University professor proved that speeding up executions makes the deterrent effect stronger. b. Ordering a death sentence means five more homicides according to the studies done by HE co-authored. III. Capital Punishment is Just A. There is no racism in the death penalty towards blacks. 1. The statement that the death penalty unfairly impacts blacks is a fraud. a. The majority executed since 1976 are whites. b. Whites are killed by 2.6 times more than blacks are killed by whites. i. White people are more susceptible to receiving the death penalty than blacks. ii. In the year 2000, out of the 85 people executed 49 were whites. 2. In the year 2000, there was a white majority in death row(1,990 whites to 1,535 blacks). B. The principle of Capital Punishment is justly under the rule of the law. 1. With the help of DNA, society can be more sure about criminals sentenced to death. a. Since 1976, not one person has been executed in the USA to later be found

innocent by DNA evidence. b. The rate of mistaken executions is zero. 2. After reviewing 23 years of Capital sentences, it was unable to find one case where an innocent person was executed. IV. Supporters to the Death Penalty A. Supporters say the death penalty is a retributive justice. 1. Criminals need to pay for the crime he has comitted to make justice balance. a. The death penalty is a more effective deterrent to crime than imprisonment. b. It is a just punishment for murder. 2. The Catholic Church is for the death penalty for murder because they see it as a retributive punishment. B. Supporters believe that with the death penalty an innocent life is saved because killers are removed. 1. The killer should be condemned so no further crimes can be comitted. 2. It gives reverence for human life. a. The death penalty gives retribution for victims families. b. Prison is easy punishment for killers and its expensive. V. Justice, Civilization, and the Death Penalty. A. Accepts that some crimes deserve CP , and that evidence that CP was a substantially better deterrent to murder than life imprisonment would justify imposing it. B. Retributivist principle says that the equality and rationality of persons implies that an offender deserves and his victim has the right to impose suffering on the offender equal to that which he imposed on the victim.