In Cold Blood Death Penalty - 1413 Words

In Cold Blood: Death Penalty Capital Punishment has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. The Babylonian Hammurabi Code(ca. 1700 B.C.) decreed death for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer(Flanders 3). Egyptians could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites(Flanders 3). However, in recent times opponents have shown the death penalty to be racist, barbaric, and in violation with the United States Constitution as ...cruel and unusual punishment. In this country,although laws governing the application of the death penalty have undergone many changes since biblical times, the punishment endures , and controversy has never been greater. A prisoners death†¦show more content†¦Studies show that the chance for a death sentence is up to five to ten times greater in cases with white victims than black victims(Flanders 25). In the criminal justice system, the life of a white person is worth more than the life of a black person. The mentally retarded are victimized by the death penalty. Since 1989, when the Supreme Court upheld killing of the mentally retarded, at least four such executions have occurred. According to the Southern Center for Human Rights, at least 10 percent of death row inmates in the United States are mentally retarded(Long 79). Juveniles are subject to the death penalty. Since state execution of juveniles also became permissible in the decision cited above, at least five people who were juveniles when their crimes were committed have executed(Long 79). Innocent people can-and have been- executed. With the death penalty errors are irreversible. According to a 1987 study, 23 people who were innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted were executed between 1900 and 1985(Long 79). Until human judgement becomes infallible, this problem alone is reason enough to abolish the death penalty at the hands of the state more dedicated to vengeance than to truth and justice. Executions do not save money. There are those who cry that we, the taxpayers, shouldnt have to support condemned people for an entireShow MoreRelatedIn Cold Blood Death Penalty2766 Words   |  12 Pagesaccording to the law of the great state of Kansas. Using evidence that the criminals themselves have provided, I shall prove to you that these men deserve to get the death penalty as retribution for their sins. I suppose I should begin my argument by going over the specific laws regarding the death penalty in Kansas. The death penalty is given as punishment for capital murder with 8 aggravating circumstances. The defendants are guilty of several of these aggravating circumstances, and I will go throughRead MoreApproaching Death1369 Words   |  6 Pagesthat they are punishable by death. These crimes are called capital crimes and the gruesome punishment you go under is referred to as capital punishment. Some states have abolished capital punishment; many states still uphold this ancient practice. Thirty-two of the fifty states in the US still have capital punishment. With the death penalty such a controversial topic, there are bound to be pieces written on it. The books The Last Day of a Condemned Man and In Cold Blood, both narrators tell the taleRead MoreThe Last Day of a Condemned Man by Victor Hugo and In Cold Blood by Truman Caopte626 Words   |  3 Pagessurrounded by the death penalty is the humanity of it. Can we consider making someone wait for months, and even more realistically years, to be put to death? In the books The Last Day of a Condemned Man and In Cold Blood, both narrators tell the tale of impending death. While The Last Day of a Condemned Man is told in a first person view, In Cold Blood is told from a third person. Although from different views, each tells the trials and tribulations of approaching the death penalty. The Last DayRead MoreIn Cold Blood: Nature vs Nurture Essay885 Words   |  4 Pagesfamous non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, there is evidence that supports the injustices of the trial: death penalty. The final outcome of the trail was never to be any different than death. â€Å"Of all the people in all the world, the Clutters were the least likely to be murdered† (Capote 85). We know the two men who killed the Clutter family, Perry Smith and Bill Hickock, preplanned the crime with malice and forethought. Although the actions were crul and grusome, does Death Row fit what they did if theirRead More The Death Penalty: Justifiable Essay977 Words   |  4 Pages The Death Penalty: Justifiable -Preface: Let it be noted now that this speech is very opinionated. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I strongly believe that the Death Penalty is a form of punishment to be used when needed. Which opens up the question, when should it be used? That may be the breaking point in a lot of arguments, deciding when to use the death penalty is a very touchy subject. I believe that only murderers deserve the death penalty, but I do not believe that all murderersRead MoreTruman Capote Arguments On Capital Punishment811 Words   |  4 PagesCapote’s Novel, In Cold Blood, Capote synthesises the writing techniques of a reporter and an author to tell the horrific and true story of the Clutter family murders. Capote uses comparison, selection of detail, and understatement to pose his argument that capital punishment is not a correct practice. Upon murdering the Clutter family, Perry Smith and Richard â€Å"Dick† Hickock are housed in a jail as they await their trial, which would bestow upon each of them a charge of death by hanging. While inRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is The Most Appropriate Type Of Punishment843 Words   |  4 Pagespunishment that should be given to a convicted criminal. The name of this capital punishment is mostly referred to as, The Death Penalty, and it can be presented in different ways. This consists of being vitally shot at by a firing squad, poisoned in a gas chamber, given a lethal injection, and so on. Today in the United States, there are thirty one states that approve of the death penalty, while nineteen states believe it is unethical and have completely abolished it from its state (Robert Costa). ThisRead MoreAnalysis Of Truman Capote s Cold Blood1091 Words   |  5 Pagespunishment, one gets the death penalty while the other gets 15 years. To think that the outcome should be the s ame, however there are more than one factors that play into a person receiving the death penalty and they are not always considered fair. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, displays a situation where Perry Smith commits a violent crime, and is charged with the death penalty instead of serving years in prison. Some might argue that his crime was vicious enough for him to receive death, but who gave themRead MoreJustice Delayed Is Justice Denied Essay1119 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"accidental† murder (involuntary manslaughter), I still believe in the death penalty for the most cruel and heinous crimes. For these type of crimes the wrongdoer deserves the worst punishment possible (deathpenaltycurriculum.org). The United States Sentencing Commission web site states â€Å"because death obviously is an aggravating factor, it necessarily would be inappropriate to impose a sentence at a level below that† (ussc.gov). The death penalty acts as a deterrent to future criminals and i t allows the stateRead MoreTruman Capote s Cold Blood1620 Words   |  7 Pagesin many fans-- In Cold Blood. The very formation of Capote s novels and short stories seems to be increasingly insufficient to the eccentric dynamics of the time era (nytimes). Agonizing, horrible, surfeited with disasters -- all used to describe the crime novel in which Truman Capote spent more than five years untangling and following the truth behind the killing of Herbert Clutter and his family. Capote has strong arguments in his novel that make him credible; In Cold Blood proves to be a superb