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Death Penalty Essay Introduction — a Quick Guide

Table of Contents

The death penalty is a state-sanctioned practice where an individual is executed for an offense punishable through such means. Death penalty essay is a common topic given to students where the essay writer argues this controversial issue and takes a stand. The death penalty essay intro consists of the opening sentence, the background information, and the thesis statement.

Writing a compelling introduction isn’t easy. But with the tips and examples in this guide, you’ll be able to write a captivating introduction.

What Is a Death Penalty Essay?

The death penalty is the practice of executing a person guilty of capital murder, a crime in which the loss of life is intentional. This method of punishment has been around for as long as human civilization.

The death penalty has been controversial for a long time, with people on both sides of the fence. Supporters claim it works to deter crime, but there is no evidence to prove it. Opposers claim it is cruel and is not the best way to serve justice. 

A death penalty essay argues for or against the death penalty. This essay topic is a typical assignment given to college students. Common death penalty essay topics are as follows:

• About the Death Penalty
• Does the Death Penalty effectively deter crime?
• The Death Penalty should not be legal
• The Death Penalty should be abolished.
• Death Penalty and Justice
• Pro-Death Penalty
• Is the Death Penalty Morally Right?
• Death Penalty is Immoral
• Religious Values and Death Penalty
• Ineffectiveness of Death Penalty
• Punishment and the Nature of the Crime
• The Death Penalty and Juveniles.
• Is the Death Penalty Effective?
• The Death Penalty is Politically Just
• The Death Penalty: Right or Wrong?
• Abolishment of the Death Penalty
• The Death Penalty and People’s Opinions
• Is Death Penalty Humane?

How to Write an Interesting Death Penalty Essay Intro

Like other essays, the death penalty essay intro comprises three parts. The hook, a strong opening sentence, grips the reader, sparks their curiosity, and compels them to read the rest of the piece.

Subsequent sentences provide background information on the topic and define the argument’s terms. The last part is the thesis statement, which summarizes the central focus of the essay.

1. the Opening Sentence/Hook

The hook is a statement that grips the reader’s attention and makes them want to read on . The hook should be an exciting statement that sparks the readers’ curiosity, and sets the tone for the essay. It should give an overview of the topic. You could begin with a thought-provoking question, an interesting quote, an exciting anecdote, or a shocking statistic or fact. 

2. Background Information

Provide more information about the subject you are discussing. Create context and give background information on the topic. It could be a social or historical context. Define key terms that the reader might find confusing and clearly but concisely state why the issue is important.

3. Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the overarching idea – the central focus of the essay. It summarizes the idea that you’ll be explaining throughout the entirety of the piece. Once this statement has been established, you’ll smoothly transition into the main body of your essay. Make the thesis clear and concise. 

Death Penalty Essay Introduction Example

Does the death penalty deter crime, especially murder? The death penalty has been controversial for years. Over the years, public opinion about the death penalty seems to have changed. But there are still people who think it is a proper punishment. I have heard the phrase “An eye for an eye” most of my life. Most people firmly believe that if a criminal took someone’s life, their lives should be taken away too. But I don’t think that will discourage anyone from committing crimes. I believe that the criminal should be given a lighter punishment. 

The death penalty or capital punishment is the execution of a criminal by a government as punishment for a crime. In the United States, the death penalty is the most common form of sentence in murder cases.

A death penalty essay argues for or against the death penalty. The essay introduction begins with an attention-grabber , followed by background information on the topic and then the thesis statement.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Death Penalty Argumentative Essay; Topics, Arguments, Outline

Sat Sep 25 2021

By Nickdeda

Are you stranded about that assignment that requires you to write a death penalty argumentative essay? Don’t panic. This article is your ultimate guide. Read how to present your arguments while outlining your essay.

What Is Death Penalty?

Death penalty essays revolve around writing about murder executions. Although this topic's debate is controversial, its proponents argue that the death penalty offers retribution to the grieving family. They also contend that it costs less than life imprisonment. On the other hand, opponents to the death penalty argue that it gives the government the power to take out human life, which shouldn't be the case.

What Is A Pro Argument For Death Penalty?

A pro argument in a death penalty persuasive essay revolves around dissecting the pros of the punishment. For instance, perpetrators of heinous crimes are executed, and the US Supreme Court upholds the death penalty as a constitution. A statement of this nature is considered a pro argument when discussing death penalties in the US.

What Are Some Arguments For The Death Penalty?

