Student Responses

Alexis Eubank

Great essay, Alexis! I concur with you that death penalty should not be banned especially when it comes to the eighth amendment. In addition to financial burden imposed on the court’s systems, death penalty is an effective method of preventing crimes from being committed and repeating among those who have been released from prison. According to Reckless (2017), death penalty may be opposed by majority of Americans, but it remains was of the most effective ways of solving crimes such as murder and rape. I like the way you present your arguments in a straight forward manner such that the first-time reader will be able to comprehend what you are trying to put across. Furthermore, the evidence provided is enough to convince the reader to agree with your argument. In your essay you mention that the eighth amendment was the utilization of cruel measures as a means of the government to control masses. Do you think that these measures would have been effective in reducing the number of crimes in United States? I think that your arguments provide a variety of answers to questions that individuals ask themselves in their daily lives. However, you need to conduct more research from both previous and current literature on effectiveness of death penalty and why it should be banned in united states.

Reference

Reckless, W. C. (2017). The use of the death penalty: a factual statement. In Capital Punishment (pp. 38-62). Routledge.

Carolyn Fairbank

Nice work, Carolyn! Drawing conclusions from your argument, I agree that death penalty is not a sufficient punishment from financial perspective. A study conducted by Ye et al. (2018) also supports this claim by arguing that wastage of money and time were the main contributing factors to why New Jersey became the first state to abolish death penalty in United States after it was reinstated by the Supreme court in 1976. I see your points concerning the cost of capital punishment. I have read several articles on different court systems experiencing the same situations. I would also want to add a question: if death penalty is costly? Why shouldn’t all the states in United States bun death penalty? In your arguments you state that death penalty is intended for those who commit heinous crimes. By doing this, I think that will be contradicting your standing point. I do not understand why you brought up such concerns since it is likely to bring confusion on what you are trying to put across. I would advise that you should always lean on your point of argument and avoid introducing arguments that might contradict your main point.

Reference

Ye, X., Sharag-Eldin, A., Spitzberg, B., & Wu, L. (2018). Analyzing public opinions on death penalty abolishment. Chinese Sociological Dialogue, 3(1), 53-75.

Shakyla Miller

Amazing answer, shakyla! I agree with you that death penalty is not an effective method of punishing crimes in United States.  In your answers you point that death penalty is more expensive and does not stop others from committing crimes. I think that you have provided well-rounded answers to the question especially the short and precise explanations to every point. From my perspective, I also think that death penalties are not effective ways of dealing with crimes. Several studies have been conducted to indicate the effectiveness of death sentences; according to Purakayastha (2016), individuals sentenced to death do not expect to be caught, and therefore death penalty does not have a deterrent effected on the accused. You also mention that other ways can be used to punish an offender but fail to list examples of those methods. Your work lacks enough evidence to support your arguments and claims, and this can turn off any reader from the start. However, you can conduct more research and draw examples from different materials to make your points clear. This will not only provide a comprehensive understanding but also support your claim why death penalty should be banned.

Reference

Purakayastha, A. S. (2016). Death Penalty: The Psychic Reimbursement in the Festival of Cruelty. Radical Philosophy Review, 19(2), 529-533.