Hall 1

Kenzie Hall
Professor Nathan Cole
ENGL 1010
13 December 2015
State Sanctioned Killings

The practice of capital punishment, which is often referred to as the death penalty, has
been around for hundreds of years in society. Whether or not its the headline story of the nightly
news, its still a widespread issue today and effected by everyone. The debates are endless
including is it morally right, does it actually deters criminal behavior and is it even
constitutional. Ironically this topic has always been a part of my life as well. My grandfather is
an attorney that worked on death penalty cases often while working for the attorney general
office for the state of Utah. Capital punishment was a familiar table talk conversation in my
home for many years. For this reason, I chose the topic of capital punishment. I wanted to gain
more insight about this issue. As I researched into it more thoroughly, I realized there are a lot
more issues that goes on than I initially realized. I found there are many different stances on the
topic with a lot of varying factors. Examples include what methods are used and certain financial
variables. Its certainly is not just a black or white issue.
So what exactly is the death penalty? Capital punishment or the death penalty is the legal
process where a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for their crime. Thirty-six
countries actively practice capital punishment, including the United States. Thirty-one states
actively use the death penalty but most recently, the Nebraska State Legislature voted to abolish
the death penalty. Nebraska is the 19th state to do so.

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The pro death penalty proponents view it as simple as if you kill, you will be killed. The
bible even addresses this in Exodus, 21:12 saying, He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall
be surely put to death. All religions believe having life is sacred. For another perspective on the
pro-death penalty view, I interviewed a primary source. Earl Dorius, my grandfather, served as
the assistant Attorney general in the state of Utah for 17 years. He was always involved with
capital punishment cases, however one of his most prominent cases was that of Gary Gilmore.
Gilmore was a murder who gained notoriety from demanding his execution be carried out. On
January 17, 1997, Gilmore became the first person in almost ten years to be executed by firing
squad in the United States since the U.S Supreme Court upheld a series of death penalty statutes.
Dorius was present at this executive and has a very firm belief that the death penalty serves as a
way for the society to express their moral outrage. The instinct for retribution is apart of the
nature of man and capital punishment is a way of keeping stability of a society governed by law
says Dorius. People want justice brought to those who took it away from others.
There is a strong belief that the death penalty has deterred crime rates. The opinion is that
many criminals will feel that risking their life for the violent act is not worth it, thus they will
refrain from committing these kinds of crimes. This is called deterrence. Ernest Van Den Haag, a
Dutch- American sociologist whose particular field of interest was the death penalty said,
"Common sense, lately bolstered by statistics, tells us that the death penalty will deter murder...
People fear nothing more than death. Therefore, nothing will deter a criminal more than the fear
of death... life in prison is less feared. Murderers clearly prefer it to execution -- otherwise, they
would not try to be sentenced to life in prison instead of death. Therefore, a life sentence must be
less deterrent than a death sentence. And we must execute murderers as long as it is merely
possible that their execution protects citizens from future murder." Few people, even criminals,

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have a death wish, and it is believed that this lack of desire for their own death will keep them
from causing the deaths of others.
Crime has been in society since the beginning of time. This includes violent crime as
well, and it will remain as long as man lives. It is my belief that nothing will stop some people
from committing violent acts, so the death penalty does not appear to be the answer. Many times
the families of the victims do not experience the kind of closure that one would hope simply
because the criminal has been executed. Since it would appear that even law enforcement does
not see the death penalty as an answer to the problems of crime in society, many anti-death
penalty activists wonders why it is allowed to continue. Those fully against the death penalty
argue many things including the statement that the death penalty gives some of the worst
offenders publicity that they do not deserve. While the death penalty may have deterred some
potential murderers, there is evidence that it encourages others, especially the unstable who are
attracted to the immortality, given to particularly heinous murders, that the media might offer.
Additionally, the death penalty obviously involves medical doctors. Those who argue against the
death penalty feel that courts and legislatures should not ask physicians to violate ethical
standards to address the legal issues at hand. On of the biggest arguments against capital
punishment is even the guilty have a right to life. The emotional impulse for revenge is not a
sufficient justification for taking another life. The idea of an eye for an eye is a simplistic one
which our society has never upheld. We do not allow torturing the torturer or rape a rapist, so
why should we kill a killer?
The most interesting aspect I learned about the death penalty are all the exceptions to the
initial question of whether it is right or wrong. Thinking about all the little variables that go into
it that might determine someone's stance on this issue. Sometimes, innocent lives are lost to this

