Capital Punishment is a practice that the United States has had instated since 1976. As of right now, The United States is the only country in the Western world that still enforces the death penalty. While it seems to be that there are valid reasons for instating in and reversing it, there has been little to no change besides making the death less cruel--for example, the use of lethal injection rather than the use of an electric chair, firing squad or hanging. As long as the punishment has been active, there always has been opposition from both sides of the argument. These sides are of course either Pro-Death Penalty or Anti-Death Penalty. Both sides have strong arguments, which make it difficult for many people to decide which side they tend to lean to.

Many people may ask why anyone would be in favor of the death penalty. Some of the main arguments from people who are pro-death penalty tend to reason that the death penalty is fair and just when seeking justice towards barbarous murderers. Capital Punishment in the eyes of supporters seems to be an effective way of reducing crime rates and is very much constitutional. In the summer of 2015, the Supreme Court ruled five to four in Glossip v. Gross, permitting Oklahoma’s use of one particular drug in the three-drug concoction they use as a way of putting inmates to death. One of the Justices, Samuel Alito, expressed his opinion on the overall constitutional merit of the death penalty, saying:

Tellingly silent about the methods of execution most commonly used before States switched to lethal injection (the electric chair and gas chamber), the principal dissent implies that it would be unconstitutional to use a method that “could be seen as devolution to a more primitive era.” If States cannot return to any of the “more primitive” methods used in the past and if no drug that meets with the principal dissent’s approval is available for use in carrying out a death sentence, the logical conclusion is clear. But we have time and again reaffirmed that capital punishment is not per se unconstitutional…” (“Supreme Court Upholds Lethal Injection”).

In this opinion, the Supreme Court Justice argues although it may be unconstitutional to kill someone on death row through other means other than lethal injection, that does not necessarily mean that the whole concept of having a death penalty is unconstitutional. In the eyes of many supporters of the death penalty, they reason that if there is a severe punishment, it will make possible offenders think twice before committing a heinous crime, which would, therefore, lower crime rates and save lives.

The opposing side; however, clearly has very strong oppositions as well as opinions. In general, death penalty protesters argue that too many people get wrongly convicted of the death penalty when it actually turns out that they were innocent, that it is cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment of the U.S constitution, and finally that it is ultimately ineffective of reducing crime across the board. Supporters argue generally that the government should have no say in whether a person lives or dies, or rather have the ability to take away someone’s most basic right--life. Due to this particular view of capital punishment, religious leaders tend to speak out about what they consider an injustice. In 2015, Pope Francis made a speech to the United States Congress summarizing that it is the people's duty to defend life during every step of life and not just birth (“Pope Francis Addresses Congress on the Death Penalty”).

There is also the concept of rehabilitation. Many supporters argue that everyone should have the chance to rehabilitate themselves and become not only better for themselves but for society. New Jersey State Senator, Raymond Lesniak, states this: “The worst damage [the death penalty] does is to a society that believes it needs to seek revenge over redemption. The need for revenge leads to hate and violence. Redemption opens the door to healing and peace. Revenge slams it shut” (“New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak on Capital Punishment”). Supporters of the abolishment of the death penalty also claim that the system is institutionally racist as well. It is found that most usually, death penalty cases include more African American offenders killing Caucasians and heading to trial with the disadvantage that they would be facing a completely all white jury. Even though nationwide, both races are victims of homicides at surprisingly equal rates.

In conclusion, both sides have validations to support their side. Supporters of the death penalty, in summary, argue that having the death penalty instated lowers crime rates (which actually shows in certain research and studies), and is fair punishment in the wake of brutal killings like serial killers and bombers. The opposition argues that the death penalty is not at all effective in lowering crime, that the punishment actually violates the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, is systematically racist, and finally, the government should never have the power to decide whether someone lives and dies. Both sides have their reasons, facts, studies, and opinions, but the question to ask yourself is: "what side to you ultimately lean towards?"

Additional Sources and References:

Barnes, Robert. “Supreme Court Upholds Lethal Injection Procedure.” Washington Post, June 29, 2015, www.washingtonpost.com.

Cohen, Andrew. "The Death of Troy Davis." Atlantic, September 21, 2011, www.theatlantic.com.

Coke, Tanya. "Reappraising Death: The New Debate over Capital Punishment." Open Society Foundations, June 21, 2002, www.soros.org.

Dow, David. "Death Penalty, Still Racist and Arbitrary." New York Times, July 8, 2011, www.nytimes.com.

Goldberg, Jonah. "On the Death Penalty." National Review, September 28, 2011, www.nationalreview.com.

Liptak, Adam. “Death Penalty Foes Split Over Taking Issue to Supreme Court.” New York Times, November 3, 2015, www.nytimes.com.

Shepherd, Joanna. "Why Not All Executions Deter Murder." Christian Science Monitor, December 14, 2005, www.csmonitor.com.

Thornburgh, Nathan. "Lethal Objection." Time, March 6, 2006, www.time.com.

Williams, Timothy. "Execution Case Dropped Against Abu-Jamal." New York Times, December 7, 2011, www.nytimes.com.

Willing, Richard. "Death Penalty Gains Unlikely Defenders." USA Today, January 6, 2003, www.usatoday.com.

Additional information about capital punishment can be found in these sources as well:

Banner, Stuart. The Death Penalty: An American History. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002.

Garland, David. Peculiar Institution: America's Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.