Death Penalty, a Deterrent to Criminals - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 743 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/09/17 Category Sociology Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Death Penalty Essay Murder Essay Did you like this example? My views on the death penalty Sociology August 30, 2010 ? My views on the death penalty Does the death penalty really serve as a deterrent to criminals? In my opinion â€Å"No† it does not. If someone is going to commit a crime they usually do not think far enough ahead to think what the punishment might be if they get caught. The death penalty information center â€Å"took a survey of the former and present presidents of the country’s top academic criminological societies, 88% of these experts rejected the notion that the death penalty acted as a deterrent (death penalty information center, Aug. 0,2010) In my personal opinion on the death penalty is that of support for it. I believe that if you commit a crime you should have to pay for that crime. Whether it is with time and restitution for smaller crimes or it is death for more serious thought crimes. I do feel that if someone commits murder or rape shouldn’t be allowed to ever have a chance to do any of those crimes again. I know people say â€Å"well if they get life in prison they will not be able to commit these crimes again†. My response is what if they escape and come to your house while they are dodging the law, rape and kill your family would you still want them locked up for life? I wouldn’t I do not believe that your age should have anything to do with you receiving the death penalty, as long as you can discern right from wrong and be at least 12 years of age or older. If you are 12 years old or older and you commit a serious enough crime I think you should also be sentenced to death. I think if our country supported something like this it would deter younger people from committing such serious crimes. Anything younger than that is considered a child in my opinion. Currently today in the United States the laws vary from state to state on the age limits ranging from 16 in some states to 18 in most states, before someone can be considered for the death penalty for crimes they have committed. Setting examples of young murders would help deter other kids from thinking they are juveniles and that they will only serve a very minimal time for their crimes. Another reason that the death penalty is best for juveniles who murder is the chance of parole. When a person has been incarcerated all of their adult life then possibly paroled for good behavior, or just to make room, they cannot function in the real world. They only know prison life which consists of gangs, drugs and violence. When released they, most likely will go to what they know gangs, drugs and violence or end up homeless for lack of family after all the years that have passed. â€Å"Viewed from the functionalist perspective of Emile Durkheim, sanctions against defiant acts help to reinforce society’s standards of proper behavior. † (SchaeferR. T. 2009) â€Å"In December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly (UN GA) adopted by a large majority a second resolution calling for a moratorium with a view to abolish the death penalty. This resolution consolidates three decades of steady progress towards complete abolition of the death penalty worldwide. † (Amnesty International USA,2008) There are still a lot of countries today that use the death penalty as a form of punishment for crimes committed. The countries that have the highest rate of executions are China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States of America. These countries alone carried out 93% of all executions worldwide in 2008. (Amnesty International USA,2008) The majority of the countries now refrain from using the death penalty. In 2008 The Amnesty International recorded only 25 of the 59 countries that retained the death penalty actually executed any one. Son people feel that we are moving in a way to completely get rid of the death penalty around the world, but in my opinion this will remain something to use as a punishment in a lot of countries worldw ide. If we abolish the death penalty eventually we will be overrun with criminals on death row or we will have to release them back into society which would be a bad decision in my opinion. References Schaefer, R. T (2009) Sociology a brief introduction 8th edition. New York, NY Death penalty statistics (2008) Amnesty International USA retrieved from https://www. amnestyUSA. org/death-penalty/International-death-penalty/death-penalty-statistics-2008/page. do? id=1011348 Facts about the death penalty Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Death Penalty, a Deterrent to Criminals" essay for you Create order