Capital Punishment: The Consequences Of The Death Penalty

The first death penalty laws were established in the eighteenth century making it so you could only be hanged for murder. The first recorded death penalty that took place was in 1608, it was Captain George Kendall. This execution took place in the new colonies, he was put to death because he was suspected of spying for Spain he was executed by a firing squad. Capital Punishment has not been proven to deter crime and opens the possibility of executing innocent people; finally, the Death Penalty/Capital Punishment can cause 2nd hand trauma to the victim and their family. Capital Punishment violates the 8th amendment, it is labeled as cruel and unusual punishment. Capital punishment also violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection,

Painful, lengthy executions constitute violations of the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment”(NCADP).

Capital punishment can give 2nd hand trauma to the victims & the families. Studies show that the Death Penalty can cause additional harm to the families. The death penalty can even cause the family to be traumatized by two deaths if the offender and the victim are related or friends. People can actually be traumatized because of a man named Carol Pickett, a minister who witnessed almost 100 executions in Texas, attributed his severe health problems to the stress involved with executions.

Using an execution to try to right the wrong of their loss is an affront to them and only causes more pain. Also, trauma is not only common in the families but the people who have to watch, prepare and struggle with the inmates who are fighting for their lives. There are people who have to deal with the inmates daily. The guards have to look and watch people knowing that they will die whether they think capital punishment is right or wrong it will put pressure on them. The guards will never forget the people they saw or heard die because of something they did or something they even didn't

Most criminals don't think about what they are doing at that exact moment or think that once they have already started they can't stop. I would think lots of criminals would not want to go to prison either, I would think prison would be worse than death. Once in prison, those serving a life sentence often settle into a routine and are less of a threat to commit violence than other prisoners. The death penalty also does not give the felon time to think over their actions.

States that do not use Capital Punishment usually have a lower murder rate than states that do. The South, where 80 percent of all executions take place, has a higher murder rate than the North. People wouldn't want to go to prison where anything can happen. The inmates at prison hate it because they basically have no life in prison. The death penalty makes society more dangerous by further increasing violence through the brutalization effect. The brutalization effect is when violence is punished via violence (the death