The Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Death Penalty - Essay ExampleIn 2000s, Texas was ranked as the leaders in last penalties across the nation. However, it is the Eighth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution which is the centre of all debates make on capital punishment, and which makes it impossible to come to a conclusion. It is clear that the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and funny punishments, precisely the interpretations to this amendment are unclear and inconclusive. The courts have presented many interpretations in different cases and in general terms the excogitate cruel means excessively brutal. This means that the punishments that are torturous come under this heading. The term unusual has a broader core and it refers to those punishments that are not usually associated with a common type of crime, but sort of they are applied arbitrary in severe crimes. Another interpretation of this article is that punishments should be presumption proportionate to the seriousness of the crime committed. The arti cle, according to some interpretations, prohibits life imprisonment for crimes such as shrinking and theft. This is not beca practice the punishment is cruel or unusual, but because it is not imaginable and acceptable for such a crime (Stearman 143). Under this article comes the exit of dying punishment which has been addressed by the Supreme move many multiplication. The general definitions of the terms use in the article are considered by the Supreme act quite often. Up till today, the court has never completely and clearly ruled out the use of death penalty as unconstitutional. The major issue regarding the amendment is the time period when it was written. The courts have often contestd that the meaning of the eighth amendment can change over the time as society changes, modernization takes place and norms change. The amendment was do in 1700s and at that time whipping was considered and recognized as an acceptable punishment because of the society values. notwithstanding these practises may not be applicable today due to the changes in the values and cultures. Many times the court has addressed that death penalty hold the public support and can be employ as a remedy for the serious crimes (Gardner 201). The Supreme Court has considered that the death penalty is not considered to be a cruel punishment for some serious crimes, however if it is ruled off if the application is unusual. The issue here is again the proportionality of the crime committed. Cases decided in 1972 and 1976 are the two major ones about the death penalty issue. The case of Furman v. Georgia was decided in 1972 which concluded that application of death penalty by arbitration and the disproportion seen in minorities are the factors that make death penalty unusual. In response to this decision, the death penalties in row were cancelled and there were no death penalties for about four years in the U.S. Because the courts did not rule the death penalty as unconstitutional, the sta te legislatures were free to make statutes for death penalties (Clear 543). The critics of the death penalty have ruled that it is commonly used as discriminatory against the minorities, ethnic groups etc. They argue that death penalty should be ruled off since long in the history they have been used against the minorities. This has been observed in U.S. and in other parts of the world too where death penalty is mollify applied. The critics argue that this is merely unconstitutional and it infringes the