Death Penalty or Capital Punishment

Death Penalty or Capital Punishment

Death penalty or capital punishment is a controversial issue and one of the highly debated subjects in the United States. The issue of death penalty has attracted attention of scholars, academics, legislators, policy makers, and the general public. The opinion on the issue of death penalty is primarily divided between two segments; proponents and opponents presenting arguments to favor their viewpoint. The debate, however, remains unsettled and inconclusive. Proponents of death penalty consider the punishment as a deterrent to crime. Major religions of the world including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism support the punishment of death penalty especially for capital crimes. The U.S. Constitution recognizes the punishment of death penalty. States in the United States have different laws to deal with the issue of death penalty. Most of the States have included death penalty in their statutes. In Maryland, a first degree murder is regarded as a capital offense. Despite this form of punishment is legal in Maryland, the number of State executions have decreased significantly in the recent past. As such, the State of Maryland retains death penalty as a punishment but only for the first degree murder. The position in the paper will also support the viewpoint that death penalty should be retained in the law and continue to be used as a deterrent of crime.
Laws in the United States favor use of Death Penalty
The colonists brought many belongings from their native country when they landed in the New World. Since most of the Early Settlers were British, they brought the English traditions and customs with them, particularly their laws. These laws also included penalties for different crimes associated with the statutes. The law for most of the colonial America was based on the English common law. The English common law was already in use and well-tested with some of its section dating back as far as the thirteenth century. The key sections of the English common...

Similar Essays