Death Penalty In Texas Essay

Why is the death penalty used as a means of punishment for crime? Is this just a way to solve the nations growing problem of overcrowded prisons, or is justice really being served? Why do some view the taking of a life morally correct? These questions are discussed and debated upon in every state and national legislature throughout the country. Advantages and disadvantages for the death penalty exist, and many members of the United States, and individual State governments, have differing opinions. Yet it seems that the stronger arguments, and evidence such as cost effectiveness, should lead the common citizen to the opposition of Capital Punishment.

The Death Penalty in America has been a talked about issue for some time now. Americans have their own opinions on the death penalty. Some people feel it is too harsh of a punishment, some believe if you take a life you should lose your life. I myself do not believe in the death penalty. To me it goes totally against what Americas was built on God. Even though over the last fifteen years or so we have slowly drifted away from “In God We Trust”. Looking at the death penalty in a whole it was never something that the United States came up with. It was adopted from Britain. (Bohm, 1999)The first ever recorded death penalty in United States history was that of Captain George Kendall in 1608. He was executed for being a spy. The death of Captain Kendall started a chain of other colonies jumping on board for the death penalty. In some colonies they were sentencing people to death for petty crimes, such as steeling, or trading with Indians. Over the years after the death penalty would be reformed and revamped numerous of times. Until it was only used when murder or treason occurred. Matter of fact Pennsylvania was the first state

Although the Texas Criminal Justice System gives punishments that are deemed fit to the gravity of the crime, the death penalty is still too harsh of a crime. Prisoners are stripped off their Eighth Amendment rights when they go through the execution, which is an inhumane, cruel and unusual punishment. This can be examined through the methods that the criminal and justice systems and the method of execution.

Putting people to death for breaking the law is a punishment that has been in existence for thousands of years of human history and has been enforced in all corners of the

The life it took thirty-seven years for Lester Bower to build, was taken from him in slightly under four hours when a jury with no murder weapon, without fingerprints, witnesses placing him at the scene, or a confession, found him guilty and sentenced him to death. During the next thirty-one years of waiting he was separated from his wife and two daughters; he spent about 23 hours a day in the 5 by 9-foot cell that held him as he awaited his execution. In 1994, he reported that his life on death row was a lonely one saying, “You have people around you all the time, but you have very few friends. There is too much dying on the row, so you don't build really true bonds.” Finally on June 3, 2015, Bower died for the crime that he maintained he

In many eyes across the country the death penalty is widely criticized. The state of Texas has the death penalty whereas nineteen other states in the United States do not including the state Maine. The death penalty is a way for the states to declare that they don’t tolerate the heinous crimes that some individuals commit. In Texas there are numerous ways that one could be sentenced to death row. Murdering a police officer or firefighter in the line of duty and if the individual knowing that they are a police officer or firefighter, murder for hire or promise of pay, to employ another to commit murder, murder during the act of or attempted act of kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction, retaliation or terroristic

I think Texas needs to discriminate certain behaviors. Many people spent so many years in prison waiting to be executed. I think the government needs to reduce the waiting period for only those people who they are sure that they committed the crime and needs to be executed. Most of the time it’s unfair because those people spend their years waiting and enjoying in prison while the family members are still waiting for justice. It’s unfair that sometimes the family members don’t even witness the justice because they die before the person who committed the crime is executed. The Texas government also needs to reduce jail length for people arrested because of possession of drugs. The government needs to punish them, instead of putting them in

In the United States, there are around 40 to 50 executions per year, Texas with 10 or more prisoners put to death each year. Texas has the highest rate of deaths out of all the other states with the death penalty. Texas currently has three prisoners put to death already. The United States has currently 31 states with the death penalty; the remaining states abolished it. The death penalty should be abolished because of the cost, it shortens punishment for the person who did the crime,and it puts innocent lives at risk.

Since the death penalty was reauthorized in 1976, 1,362 people have been executed, almost exclusively by the states, with most occurring after 1990. Texas has accounted for over one-third of modern executions and over four times as many as Virginia, the state with the second-highest number. The Walls Unit prison in downtown Huntsville, Texas is the nations busiest execution chamber.

The Texas death penalty is ranked number one nationally, which should not come as a surprise to any native Texans. (Holle, Fellow) Texas even has a prison museum, complete with a capital punishment exhibit, which spotlights an electric chair used to execute 361 prisoners from 1924-1964. Capital Punishment is still legal in 35 states. Japan is the only other Industrial democracy that still has the death penalty. (CNN)

The death penalty has existed in different forms dating back to Eighteenth Century B.C. Burning, hanging, beating, etc. were all means to an end to achieve this retribution. In today’s society, the debate over whether the death penalty is a viable punishment is still to be determined. Many scholars suggest that it fails to act as a deterrent and should be abolished while others cling to the idea that it continues to serve as retribution to those affected by the acts of criminals. Within this paper I will study the changing attitudes towards the death penalty as well as look into Texas and California as examples as they both portray interesting cases of the death penalty. While both actively sentence criminals to death row, California rarely executes while Texas has the highest execution rates in the country. Do these states have lower crime rates because of this or will this prove that the death penalty is unnecessary and violates the eighth amendment and is out of line with current views.

Immigration continues to grow through out Texas and so does politicians, however despite the growing population and growing supporters for Republicans, the death penalty does not. The death penalty has taken the lives of many criminals but does not continue to do so. Through out the nation, the death penalty has been a wide debated topic on whether or not it is in violation of the eighth amendment and also has been considered cruel and unusual punishment. Texas, among other states, has used and continues to use the death penalty costing taxpayers millions. The death penalty is cruel and usual punishment and is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.

My policy brief is looking at the continued use of the death penalty the U.S. state of Texas. The use of this punishment is a violation of Article 3 and Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is also a violation of the United States constitution 8th Amendment because of the pain cause from the lethal injection. This is also a human right violation because of the amount and uncertainty of the guilt and many people that are sitting on death row today. In order for the U.S. to be consistent with the documents that it claims to have ratified it must abolish the use of capitol punishment.

During the 1920s to the 1950s, most Texans had viewed capital punishment as a just punishment for any horrific act to teach others not commit the same crimes but instead got most innocent African and Mexican Americans convicted and sentence to death. Most Texans had a sense of a strong sense of moral character, which they believe an immoral act deserves a punishment based on the nature of the crime. For example, Most Texans believed that people who committed crimes like murder and rape deserved severe punishment for their actions. Due to the fact that crimes such as rape and murder are the highest intolerable acts of all. For instance, murder involved a person taking another person’s life which too many Texans deserved the ultimate punishment,

Few issues in the United States today are as emotionally charged and controversial as the death penalty. Formally know as capital punishment, the death penalty has been hotly debated not only as a legal issue, but as a religious, ethical, and political one, historically as well as in the present day. Although many states currently administer the death penalty, Texas has been put in the spot light this past year because of the recent presidential race. The moral question of whether or not it is right to kill another human being is ever-present in today's society. However, when looking at it from a political standpoint, one must also consider whether or