Capital+Punishment+-+A+21st+Century+Need+-+Rough+Draft

=** Capital Punishment - A 21st Century Need - Rough Draft  **= =** By Jose L. Gutierrez  **=

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Based on the studies of some of the most accomplished philosophers, this paper will ponder upon the effectiveness and resourcefulness of the capital punishment. Over the years, many have argued both in favor and against of the use of the capital punishment. However, because it serves as a deterrent to, increases the incentive to “do good,” and because it provides real retribution, this paper will argue in favor of the use of capital punishment. Not only will arguments rely on basic logic and understanding, but primarily, this paper will make reference to past studies that have been neglected by opponents of the death penalty.
 * Abstract**

**Capital Punishment: A 21st Century Need** When you were a kid, odds are, you grew up as a hardcore fan of the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.” Who could forget the valiant Red Ranger or the always cute Pink Ranger? Now, whenever you remind yourself of how you idolatrized your childhood heroes, you think you were pathetic. But you are very clear in your mind that in the past, you would have done anything to protect your beloved rangers. What if this meant fighting against the capital punishment? Would you still protect your childhood hero? Or would you be consequent with your ethics ?(nice way of starting) One thing is for sure: you don’t have to imagine this scenario. Skyler Deleon, a former “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” actor, has been sentenced to death by a Texas Courtroom. Deleon, along with an accomplice, committed a grotesque crime: while on a yacht, he tied the owners to an anchor and threw them into the ocean. Although it seems like a fictional plot, this is in fact reality, and Deleon plead guilty to all of the charges presented against him. Just like 59 other countries, the United States retains the right to sentence the capital punishment, and this case, the right was practiced. Think about it, do killers like Deleon or 1st-class terrorist deserve to live after taking away innocent lives? Implementing the capital punishment not only provides judicial benefits, but it also provides social, emotional and psychological advantages. Therefore, because its inclusion in the judicial system provides benefits that society itself could not generate through other means, capital punishment is a necessary component to assure the well-being of individuals. Good introductory paragraph Not all individuals surely -- not those sentenced to die. Try looking at a list of the countries in the world the currently practice capital punishment. You will see the USA there of course. What does it have in common with the other countries that currently practice capital punishment?1270599372

For several years now, advocates of the capital punishment have argued that implementing it has several positive aspects. Most notably( wc), capital punishment has been proved to serve as a deterrent to murder. Several contemporary research proves that capital punishment does in fact serve as a deterrent. In other words, the capital punishment “discourages” criminals to commit homicide. In 2001, Professors Dale Cloninger and Roberto Marchesini from the University of Houston made a peculiar discovery. They concluded from their studies that moratoriums in the legalization of the death penalty contribute to higher homicide rates. Their study concluded the following: //"The (Texas) execution hiatus (in 1996), therefore, appears to have spared few, if any, condemned prisoners while the citizens of Texas experienced a net 90 (to as many as 150) additional innocent lives lost to homicide. Politicians contemplating moratoriums may wish to consider the possibility that a seemingly innocuous moratorium on executions could very well come at a heavy cost."// In addition to the 2001 research, __several other studies__ (should mention more studies) were released in the following years. In 2003, Economics Department Chairman Naci Mocan and Graduate Assistant R. Kaj Gottings from the University of Colorado in Denver released a statistical study that talked about homicide patrons with and without the death penalty. Based on a research pool of the entire 6143 death sentences of a 30 year period, their results found //"a statistically significant relationship between executions, pardons and homicide…each additional execution reduces homicides by 5 to 6..."// Therefore using the capital punishment can potentially reduce the amount of homicides by a significant number. The strongest evidence however, comes from the research done by Emory University Economics Department Chairman Hashem Dezhbakhsh and Emory Professors Paul Rubin and Joanna Shepherd. In their 2003 study, carried out by collecting data from more than 3000 US Counties in a 30 year period, they found out the following: //“The results suggest that capital punishment has a strong deterrent effect. An increase in any of the probabilities -- arrest, sentencing or execution -- tends to reduce the crime rate. In particular, each execution results, on average, in eighteen fewer murders -- with a margin of error of plus or minus 10."//

Most of the research I've seen indicates the opposite -- the data on AI's website is quite powerful and you'll have to address it in your paper to make your argument stronger. Take a look at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT50/010/2007 http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/myths-facts/myths http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/myths-facts/facts

Then take into account the following syllogism: There are two types of murder: premeditated and not premeditated. If you commit premeditated murder, you have planned it out. If you have planned it out, you would have planned not to get caught. If you have planned not to get caught, the death penalty won't stop you as... you planned not to get caught. If you did not plan not to get caught, then again, the death penalty won't stop you as... you don't care about the consequences. If you commit not-premeditated murder, you did not plan it out. If you did not plan it out, then it was a crime of passion, rage, jealousy and the like. If it was a crime of passion, rage, jealousy and the like, then you do not possess the intention of first-degree murder. If it is not first degree murder, then it should not be punishable by the death penalty.