When assigned death penalty argumentative essays, it is prudent to research extensively to identify the topic's schools of thought. Note that in an argumentative essay, you need to pick a side. Some of the arguments in a death penalty argumentative essay include:

1.       Legality concerns. Although the US is among 55 countries nationwide to constitute the law, some countries still debate the legitimacy of the death penalty.

2.       Life without parole. Opponents to the death penalty law argue that life imprisonment without parole is a more reasonable alternative to killing.

3.       Pre-emption of criminal activities. Proponents argue that by killing offenders, people become afraid of crime due to the harsh penalty.

4.       Retribution. Arguers of the death penalty law argue that victims' families feel that justice is avenged for their deceased by killing perpetrators.

5.       Morality. The debate on ethics has been posed by both religious, secular and legal arms as to how moral the act of killing is when justifying punishment.

How To Write Death Penalty Should Be Abolished Essay

Students must understand that the context of this topic is opposition. Therefore your counterarguments should clearly define why you object to the death penalty law. To help you do so, you must read plenty of information sources to help you come up with the best points.

How To Write A Death Penalty Argumentative Essay Introduction

Catchy, concise and memorable. That’s the way to go when writing a death penalty introduction. The opening determines whether readers will continue reading the essay or not. Therefore, you ought to come with a great way to welcome them into reading the paper. For example:

To the law, Bashir was a criminal. But to his mother, a son, and his girlfriend expressed that he was the sweetest boyfriend she ever had. With him executed, his loved ones felt that the law purported to uphold policies couldn't protect its own. Traumatized and even victimized, how would this family ever get consoled?

By reading the above introduction, your audience feels the need to delve deeper into it. Therefore, the transition to your body should connect seamlessly while bringing out your most vital thoughts against the death penalty.

How To Write A Death Penalty Argumentative Essay Thesis

The thesis statement provides a detailed view of what an essay will be discussing. Therefore, your entire essay will be based on expounding on this argument. Since your essay is argumentative, your thesis proclamation should be argumentative too. It should let readers know the side of the argument your paper stands for. For example;

·          Death penalty is a law against humanity.

·          How do you dictate that someone deserves death?

·          Is the death penalty retribution to victims' families?

How to Write a Death Penalty Argumentative Essay Body

The body of an essay should clearly outline your different arguments. Defined by paragraphs, always ensure to sub-divide your viewpoints in the following manner:

·          1 st paragraph- The most crucial reason for objecting death penalty

·          2 nd paragraph- Another vital argument against death penalty

·          3 rd paragraph- The point with the least impact

Although all points are strong, scholars advocate to align thoughts based on impact. This is because, it is easy to lose readers when your paper is poorly structured and formatted.

How To Write A Death Penalty Argumentative Essay Conclusion

The summary of your death penalty argumentative essay should recap your discussions and a stamp for your thesis statement. Ensure you emphasize it, attempting to make readers see your sense. Finally, as you bring the essay to a close, be sure to leave readers with a parting shot or food for thought statement.

We offer an excellent alternative if you still don't feel inspired to tackle the death penalty argumentative essay. Request our professional authors and take advantage of our fantastic deals. You bet you'll submit an impressive assignment worthy of nothing less than an A.

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5 Death Penalty Essays Everyone Should Know

Capital punishment is an ancient practice. It’s one that human rights defenders strongly oppose and consider as inhumane and cruel. In 2019, Amnesty International reported the lowest number of executions in about a decade. Most executions occurred in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt . The United States is the only developed western country still using capital punishment. What does this say about the US? Here are five essays about the death penalty everyone should read:

“When We Kill”

By: Nicholas Kristof | From: The New York Times 2019

In this excellent essay, Pulitizer-winner Nicholas Kristof explains how he first became interested in the death penalty. He failed to write about a man on death row in Texas. The man, Cameron Todd Willingham, was executed in 2004. Later evidence showed that the crime he supposedly committed – lighting his house on fire and killing his three kids – was more likely an accident. In “When We Kill,” Kristof puts preconceived notions about the death penalty under the microscope. These include opinions such as only guilty people are executed, that those guilty people “deserve” to die, and the death penalty deters crime and saves money. Based on his investigations, Kristof concludes that they are all wrong.

Nicholas Kristof has been a Times columnist since 2001. He’s the winner of two Pulitizer Prices for his coverage of China and the Darfur genocide.

“An Inhumane Way of Death”

By: Willie Jasper Darden, Jr.

