Death Penalty in America
By: omar miller | Posted: 12th June 2006
We may all have our own opinions concerning the controversial topic about the death penalty and many different points can be made regarding different circumstances and morals. However, one topic that is quite clear is the constitutionality aspect of the death sentencing debate. The constitution has been interpreted in many different ways to answer various questions, and the death penalty system should be treated in the same respect. By analyzing the
Fourteenth and eighth amendments we can clearly see that the death penalty, being used in the United States under the rule of our constitution, is an obvious violation of both laws as well as a vicious hindrance on our freedom as American citizens.
How a system which determines the freedom of life of could imprison
Americans be implemented by people who also believe themselves that the system has flaws? In a 4-3 opinion, the state high court said that the 1994 law is flawed because a provision about how jurors should weigh death penalty arguments during sentencing. States should not be forced into following a rule especially when the Supreme Court also disagrees with the death penalty's aspects.
In Kansas, the state law encourages justices to find persons eligible for death sentencing when the judges find arguments for and against execution equal. The law should not encourage a death sentencing when the case hasn't even been heard yet, our freedom is hindered because in America, we are innocent until found guilty yet under some state laws, if the evidence weighs equally on both sides we are automatically guilty.
Court officials also agree that laws such as Kansas' law are a direct violation of the eighth and fourteenth amendments. The eighth amendment addresses, "cruel and unusual punishment." If a person murders another person, the murderer is sent to jail. Why? Their actions are titled cruel because a murderer had evil intentions to take another person's life away. However, if we are to put this person to death for the sole reason to promote justice for the family of the murdered person, then the act of execution is also cruel.
With the death sentencing in use, we promote a contradiction which tells Americans that it is not acceptable to kill another person under any circumstances yet, if they do, they will be executed under the law depending on the circumstances. Also, this amendment addresses unusual punishment, which is a perfect description of the death sentencing. Unusual in the sense that it is not common, because past cases have proven it is not easy to be given the death sentence. It is also unusual that the same country that promotes freedoms with every other amendment and that these freedoms cannot be denied to us, we ironically have another amendment that tells us our right to live is actually limited under law and that we may only live if we follow a certain path.
The fourteenth amendment addresses just that. We have certain guaranteed rights, due process and equal protection for U.S. citizens. Even though the death sentence exists, I do not feel any safer of knowing that I will not ever be murdered or have someone closer to me murdered. I also do not feel any comfort knowing that if someone is murdered that the death sentencing will serve any sort of justice. As Americans we are granted certain rights which should not be violated. The government does not have the right to take away our life because that would also be giving the government the authority to determine how valuable our life is. It is impossible for all Americans to be under equal protection of the law when the death penalty is such a subjective matter that is determined by different justices who rule different cases with countless scenarios. Justices can be biased or just have a bad day which seems like a weak argument but actually a devastating tragedy when we read in the news about someone being executed mistakenly for a crime they never even committed. With this law in use, the law is saying that a person's life is not valuable enough to keep them in jail when they perform an evil act because their life loses value when they commit a crime. I am not minimizing the terrible inhuman act of murder. A terrible crime should be punished under the law that takes away our freedom but not our right to life, most especially when it is not under equal terms for every American.
By antagonizing the Justices to an extraordinary extent, the lower courts are simply lending support to those on the High Court who believe that capital punishment procedures from the way capital jurors are selected to the way appeals courts review cases are teetering on the brink of unconstitutionality. A subject that is so uncertain when analyzed should be frozen temporarily until it becomes more solid or, even more favorably, taken away completely. This article was provided to you courtesy of http://www.managementthatworks.com
This article is free for republishing
Printed From: http://www.articlealley.com/article_62769_18.html
Back to the original article
Tags: many different ways, hindrance, execution, state laws, morals, murderer, american citizens, controversial topic, jurors