Capital Punishment, A life and Death Issue Research Paper

Capital Punishment, A life and Death passing - Research Paper ExampleOpponents also assert that the practice is overtly costly and racially aslant while not realizing the intended outcome. Proponents think it is neither poisonous nor unusual, quite the opposite, they think it fair and just. The neutral of this study is to discuss the moral and legal concerns that literally are a life and demise pop and is a key barometer when measuring a cultures collective conscience. The eye for an eye faction not provided accepts but insists that the death penalty be sustained and has supporting rational to back up their crinkle which will be covered encompassingly in this discussion. It will also take into account the opponents reasoning concerning why it should be eliminated along with the legal precedents concerned in an effort to achieve a comprehensive view of the capital punishment disputation. Legal speaking, capital punishment is not unusual, by definition, unless one acknowledg es the racial bias that exists throughout the justice system. The law cannot define whether it is evil or not. Cruelty can be defined only by the collective social conscious of a high society. The legal interpretation of the unite cruel and unusual is open to debate, to some extent but the general usage of the word cruel refers to vicious punishments that cause extreme pain. Most legal scholars agree that punishments that include body dismemberment or torture are unquestionably classified as cruel. The term torture was evidently open for debate during the past decade but the word means essentially the same universally causing unclaimed physical or mental anguish. The word unusual is normally understood to mean going beyond what is an equitable application of punishment for an offense. For instance, if ten people were ticketed for a traffic violation and judge fined lodge of them $150 but one was charged $1500, this punishment would be considered unusual. Taken together in the ph rase, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment signifies that the penalty should be apportioned equitably according to the specific offense committed. A life prison sentence is an acceptable punishment but not if this punishment was imposed for jaywalking, that would be an obviously unacceptable sentence imposition because it is considered excessive and extreme given the nature of the offense. Excessive is a term that is also open to broad interpretation in both the legal and public realm. both(prenominal) would contend, for example, that any amount of time imposed for crimes such as the possession of drugs, prostitution and gambling should be interpreted as excessive consequently unusual. The Supreme speak to has on many occasions judged the merits of the death penalty and this action is interpreted as punishment which is cruel and unusual by the Constitution. The Court has systematically ruled the language of the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit the death sentence as punishme nt. The Constitution was meant to be and is a malleable document, however. The judicial interpretation of the Eighth Amendment has evolved to some extent throughout the years. Therefore the Court could potentially reverse this standpoint at a future time as result of changing societal values. For instance, whipping convicted criminals was routine until the late Eighteenth Century. This practice is now considered to be inappropriate because societys attitude changed to define it as a cruel punishment. With respect to capital punishment, however,