Willie Jasper Darden, Jr. was on death row for 14 years. In his essay, he opens with the line, “Ironically, there is probably more hope on death row than would be found in most other places.” He states that everyone is capable of murder, questioning if people who support capital punishment are just as guilty as the people they execute. Darden goes on to say that if every murderer was executed, there would be 20,000 killed per day. Instead, a person is put on death row for something like flawed wording in an appeal. Darden feels like he was picked at random, like someone who gets a terminal illness. This essay is important to read as it gives readers a deeper, more personal insight into death row.

Willie Jasper Darden, Jr. was sentenced to death in 1974 for murder. During his time on death row, he advocated for his innocence and pointed out problems with his trial, such as the jury pool that excluded black people. Despite worldwide support for Darden from public figures like the Pope, Darden was executed in 1988.

“We Need To Talk About An Injustice”

By: Bryan Stevenson | From: TED 2012

This piece is a transcript of Bryan Stevenson’s 2012 TED talk, but we feel it’s important to include because of Stevenson’s contributions to criminal justice. In the talk, Stevenson discusses the death penalty at several points. He points out that for years, we’ve been taught to ask the question, “Do people deserve to die for their crimes?” Stevenson brings up another question we should ask: “Do we deserve to kill?” He also describes the American death penalty system as defined by “error.” Somehow, society has been able to disconnect itself from this problem even as minorities are disproportionately executed in a country with a history of slavery.

Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and author. He’s argued in courts, including the Supreme Court, on behalf of the poor, minorities, and children. A film based on his book Just Mercy was released in 2019 starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.

“I Know What It’s Like To Carry Out Executions”

By: S. Frank Thompson | From: The Atlantic 2019

In the death penalty debate, we often hear from the family of the victims and sometimes from those on death row. What about those responsible for facilitating an execution? In this opinion piece, a former superintendent from the Oregon State Penitentiary outlines his background. He carried out the only two executions in Oregon in the past 55 years, describing it as having a “profound and traumatic effect” on him. In his decades working as a correctional officer, he concluded that the death penalty is not working . The United States should not enact federal capital punishment.

Frank Thompson served as the superintendent of OSP from 1994-1998. Before that, he served in the military and law enforcement. When he first started at OSP, he supported the death penalty. He changed his mind when he observed the protocols firsthand and then had to conduct an execution.

“There Is No Such Thing As Closure on Death Row”

By: Paul Brown | From: The Marshall Project 2019

This essay is from Paul Brown, a death row inmate in Raleigh, North Carolina. He recalls the moment of his sentencing in a cold courtroom in August. The prosecutor used the term “closure” when justifying a death sentence. Who is this closure for? Brown theorizes that the prosecutors are getting closure as they end another case, but even then, the cases are just a way to further their careers. Is it for victims’ families? Brown is doubtful, as the death sentence is pursued even when the families don’t support it. There is no closure for Brown or his family as they wait for his execution. Vivid and deeply-personal, this essay is a must-read for anyone who wonders what it’s like inside the mind of a death row inmate.

Paul Brown has been on death row since 2000 for a double murder. He is a contributing writer to Prison Writers and shares essays on topics such as his childhood, his life as a prisoner, and more.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

Finding Sources for Death Penalty Research

Barry Winiker/photolibrary/Getty Images

• Writing Research Papers
• Writing Essays
• English Grammar
• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
• B.A., History, Armstrong State University

One of the most popular topics for an argument essay is the death penalty . When researching a topic for an argumentative essay , accuracy is important, which means the quality of your sources is important.

If you're writing a paper about the death penalty, you can start with this list of sources, which provide arguments for all sides of the topic.

Amnesty International Site

Amnesty International views the death penalty as "the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights." This website provides a gold mine of statistics and the latest breaking news on the subject.

Mental Illness on Death Row

Death Penalty Focus is an organization that aims to bring about the abolition of capital punishment and is a great resource for information. You will find evidence that many of the people executed over the past decades are affected by a form of mental illness or disability.

Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty

This extensive article provides an overview of arguments for and against the death penalty and offers a history of notable events that have shaped the discourse for activists and proponents.

Pro-Death Penalty Links

This page comes from ProDeathPenalty and contains a state-by-state guide to capital punishment resources. You'll also find a list of papers written by students on topics related to capital punishment. 

