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Henry Louis Menken Death Penalty Thesis

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In Henry Louis Menken’s essay “The Penalty of Death,” he refutes two of the most commonly heard arguments against capital punishment. He believes that capital punishment is justified, it’s not for revenge but for, as he puts it “Katharsis” for the immediate victim and the moral of others. Katharsis meaning the process of releasing strong emotions. For the argument that executing a criminal is degrading for those who have to act upon it or the viewer; his rebuttal is that “the work of a hang man is unpleasant” (464) but it’s a necessary job furthermore he has heard no complaint from a “hangman” additionally some are delighted about the custom and practice proudly. The second argument is the that death penalty is useless because it does not deter

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