Capital Punishment

What is Capital? Capital Punishment is the death penalty. It was used in ancient times as a punishment for a variety of offenses, but today it is used for one reason, first-degree murder. In the United States of America, when a person kills another person they are considered a murderer. The instant a first-degree murder takes place all rights should be revoked and that person should receive a death sentence. Capital punishment is necessary in today's society because murder is morally wrong, it provides a deterrent for potential murderers, and it is cheaper than a sentence to life in prison.

The Death Penalty provides an undeniable deterrent for potential murderers. In a supreme court case of Gregg vs. Georgia, Justice Stewart says:

Although some studies suggest that the death penalty may not function as a significalntly greater deterrent than lesser penalties, there is no convincing empirical evidence supporting or refuting this view.

We may nevertheless assume safely there are murders, such as those who act in passion, for whom the threat of death has little or no deterent effect. But for many others, the death penalty undoubtedly, is a significant deterrent.

There are carefully contemplated murders, such as murder for hire, where the possible penalty of death may well enter the cold calculus that precedes the decision to act (as cited in Carrington, 1978. p. 87)

In this passage Justice Stewart is saying that some people are not effected by the death penalty but, if even one person is convinced not to murder because of the death penalty then it has saved one life, and isn't that worth it? Another quote is from John McAdams in a piece from Marquette/Department of political Science, of deterrence, he states:

"If we execute murders and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me is not a tough call."

In this statement McAdams is stating that if we did not execute murderers, then we would risk the possibility of innocent victims getting killed because there is no damaging deterrent effect for the murderers