• Ethos, Logos, Pathos for Persuasion
• Preparing an Argument Essay: Exploring Both Sides of an Issue
• Tips on How to Write an Argumentative Essay
• The Death Penalty in the United States
• 50 Argumentative Essay Topics
• The Best Interactive Debate Websites for Students and Teachers
• Capital Punishment: Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty
• Controversial Speech Topics
• How to Write a Solid Thesis Statement
• How to Write a Research Paper That Earns an A
• Pros & Cons of the Death Penalty
• How to Write a Narrative Essay or Speech
• Persuasive Writing: For and Against
• 40 Writing Topics for Argumentative and Persuasive Essays
• 5 Arguments in Favor of the Death Penalty
• Middle School Debate Topics

Death Penalty Thesis

Death penalty thesis statement.

While the death penalty has no history because it was born with humanity, the doctrine distinguishes two major phases in the history of capital punishment that separates the eighteenth century. Thus, prior to this, the death penalty was applied to a large number of crimes and its various forms of execution were characterized not only by killing, but by doing so producing the greatest torments and suffering to the victim.

From the illustration to the present, both a noticeable decrease in executions and a decrease in the catalog of crimes punishing the death penalty, which generally reduces, in the countries that recognize it, to the qualified homicides, child rapes or illicit drug trafficking. Contemporary states have gone from an inordinate extension of the death penalty to an exceptional, scarce and infrequent application of the death penalty. In this new configuration the democratic principles of humanity, equality, fraternity and the monitoring of Human Rights in contemporary society have influenced.

Nowadays, the legal treatment of the death penalty varies between an extreme abolitionism, for which the death penalty is not applied to any crime (Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Uruguay and Venezuela) , and a moderate conservatism, which is characterized by restricting its application, to a certain number of crimes (Saudi Arabia, China, USA, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru), passing, previously, by an exceptional conservatism, reserved for crimes derived from an emergency situation, as is the case of foreign war (Spain, Italy, Peru in the period between 1979 and 1993)

Death penalty thesis: arguments that are used in favor of the death penalty

The arguments that are used in favor of the death penalty try to demonstrate appealing to rational or emotional criteria, the coexistence of its establishment or conservation in a certain legal system:

a) Historical origin. In line with thesis statement about death penalty, it is pointed out that the death penalty has been practiced by all peoples and at all times and still survives today in some fully developed nations like the USA. Its eradication of the punitive catalog would not make sense because humanity throughout its history has shown itself favorable to its application. It is also pointed out that the restriction of capital punishment does not necessarily imply its disappearance.

b) Preventive effect. Faced with the commission of crimes and serious crimes, the immediate, indifferent and prompt application of capital punishment thesis is postulated with the aim of restoring the normative trust of society in legal norms and law. By executing the culprit, society recovers from the commotion produced by the perpetration of the crimes and potential criminals are intimidated and persuaded about the consequences that their criminal act can bring. The severity of the sanction has a double effect; On the one hand, it allows society to rekindle its confidence in the norms and renew your faith in the law, and on the other hand help to instill fear to all who intend to commit criminal offenses.

c) Criteria of Justice or remuneration. This postulate states that capital punishment is justified on the basis of justice reasons that are summarized, according to the approach of Kant, in a categorical imperative: “You have killed a man, and then you must die.” The penalty, according to this criterion, does not have a preventive sense, but mainly a retributive one that is imposed for the crime committed. St. Thomas Aquinas already pointed out that in the same way that the surgeon must amputate the arm to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of the body; thus, the delinquent must also be eliminated to avoid contaminating society.

d) Utility Criterion. According to criterion of thesis statement on death penalty, capital punishment favors the offender, the treasury and society. The offender benefits because he is provided with a quick and immediate death instead of spending his life “buried alive” in a prison. The supposed utility to the treasury is manifested in the high cost that represents the maintenance of the wrongdoer that is opposed to the lowest sum of the cost of execution. The social benefit would be achieved, in relation to preventive criteria, when society escapes the dangerous presence of the criminal, counteracts the inclination to crime.

Thesis statement for capital punishment: Criminal Code of our country

Deputies from two political parties have proposed a bill so that the death penalty, already contemplated in the Criminal Code of our country, can be imposed on kidnappers, murderers, parricides, sexual violators and perpetrators of enforced disappearance. Allow me to expose, on the death penalty, some theses.

The majority of Guatemalan citizens approve imposing the death penalty, in line with capital punishment thesis statement, on those who commit very serious crimes, such as murder. However, invoking that majority is not precisely the best argument to impose the death penalty. It could be only a minority of citizens who approved to impose it; which would not imply that, then, it should not be imposed. Of course, if a controversy arises over the imposition or non-imposition of the death penalty and until a threatening foreign opposition arises to impose it, consulting the citizens would be an ideal resource.

