Describe one argument that supports the death penalty.

Respond to Peers: Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts. In your responses to your

peers of at least 200 words each, extend the conversation by examining their claims or arguments

in more depth. Keep the discussion on target and try to analyze things in as much detail as you

can. For instance, analyze your classmate’s argument concerning age in the application of the

death penalty.  Are the examples they provide balanced or biased towards one viewpoint? Also,

support your analysis with examples from the required material(s) and other scholarly resources,

and properly cite any references.

Student 1:

Describe one argument that supports the death penalty.

To support the death penalty, some try to use the topic of crime deterrence. Some are under the

thought process that if people know that the death penalty is in place if they commit certain

crimes, then those people will not commit the crimes as they will be “too scared” that the death

penalty will be their punishment. Without the death penalty for certain crimes, many victims and

their families may possibly feel that the crime itself is going “unpunished”. It is an “eye for an

eye” mentality.

Describe one argument that opposes the death penalty.

An argument in opposition to the death penalty is that there are many effected by the death

penalty who are innocent victims in the situation – kids, parents, spouses – who are now being

punished in their own ways by the death penalty. Many have heard the old phrase “When a

person gets sentenced for a crime, the whole family serves the time”. This seems truer in the

recent decade than ever before. If you commit a crime and are taken into custody, there is little

concern for the ripple of effects on your children and loved ones; those effected by the justice

and judgement are not considered in the courtroom often. Justice is to be served and depending

on the crime, the death penalty or capital punishment is on the table. The loss that they feel is

also nonfinite (Bruce & Schultz, 2001) in that it is continuous and denies the families all of the

hopes, dreams, and expectations that they had for their loved one who now sits on death row.

Explain which argument is the most credible, reliable, and valid. Why?

The most reliable defenses, in my opinion, come in support of the death penalty. Crime

punishment is a deterrent – we are taught that in schools as kids: Do the crime, do the time. It is

engrained in us that if we break the law, we get punished and I agree that if someone commits

such a heinous crime that is worthy of a death penalty charge in any state, then that is the

punishment given. Capital punishment, in my eyes, is there for a reason. There are demands by

society to find a manner to bring justice to those who are needing it most. Some may be the

members of the family and friends of those who may have been murdered, and some may be

those who had to experience the case emotionally as an outsider.