Assignment - All for Capital Punishment

All for Capital Punishment When it comes to capital punishment, you are either for it or against it, I for one, am all for capital punishment. Capital punishment has been away for our justice system to punish capital crimes since the Eighteenth Century. There are many arguments when it comes to the matter of capital punishment. There are many controversial arguments regarding capital punishment, to only discuss a few doesn’t seem fair as it just grazes the surface of the topic. Capital punishment should continue to be used because it closes the chapter for families and friends of victims lost. It puts an end to crime by the individual who committed it, to begin with, and even though some think there is a racial bias to capital punishment, there is not. I am going to tell you why. Capital punishment closes the doors, so to speak to the family and friends of the victim lost. Capital punishment isn’t all about ending another person’s life for taking someone else’s. The victims of the criminal have family and friends who have to spend the rest of their lives mourning their loved ones. These individuals in mourning want some justice, and they deserve it. Some individuals on the opposing side will often argue that there is no sense of justice in capital punishment, but this isn’t true. Family and friends of the victims lost to get to breathe again knowing that the person that took their sister, brother, mother, father, daughter, son, aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, etc. will never hurt anyone that they love again. That in itself is some form of relief. Really what capital punishment does for these families and friends is close to this horrid chapter in their lives. It doesn’t give them closure because that is something they may never have as their loved one is gone forever. In 1999 a young 12-year-old was kidnapped from her little sisters’ birthday by her uncle, who raped and murdered her. He was sentenced to capital punishment. Before this took place, the mother, Rebecca Petty, had never taken the time to think about the matter of capital punishment. Petty stated, “When it happens to your child you gave birth to, you taught to walk and talk and [lived with] 12 years, that’s the point — it makes up your mind for you.” Petty goes on to mention how capital punishment doesn’t give you closure, but it closes those chapters for the families who have waited so long. Petty says, “In your life, you have chapters. This is going to be a chapter for these families they can close. It’s not going to be an easy chapter. For some of them, it could be one of the last chapters of their life.” To me, this is proof that these families who suffer the loss get something out of capital punishment that is beneficial to them. It helps them to move on and have that little sense of this chapter is finally closed. So, I stand by capital punishment for this reason. The next point I would like to discuss is that capital punishment puts an end to the future crime that can potentially be committed by the individual who committed the capital crime. Some individuals would argue that if the criminal is in prison for the committed crime that they could no longer commit any crimes anyways. This is not true, while it would be a little less likely, there is still a chance. Some crimes happen in prisons all over the U.S. Murders in prisons do happen. As stated on the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in State and Federal Prison, 2001-2016 – Statistical Tables, “Homicide deaths, which include deaths due to injuries sustained before imprisonment, accounted for 2.5% of deaths in state prisons and 3.6% of deaths in federal prisons in 2016.” In-state and federal prisons, the statistics for homicide (murders) in prison were: 2001 39, 2006 55, 2007 57, 2008 40, 2009 54, 2010 70, 2011 70, 2012 85, 2013 90, 2014 83, 2015 84, and 2016 95. This puts state prison homicide cases at 1,024 from 2001-2016 and federal at 160. Thus, proving the point that murder in prisons is possible and happening all the time. So simply locking the criminal up isn’t enough. Capital punishment serves a great purpose. In doing my research for capital punishment, there have been several incidences where I have incorrect information about how capital punishment is sentenced to racial bias. With all that is going on right now with the BLM movement, I find this point to be especially important to make. My final point I am going to make for this argument is that racial bias is not an issue when it comes to capital punishment. When it comes to races being executed, white individuals take the lead by several hundred. These statistics are from when capital punishment was brought back in 1976 from then to now as far as executions by race 851 of 55.9% whites executed, 517 or 34% blacks executed, 129 or 8.5% Latinos executed, and 25 or 1.6% of other races executed. While the population in the United States is significantly higher in whites than in other races, we still have higher numbers when it comes to crime, criminal punishment, and capital punishment. These statistics prove that the white race is charged more often with capital punishment than that of any other race, which is the point in the question of racial bias. The answer stands true that there is not a racial biased here. The fact is that capital crimes are punished by capital punishment; if ANYONE can commit a capital crime, they should know the outcome for them may be capital punishment no matter what race they are. So, capital punishment, are you for it or against it? I am for it for many reasons and not just the ones I covered today in this piece. Capital punishment has been a type of justice for families in mourning their lost loved ones who have fallen victim to criminals just trying to close that tragic chapter in their lives. People, just like Rebecca Petty, are just waiting to turn a new chapter in her life. Capital punishment puts an end to the capital crime committed by the criminal who has committed them before by ending their life; it is the only 100% sure way to be sure they will never harm another. Capital punishment is not racial bias; it is fair to all races. If the crime is committed, the individual at hand who committed the said crime needs to be prepared to pay for their crime no matter what that looks like through the justice system. If you are currently on the fence or the other side of capital punishment, I want to ask you to take a moment to put yourself in the shoes of someone like Rebecca Petty, imagine her 12-year-old daughter is your child. What lengths would you then be willing to take to feel some sense of justice, to “close a chapter,” Rebecca Petty was okay with losing another family member to capital punishment for the crime he committed to her daughter. When you imagine yourself in that mother’s shoes, really think about how you’d feel and think at that moment, would you want justice? Would you then be for capital punishment? Capital punishment should continue to be a form of punishment for capital crimes because it helps families of lost victims; it puts an end to crime by the specific crime, not racial bias. I stand for capital punishment, where will you stand?