Capital Punishment. Trying to find an excuse?

I am working on a college paper dealing with Capital Punishment in the U.S. One study I found while doing research says that over 2 dozen criminals on death row had been so seriously abused during childhood that they probably suffered from severe brain damage. Is this a good excuse for people who have committed murder? I don't understand how you can possibly use an excuse to cover up such a horrible crime. Taking another life is a crime and should be punished. Are we looking for vengeance? The death penalty was originally thought to deter criminals from killing. Once someone saw by committing a crime, they may be put to death, the amount of crime should have decreased. I'm not sure there thoughts worked. In 2007, 42 people were executed, all of which were men. In 2006, 53 people were. Is this punishment working or is there something better?

[edit on 10-8-2008 by TandN413]

reply to post by TandN413


well personally i think killing somone is totally wrong i mean thats why the peson went to death row.

so i think we should look for somwthing different because two wrongs dont make a right. in my opinion

Originally posted by TandN413
Is this a good excuse for people who have committed murder? I don't understand how you can possibly use an excuse to cover up such a horrible crime. Taking another life is a crime and should be punished.

You need to recognize that an explanation and an excuse are two different things.

Then the question becomes, do you execute people who are not right in the head, people who are essentially sick?

Are we looking for vengeance? The death penalty was originally thought to deter criminals from killing. Once someone saw by committing a crime, they may be put to death, the amount of crime should have decreased. I'm not sure there thoughts worked. In 2007, 42 people were executed, all of which were men. In 2006, 53 people were. Is this punishment working or is there something better?

Executions serve to give the victims of a criminal a sense of payback, so that they don't become vigilantes and hurt the criminal or his family. It's a nice little arrangement which maintains peace and order in a society of cynical people.