The death penalty is not completely dissuasive. That is to say, it does not prevent someone from committing the very serious crimes that with the imposition of that penalty are intended to punish. In general, no criminal law can be completely dissuasive; and murders are committed even if the death penalty is imposed on those who commit them, as well as robberies even if a penalty of imprisonment is imposed on those who commit them. It is not valid, then, to argue that the death penalty is useless because it does not prevent murders from being committed, nor is it valid to argue that imprisonment for committing robberies is useless because it does not prevent robberies from being committed.

According to the thesis statement for capital punishment, reliable statistical research shows a correlation, particularly between the imposition of the death penalty and the reduction of murders. They even show a correlation between moratorium on the imposition of that penalty, and an increase in those crimes. One of the investigations was undertaken by professors specializing in crime economics, H. Naci Mocan and R. Kaj Gittings, from the University of Colorado. One of his conclusions was that “each additional execution reduces between five and six the number of homicides; but three additional pardons increase between one and 1.5 the number of homicides.

No legislative, judicial or executive authority should have the power to grant the remedy of grace to those who have been sentenced to death, after the due judicial process has been fully complied with. In this thesis, it is implicit that no authority can have the power to replace the death penalty with a prison sentence, even if it is life imprisonment. The sentence dictated by the judge must be fulfilled. Precisely the appeal of grace can reduce the dissuasive effect of the death penalty.

The right to life cannot be the right of those who have committed very serious crimes, such as kidnapping and murder, and also the right of those who have not committed those crimes. My opinion is that who commits very serious crimes, loses the right to life. It is unworthy to live. It is a social curse that must be eliminated. It can be argued that, in the case of Guatemala, the State protects life; but to protect life it may be necessary that the State itself, that is, the entire legal community of citizens, through the legitimate judicial authority, order the elimination of those who have committed very serious crimes.

The death penalty, while not completely dissuasive, can help save the lives of tens or hundreds of innocent human beings.

• Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Capital Punishment: A Philosophical Rejection of Punishment by Death Public Deposited

• Experiencing ubiquitous contention, the correlation between execution as a form of legal punishment and morality pervades in the modern era to form a central concern for examination. Competing accounts of moral theories have provided dichotomous vindications for capital punishment, indicating a substantial strife in criminal justice morality. This thesis will examine these rival philosophies in order to assess the gravity of moral theories in Supreme Court decisions. In particular, both consequentialist and retributivist theories are analyzed with respect to their conceptualizations of punishment. After examining the death penalty’s legal history and the components of morality inherent in Supreme Court decisions, I assess that both consequentialist and retributive moral theories cannot account for the justification of the death penalty. Overall, an inherent association between morality and legal decisions is revealed that affirms that philosophy calls for the abolishment of capital punishment.
• Mangan, Taylor
• Bailey, Dominic
• Donavan, Janet
• Heathwood, Chris
• University of Colorado Boulder
• Consequentialism
• Retributivism
• In Copyright
• English [eng]

Relationships

• Arts and Sciences Honors Program

March 19, 2024

Evidence Does Not Support the Use of the Death Penalty

Capital punishment must come to an end. It does not deter crime, is not humane and has no moral or medical basis

By The Editors

A death penalty vigil, held in 2021 outside an Indiana penitentiary.

Bryan Woolston/Reuters/Redux

It is long past time to abolish the death penalty in the U.S.

Capital punishment was halted in the U.S. in 1972 but reinstated in 1976, and since then, nearly 1,600 people have been executed. To whose gain? Study after study shows that the death penalty does not deter crime, puts innocent people to death , is racially biased , and is cruel and inhumane. It is state-sanctioned homicide, wholly ineffective, often botched, and a much more expensive punishment than life imprisonment. There is no ethical, scientifically supported, medically acceptable or morally justifiable way to carry it out.

The recent execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith demonstrates this barbarity. After a failed attempt at lethal injection by prison officials seemingly inexperienced in the placement of an IV, the state of Alabama killed Smith in January using nitrogen gas . The Alabama attorney general claimed that this method of execution was fast and humane , despite no supporting evidence. Eyewitnesses recounted that Smith thrashed during the nitrogen administration and took more than 20 minutes to die.

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Opposition to the death penalty is growing among the American public , and the Biden administration must follow through on its promise to end this horror. The Department of Justice must heed its own admission that the death penalty doesn’t stop crime, and our legislators must continue to take up the issue on the congressional floor. The few states that still condemn people to death must follow the lead of states that have considered the evidence and rejected capital punishment.

