Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Grade Nine
steven_177@hotmail.com
Essay On Capital Punishment
Author: STEVEN BORGES
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Grade Nine
steven_177@hotmail.com
Hello to you all. My name is Steven Borges and I go to Dante Alighieri
Academy. I am in grade nine and I am 15 years old. I am a close friend to Danielle Hunter
and we are actually in the same Geography class and we both had to do an ISU.
And, again with the help with Tracy, I was able to write and make a great
ISU. As if you have read Danielle's
essay and her few words, I was also told to write and summarize 5 article
about the death penalty/capital punishment and I too, received 95 out of
100 on the article. Cool huh! I have Tracy to thank for that great mark!
As Danielle said, if you would
like to know anything about this you can contact me at steven_177@hotmail.com
if you
need any help. Please do not take credit for my work, if you need
assistance e-mail me and tell me what you need and I will try to help you
to the best of my ability. Thank you once again Tracy, this essay was not
able with out the help from you and I would also like to thank Danielle Hunter
for all her help. She also did help me write my essay and I helped and marked
hers too. Thank you and enjoy the site and my essay.
Steven Borges
The Death Penalty is no doubt an expensive and brutal
death form that has been practiced for many years and is a way to end any
convicted persons life. Capital Punishment is an upright alternative for
dealing with convicted criminals, but changes must be made to improve this
form of discipline. Many things must be considered when dealing with the
death penalty such as, historical records which show the earliest recorded
of the death penalties, the reasons for punishments due to what they did,
and certain methods used. The seven most popular ways in which capital punishment
is performed in
our society today will be discussed as well.
Historical records show that the earliest records of
the death penalty can be dated all the way back to 1750 BC in the Code of
Hammurabi. From the fall of Rome to the beginning of our modern era, the death
penalty was practiced all throughout Western Europe (Bedau, 3). The movement
for the
abolition of the death penalty began in the 18th century
with the writings of Montesquieo and Voltaire. In Great Britain, Jeremy
Bentham was a very influential person who has had the number of capital crimes
reduced in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of the first countries to abolish
the Death Penalty included Venezuela in 1863, San Marino in 1865, Costa Rica
in 1877 and Portugal in 1867.
There are many reasons for punishment due to extreme
crimes. There are revenge, expedition, deterrence and rehabilitation and
reformation. Revenge is the most common of them all. Revenge is still a common
way for the use of punishment, especially as a senseless crime (Tracy, 3).
Expedition is another ancient way for punishing criminals. It’s almost related
to vengeance. Expedition however demands for uncalled suffering of the victim.
Deterrence is the threat of punishment which prevents criminal activity.
Therefore, it will seek to escape the pain that their punishment brings toward
them.
Rehabilitation and reformation are one of the more modern
ways of punishment. The purpose of these more modern punishments is to help
the prison system change for an easier understanding. Punishment was designed
to transform criminals into useful members of our society by changing their
attitudes.
The five most used methods in North America are as follows; Electric Chair which is when a person is strapped down to a chair and when an electrode is applied to the scalp and another one to the calf of one leg. The electrodes are moistened with a sodium carbonate solution to ensure adequate contact. Hanging is when a rope is placed around the neck of the person. When it’s time for the person to be executed, the platform is released and the person is left dangling with the rope still attached to their neck. Lethal Injection is when a lethal drug is injected into the persons blood stream. The Firing Squad is when a person is standing tied up against the wall blind folded and a couple of men with shot guns aim fire directly to the persons heart. The Gas Chamber is where a person is put in a room with a deadly gas called Hydrogen Cyanide and it spreads all across the room.
The Death Penalty is an appropriate alternative for
punishing the convicted, however certain changes must be altered to improve
this form of punishment. In order to make these changes many facts must
be considered. Everything from the historical aspect to the different forms
of termination. The only
way to get rid of this problem is to abolish the death
penalty now.
Return To Students Essays On Capital Punishment: Click HERE
Return to CCADP Student Resources Page: Click HERE
The CCADP offers free webpages to over 500 Death Row Prisoners
Contact us for more information.
info@ccadp.org
"The Eyes Of The World Are Watching Now"
Text provided by Stephen Borges From Dante Alighieri Academy.