Luis Garavito: Replacing The Death Penalty In America

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Luis Garavito, the world’s most prolific serial killer, is known for killing the most victims in the world. Garavito raped and murdered over one hundred and forty children in Columbia (Heyden). Since Columbia does not enforce the death penalty, he was sentenced to one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three years in prison. The Colombian law states that a criminal can only be imprisoned for up to forty years, and since he helped law enforcement discover a few bodies he was re-sentenced to twenty-four years in prison (Heyden). Reasons such as these exemplify the need for the death penalty and why it is beneficial in America. For decades, Americans have relied on capital punishment to prevent serial killers and other criminals from committing heinous crimes. …show more content…

The argument used by many death penalty advocates is that it serves to deter other violent criminals and murderers from committing such vicious acts themselves. Dating back to the early 1600s, the first recorded death sentence was carried out on Captain George Kendall in 1608 (Reggio). Kendall was killed by a firing squad for allegedly spying on America for the Spanish government (Reggio). This was the first of many executions by either a firing squad, hanging, asphyxiation, lethal gas, electrocution or lethal injection. Despite these horrific methods, Americans should support the death penalty because it demonstrates the power of the United States court system, serves as a warning to other offenders, protects citizens, and can bring a sense of peace to the families and friends of the

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