Persuasive Speech On Capital Punishment

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Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the execution of an offender after being convicted by court of law of a criminal offence (Hood). In American society capital punishment stands as the ultimate sentence for a criminal. The moral complications of the taking another life, whether it is by murder or as legally accepted punishment, remain an unresolved conflict among Americans. The death penalty has always been and continues to be a very controversial issue. Many people believe that the death penalty is not justifiable, but does not justice mandate that criminals receive what they deserve? The punishment must fit the crime. If a burglar deserves imprisonment, then a murderer deserves death. The death penalty as harsh as it …show more content…

Abolitionist say that capital punishment cheapens the value of life. But actually, it’s the other way around. Not punishing a murderer cheapens the value of life of the innocent person that lost his life. Imagine a loved one of yours is brutally murdered; how would you feel? How much pain would your family have to go through? How would you be able to sleep at night knowing the murderer has not been given the death penalty, knowing he could walk out, talk, smile, laugh, and most importantly live? Let me give you another example: if a small seven-year-old girl is raped and brutally murdered, and the criminal is sentenced to seven years of prison would you be okay with that? Would you find any justice for the life of that innocent young girl who had barely seen any of our world? Would you be okay with the fact that after seven years that criminal might be released and can pose harm to your child, your friend or even you? Senator Orrin Hatch once said, “Capital punishment is our society’s recognition of the sanctity of human life” (AZ Quotes) The death penalty does not disregard human life, but rather it preserves it. Edward Koch, the former mayor of New York city and a retentionist states, “It does not cheapen the value of life, but rather strengthens its value (14). Death penalty is what gives more meaning to

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