Group 3 Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment

For

Capital Punishment Prevents Crimes and Thereby Saves Lives

Shepherd, Joanna M. "Capital Punishment Does in Fact Deter Crime." Current Controversies: Capital Punishment. Ed. Paul Connors. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints Critical Thinking. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 15 Mar. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010036289&source=gale&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

This article talks about how capital punishment deters crime by showing that punishment is given when the law is broken and that crimes will not go un-noticed.

(Title)

Vermeule, Cass R. Sunstein and Adrian. "Capital Punishment Is Moral to Prevent the Taking of Innocent Lives." Current Controversies: Capital Punishment. Ed. Paul Connors. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 15 Mar. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010036277&source=gale&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

This article talks about how capital punishment is necessary in maintaining a moral society. Capital punishment not only removes harmful individuals permenantly from society, but it helps prevent acts of crime by creating a punishment, therefore deterring crime and crime-related deaths.

Capital Punishment Aids Society's Morality

Bayat, Mufti Zubair. "Capital Punishment Maintains Law and Order." At Issue: Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime?. Ed. Amy Keyzer. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 17 Mar. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010009229&source=gale&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

This article talks about how capital punishment is beneficial for society because it helps maintain law and order, which decreases crime rate, and crime is immoral.

Crowe, Robert E. "Capital Punishment Is a Safeguard for Society (1925)." Opposing Viewpoints: The Death Penalty. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 17 Mar. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010124245&source=gale&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

This article shares how the author thinks that capital punishment acts as a guardian of society. This is because it not only acts as a deterrant for crimes, but it is the "American" thing to do, and Americans trust and should have similar morals to other Americans. The author expresses the thought that capital punishment makes a promise to America to keep Americans safe.

Against

Capital Punishment has not been proven to be effective

Fagan, Jeffrey. "Deterrence Studies Are Inconsistent and Unscientific." Current Controversies: Capital Punishment. Ed. Paul Connors. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 17 Mar. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010036294&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

This was a testimony addressed to a Sub Committee on the Constitution in which the speaker states that many of the scientific studies done on the effectiveness of capital punishment are inconclusive. The effectiveness of the punishment can therefore not be judged, and as capital punishment is extremely expensive, it is simply not cost effective for these punishments to take place without conclusive evidence that they are effective in preventing crime.

Smith, Clive Stafford. "Studies Cannot 'Prove' Capital Punishment Deters Crime." Current Controversies: Capital Punishment. Ed. Paul Connors. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 17 Mar. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010036292&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

In this article the author argues that large moral issues cannot be solved through statistics. He says that people are not statistics, even if they are criminals, and that studies that prove detterence is a result of capital punishment are not addressing the whole issue. Capital punishment can not be scientifically proven to be effective because studies are incapable of taking into account all factors.

Capital Punishment increases violence

Grant, Robert. "Capital Punishment Exacerbates Violence." Current Controversies: Capital Punishment. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 17 Mar. 2010 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010036258&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

In this article the author talks about how capital punishment is not a deterrent to murder as many people claim it to be, and often actually increases violence. He says that in order to develop a non violent society, people who commit crimes should be treated as humanely as possible, and capital punishment is not humane.

Lindsay, Caelyn, & Anastasia

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