Now, in your writing, use a similar style, backed up with facts, anecdotes, references to studies, etc., but make a very clear outline that takes the reader along the lines of your argument.

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If it is possible to swap the life of one criminal for the lives of eighteen innocent people, wouldn’t that be the obvious option? These studies prove that not only the capital punishment reduces the willingness to kill, but at the same time, it prevents the deaths of a significant amount of individuals.

The inclusion of the capital punishment in a judicial system provides a number of tangible benefits –as (it) is the reduction of death. - However, using the capital punishment provides a number of psychological benefits. Capital punishment increases the incentive for citizens or criminals to help the police, thus facilitating persecution and preventing potential homicides. One of the most compelling pieces of evidence comes from the Japanese culture. The Japanese belief mainly consists of the idea that “good things happen to those who are good.” Japanese psychologists argue that using the death penalty creates the idea that “bad things happen to those who do bad.” Therefore, using the capital punishment reinforces the opposite of the previously mentioned. Believing that good things happen to those who do well consequentially leads to an incentive to refrain from criminal-like behaviors. In addition, confession and willingness to collaborate with police investigation levels tend to be higher when the capital punishment is present. (source, evidence?) In countries like Great Britain, civilian collaboration with homicide cases rose from 0.68% to 1.42% after the death penalty was enforced (.) Finally, the capital punishment serves as a negative reinforcer to behavior. If we analyze situation with a behavioral perspective, we then must conclude that just like a seat belt alarm will trigger us to fasten our seatbelt, the capital punishment triggers individuals to prevent from killing .(Consider revising) (agree, revise and try to keep your essay with the same tense: avoid using "we" when it is not used in the entire essay, more formality)

Although Hammurabi’s (might want to mention who he is) concept of eye for an eye is considered to be invalid by many people nowadays, advocates of the capital punishment find a certain level of truth within his words. One of the main arguments in favor of the capital punishment is that it provides real retribution as it punishes the criminal similar to what he did. This statement is backed up by several judicial entities as well as religious doctrines. Back in 2004, the case of Dhananjoy Chatterjee made the headlines in India. Chatterjee was sentenced to death for a crime he had committed more than 14 years before. Although he pled guilty in hope of receiving a lesser punishment, he was sentenced to death. Why? Justices A.S. Anand and N.P. Singh of the Indian Supreme Court basically said that //“Imposition of appropriate punishment is the manner in which the courts respond to the society's cry for justice against the criminals. Justice demands that courts should impose punishment befitting the crime so that the courts reflect public abhorrence of the crime.”// In other words, justice requires that perpetrators receive an equal punishment for the actions they have committed. Sure, fairness is hard to define. However, sentencing a criminal to death is the least one can do to assure he receives the correct punishment. Is it fair that he will live in prison for the rest of his life and still be fed and nourished appropriately? The capital punishment has also found acceptance within religion. Islam, for example, is one of the religions that rightfully accepts the capital punishment. A passage in Islam’s sacred book, the Qu’ran, reads, “//Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does He command you, so that you may learn wisdom.”// Muslims believe that if a person destroys a life, he should be killed, as he has destroyed the most sacred thing God has created. For a Muslim the death penalty not only represents carrying out God’s word but it also represents cleansing the world from the bad spirits. Religions like Christianity and Buddhism condemn the capital punishment because they categorize it as unaccounted retribution. However, the capital punishment is necessary only because it serves as a true form of retribution, where an equal punishment is assured.

Today, the capital punishment has found millions of advocates. A total of 59 countries have already accepted such measure. (source?) However, there still exists opposition. One of the main opponents against the capital punishment is Amnesty International. Amnesty International, founded as an organization that protects human rights labels the capital punishment as something negative as “//it diverts resources and energy that could be better used to work against violent crime and assist those affected by it.”// However, previous research has shown that the capital punishment serves as a deterrent to crime. In addition to the studies mentioned earlier, Emory University Economics Department Chairman Hashem Dezhbakhsh and Emory Professors Paul Rubin and Joanna Shepherd’s extensive study on the capital punishment concluded the following: //“////Our results suggest that the legal change allowing executions beginning in 1977 has been associated with significant reductions in homicide. An increase in any of the three probabilities of arrest, sentencing, or execution tends to reduce the crime rate. Results are robust to specification of such probabilities. In particular, our most conservative estimate is that the execution of each offender seems to save, on average, the lives of 18 potential victims. (This estimate has a margin of error of plus and minus 10). Moreover, we find robbery and aggravated assault associated with increased murder rates.”// Therefore, saying that the capital punishment diverts energy that could be used for an alternative punishment is not only wrong, but also ignorant to a point, as it contradicts concrete studies. (still missing two counter-arguments)