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process. Both pro-death penalty and anti-death penalty advocates share one belief: Proving that
the state executed an innocent person would significantly reduce public acceptance of the death
penalty. Not many can say that they understand that first hand, but Kirt Bloodsworth was the first
person in the United States sentenced to death but was exonerated by DNA evidence. At least
4.1% of all defendants sentenced to death in the US in the modern era are innocent (Pilkington). .
Claude Jones was executed on December 7, 2000 for the murder of a liquor store owner in Texas.
His conviction was based on a single hair that prosecutors claimed belonged to him. After his
death, DNA analysis showed that the hair belonged to the victim. Once an inmate is executed,
nothing can be done to make amends if a mistake has been made.
87% of all executions are by lethal injection, followed by electrocution, gas chamber,
hanging and firing squad. Lethal injection has been put under an intense spotlight since states are
finding it hard to obtain the right combination of drugs and whether it may be infringing on our
Eighth Amendment. There have been numerous accounts of inmates still awake during their
execution, when they are expected to be unconscious. Some say firing squad is most effective
even though this method is usually not looked at as the most humane. Robert Blecker, a CNN
specialist, strongly disagrees with lethal injections because it seems to sugar coat what we are
doing, which is killing another human being who ultimately deserves it. All these issues prove
that you can agree with the death penalty but disagree with variables involved with it, making it
not just a pro/con topic.
Some people just believe the death penalty it an issue of the past. Claiming that it is no
long relevant to our society today. Richard Dieter is a graduate of Georgetown University Law
Center then continued to be the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center for
23 years. He sheds new light to the topic by stating that death sentences have declined 75 percent

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since their peak in 1996, proving that it may be becoming a less common way of punishment. It
is becoming largely irrelevant in American society and may not last another 10 years. he says.
This issue of the death penalty is obviously one of the most debatable topics in the
criminal justice system. I have come to the conclusion that I agree and disagree with a lot of
things presented in both arguments. The death penalty is a way to give deserving people the
justice they deserve, but there are only certain criminals that deserve this. A quote Robert L.
Shevin, the former attorney general of the state of Florida, whose father was murdered in the
course of a robbery, accurately reflects my views on death penalty. He says, I am squeamish
over state sanctioned killings, which is what executions are. But until mankind reaches a state of
perfection, which I cannot now imagine, the death penalty must remained a finely honed scalpel
in societys surgical kit to be used discreetly and as a last result for sure but to be used
unflinchingly when the likes of Charles Manson infect our social body. I agree that capital
punishment is a tool that should only be used on only particular cases that we can be certain of
who is responsible such as Ted Bundy or Manson as stated. But it still is something we should
not take lightly. There are many issues that still need to be addressed and the death penalty will
never be perfect but it is something we should keep in society.

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Works Cited

Blecker, Robert. With Death Penalty, Let Punishment Truly Fit The Crime. CNNCNN, 22 Aug.
2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Bloodsworth, Kirk Noble. Of Course the Death Penalty Is Cruel and Unusual. NY Times:The
Opinion Pages 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.

Dieter, Richard. Use of the Death Penalty Is Rare and Decreasing. NY Times: The Opinion
Pages 6 Apr. 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.

Dorius, Earl. Personal interview. 09 Nov. 2015

Kendall, George H. Is The Death Penalty Unconstitutional? The Nation, 24 Sep. 2015. Web. 10
Nov. 2015.