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Assessing the death penalty

the crime of murder. Why should a killer live when he committed a murder or murders? If they want to act like animals, then they ought to be treated like animals. For example, when a dog attacks and kills a human being, what are the steps that are taken to safeguard the streets? The dog is sought after and captured and is put down. Thus, why can't a human being who kills for a living be treated the same way? Let's evaluate a couple of serial killers:

Timothy McVeigh was executed June of 2001 for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, which took the lives of 168 innocent people, and injured more than 800 people. Why should his life be spared when he took the lives of so many? His plans were very calculated and rancorous: he drove a trunk in front of a federal building in the early morning; ignited a timed fused inside the truck; and walked away. His actions collapsed half of the building and left behind a carnage. To make his crime more deplorable is the fact that some of those killed were small children, since a day-care center was located in the building. He showed no remorse at all. If a massacre of such magnitude does not deserve the death penalty, then what does?

Danny Rolling, executed October of 2006, viciously murdered 8 victims, 5 in Gainesville, Florida and 3 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Not only did he murder them but he mutilated five of his victims' bodies. The man even decapitated one of his victims. He represents what a monster is and opponents think someone of his animalistic attributes should not have been put to death? Strangely, subsequent to his execution, he decided to sing himself a song; he showed no remorse similar to McVeigh. Thus, do opponents think that his execution was unethical and unwarranted? Is a person of his kind worthy of living?

The two arguments, opposing and supporting capital punishment, are profoundly compelling, but the practice as a whole needs to be scrutinized down to its core - because it is flawed. People have been wrongly accused and therefore executed. A couple of cases will be cited:

Jesse Tafero, who was mentioned at the forefront, was executed in 1990 and later found innocent. Tafero was convicted with Sonia Jacobs (his associate) for murdering two people in the late 1970s. Based on the testimony of a third party, Walter Rhodes, the duo was sentenced to death. Rhodes was an accessory to the crime and pleaded to lesser charges for his testimony. Luckily, Jacobs' sentence was reduced in 1981, unlike Tafero.


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Assessing the death penalty

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    by Hamlet Pericles

    The death penalty is a very complicated and controversial issue. Some people argue that it is cruel and unethical; some

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    "Most people approve of capital punishment, but most people wouldn't do the hangman's job." - George Orwell (1937).

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Assessing the death penalty

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