Renowned psychologist John Stuart Mill once wrote a speech entitled “Speech In favor of the capital punishment.” Mill, one of the most respected psychologists of the modern era, said, //“Few, I think, would venture to propose, as a punishment for aggravated murder, less than imprisonment with hard labor for life; that is the fate to which a murderer would be consigned by the mercy which shrinks from putting him to death. But has it been sufficiently considered what sort of a mercy this is, and what kind of life it leaves to him?”// Mill’s words present an interesting question: should we really use the capital punishment? Although many will continue to argue that the capital punishment is unnecessary and unethical, facts speak louder than emotions, and in this case facts prove that the capital punishment does in fact helps save lives. Think about our initial example: should Deleon, your childhood star be killed? Had he known he would have been sentenced to death, he would have probably refrained from killing. But now, thanks to his action he is waiting for his death. The capital punishment can save lives, much more than what other measures can. It’s impossible to convince everyone the capital punishment is the right measure to follow. However, if everyone’s goal is to save lives, the capital punishment is, well, let’s say our only solution.

VERY GOOD ESSAY, great job. The only thing is that you have to back up any statistics with the soure you got it from. This will make your essay more reliable and it will have more credibility for the audience when it is read. you should also avoid the "we" and "you" in several ocassions,since the entire essay is mentioned with a different tense. This is to avoid informality. other than small changes, it is excellent. Looking forward to read the final draft! 1268697539SHEILA SIERRA

​ ​ Good essay overall, but in text citations are missing. Providing specific sources to the data or statistics will give more credibility to the argument. Great use of examples. 1268758937

Comment: The essay has a good opening sentence which leads to a interesting introduction. It still need some more support for your ideas and as noted you still are missing the 2 counter-arguments. It has a good conclusion with quotes and a final idea.1268795634

Eva Hernandez: Very well written essay. As I submitted in your survey, I believe you could express throughly in order to develop correctly your ideas. However, one thing that really worries me is the lack of citations that you used. Try to use more citations in order to make your essay more credible. Also, be careful with some of your word choice because it may affect your explanation. Overall, very good job.

The strengths of this paper reside in its ability to appeal to our emotions and then shatter them through facts. By using the example of the Power Ranger the author basically makes us encounter an ethical dilemma. Furthermore, the essay´s statistics back up the author´s claims very well. Weaknesses...these may be found in the second and thir supporting paragraph. They are not as convincing as the first one, perhaps because the first one had more compelling statistics. In addition I think you should consider eliminating this:  “Finally, the capital punishment serves as a negative reinforcer to behavior. If we analyze situation with a behavioral perspective, we then must conclude that just like a seat belt alarm will trigger us to fasten our seatbelt, the capital punishment triggers individuals to prevent from killing.”I believe it´s not negative reinforcement, because negative reinforcement is when “ particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of the stopping or avoiding of a negative condition.” It just seems capital punishment doesnt give you a chance to learn from any “condition”.user:gabriv


 * Great Essay! I would use more background information to back up your point otherwise it is an instresing topics and it is very convincing!Try to avoid you and we. The way to attract the audicne is very good and the topics and overall essay is very good. There doesnt seem to be any major gramtical errors. ** Sofia Chahin

Bibliography: Pro Capital Punishment Page. (n.d.). //Wesley Lowe - The Necromancer Wars//. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from [] Facts on the death penalty | Amnesty International. (n.d.). //Amnesty International | Working to Protect Human Rights//. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from [] Good1270599372

Myths and facts on the death penalty | Amnesty International. (n.d.). //Amnesty International | Working to Protect Human Rights//. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from [] BBC - Ethics - Capital punishment: Arguments in favour of capital punishment. (n.d.). //BBC - Homepage//. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from [] BBC - Religions - Islam: Capital punishment. (n.d.). //BBC - Homepage//. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from [] Pro Capital Punishment Page. (n.d.). //Wesley Lowe - The Necromancer Wars//. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from [] Hashem Dezhbakhsh and Paul H. Rubin (2003) Does Capital Punishment Have a Deterrent Effect? New Evidence from Post-moratorium Panel Data //(n.d.)// Journal found in: [|//http://www.cjlf.org/deathpenalty/DezRubShepDeterFinal.pdf//]