Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Sherry Atkinson Dr. Bunce English 1123/18 03/06/03 Crime and punishment An issue that has continually created tension in today’s society is whether the death penalty serves as a justified and valid form of punishment. Whenever the word “death penalty” comes up, extremists from both sides start yelling out their arguments. One side says there’s a potential of executing an innocent man. One says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. An example of this is where Justice Brennan states: The death penalty is uncivilized, inhuman, inconsistent with human dignity and with the sanctity of life, that it treats members of the human race as nonhumans, as objects to be toyed with and discarded, that it is uniquely degrading to human dignity and by its very nature, a denial of the executed person’s humanity. (Brennan 5) Crime is an evident part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and action in which it should be dealt with. The death penalty is challenged as a violation of the Eighth