|
|
In 1972 the Supreme Court Case Furman v. Georgia outlawed the death penalty. The Supreme Court declared the death penalty to be cruel and unusual punishment, which is in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment states that “excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed, not cruel and unusual punishments inflicted“. Four years later that decision was overturned by the case of Gregg v. Georgia. This was also an Eighth Amendment case and in-turn legalized the death penalty yet again. There were many reasons why the Supreme Court set this precedent, the main one was that capital punishment is not in violation of the Eighth Amendment when murder or treason is involved. Capital punishment sets an example for others, is a way of self-defense for society, it prevents criminals from repeating their crimes, and when a criminal breaks the law they give up their basic rights which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Victims families deserve to know that the person that took their loved one away won’t be able to do that to anyone else ever again. There is a wide-spread debate about whether capital punishment is right or wrong and I feel that capital punishment is needed here in The United States. The Eighth Amendment states that no cruel or unusual punishment will be inflicted. The Supreme Court set the precedent, capital punishment is not in violation of the Eighth when applied fairly, in the Gregg v. Georgia case. There are five methods of execution used in the United States. They include lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, and firing squad. Thirty-four of the states use lethal injection as their form of execution. Two states use electrocution as their sole form of execution while seven states have electrocution as an option.
|