Programs such as the Innocence Project have shown, over and over, that innocent people have been sentenced to death. Since 1973 nearly 200 people on death row have been exonerated, based on appeals, the reopening of cases, and the entrance of new and sometimes previously suppressed evidence. People have recanted testimony, and supposedly airtight cases have been poked full of evidentiary holes.

Through the death penalty, the criminal justice system has killed at least 20 people now believed to have been innocent and uncounted others whose cases have not been reexamined . Too many of these victims have been Black or Hispanic. This is not justice. These are state-sanctioned hate crimes.

Using rigorous statistical and experimental control methods, both economics and criminal justice studies have consistently found that there is no evidence for deterrence of violent crimes in states that allow capital punishment. One such study, a 2009 paper by criminology researchers at the University of Dallas, outlines experimental and statistical flaws in econometrics-based death penalty studies that claim to find a correlated reduction in violent crime. The death penalty does not stop people from killing. Executions don’t make us safer.

The methods used to kill prisoners are inhumane. Electrocution fails , causing significant pain and suffering. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist who criticizes the use of medicines in carrying out the death penalty, has found (at the request of lawyers of death row inmates) that the lungs of prisoners who were killed by lethal injection were often heavy with fluid and froth that suggested they were struggling to breathe and felt like they were drowning. Nitrogen gas is used in some veterinary euthanasia, but based in part on the behavior of rats in its presence, it is “unacceptable” for mammals , according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. This means that Smith, as his lawyers claimed in efforts to stop his execution, became a human subject in an immoral experiment.

Courts have often decided, against the abundant evidence, that these killings are constitutional and do not fall under the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause of the 8th Amendment or, in Smith’s appeal , both the 8th Amendment and the due process protection clause of the 14th amendment.

A small number of prosecutors and judges in a few states, mostly in the South, are responsible for most of the death sentences being handed down in the U.S. today. It’s a power they should not be able to wield. Smith was sentenced to life in prison by a jury before the judge in his case overruled the jury and gave him the death sentence.

A furious urge for vengeance against those who have done wrong—or those we think have done wrong—is the biggest motivation for the death penalty. But this desire for violent retribution is the very impulse that our criminal justice system is made to check, not abet. Elected officials need to reform this aspect of our justice system at both the state and federal levels. Capital punishment does not stop crime and mocks both justice and humanity. The death penalty in the U.S. must come to an end.

This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American .

Rights groups call for saving six Moroccans sentenced to death in Somalia

S everal Moroccan human rights associations have united in urging Moroccan authorities to intervene and save the lives of six Moroccan citizens facing a death sentence in Somalia, according to a joint statement released on Tuesday.

The joint statement was signed by six associations, including the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Justice for Fair Trials Association, and the Lawyers’ Network Against the Death Penalty.

The associations expressed alarm at the verdict handed down by a military court in northern Somalia, which sentenced the six Moroccans to death by firing squad on charges of affiliation with the ISIS organization.

According to the statement, some of the individuals claimed they had traveled to Somalia in search of employment and were unaware of the recruiters’ intentions. 

Their lawyers confirmed their desire to return to their homeland, stating that an extremist group had misled them. They have appealed, pinning hope on the appellate process.

The Moroccan associations strongly condemned the death sentence imposed on their compatriots, asserting that it violated their fundamental right to life, which cannot be justified even for the most serious crimes. 

The statement called on Moroccan authorities to take urgent action to save the lives of these citizens from the threat of execution and facilitate their repatriation to their homeland before it’s too late.

Colonel Ali Ibrahim Osman, the deputy chairman of the court, indicated that the men had traveled to Somalia with the specific intention of supporting IS. 

This marked the first instance of foreign IS members being charged and sentenced in the semi-autonomous Puntland region. 

The court sentenced an Ethiopian and a Somali to 10 years in prison each, while another Somali was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

The militants were apprehended in the Cal-Miskaat mountains, a known IS stronghold located east of Puntland’s commercial center, Bosaso.

Somalia’s IS branch, established in 2015 by defectors from the larger al-Shabab group, primarily engages in small-scale attacks and extortion of local communities, according to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The frequent use of the death penalty in Somalia for terrorism-related crimes has drawn criticism from human rights organizations. 

In 2023 alone, at least 55 executions took place, with 23 conducted by military authorities in Puntland and Mogadishu.

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