Throughout the semester, I have studied many social issues in light of One of these highly controversial social issues deals with the subject of capital punishment. It is unfortunate, but our society has evolved to the point where capital punishment has become a necessary function of modern society. Simply stated, capital punishment is the execution of criminals, for committing crimes, which are regarded as so heinous, that the only acceptable punishment is permanent removal from the society in which they could not conform. One of the most controversial issues argued when considering capital punishment involves determining whether the execution of our fellow man is justified, and if can be justified, under what circumstances is it permissible.There are logical reasons to believe that the death penalty will dissuade members of society from committingthose crimes punishable by execution. Human nature causes one to fear getting caught and punished for offenses made. As a child, one learns that disobedience brings punishment. This negative reinforcement, through removal of freedoms, makes a person less likely to break the rules. As a society,we use the same philosophy that our parents, andgrandparents have used by punishing those who commit crimes. The death penalty deters murder by injecting the fear of execution into potential killers. People are less likely to do something illegal if they think that harm will come to themselves, so the worse the crime, the worse the punishment needs to be. Thus, speeding in your car is punishable through mere fines, and the potential loss of you freedom to drive. The more serious the crime, the more important it is to make the punishment as swift and as appropriate as possible so as to prevent the recurrence of that criminal act. Essentially, the punishment should fit the crime.In such a context, the death penalty makes sense. It is the strongest punishment possible, the removal of all of an ...
