Humanities Homework Help

Should there be a death penalty for first-degree murder?

• Make an argument that either supports or opposes the use of the death penalty in first-degree murder cases.
• Be sure to define what is involved with first-degree murder and provide adequate reasoning and support for your argument.

You are required to support your initial post with sourced information with APA formatted references and citations.

A substantive post is at least one to two good-sized paragraphs. Thinks of them as a mini paper. You need to demonstrate your learning, encourage additional dialogue, and provide new insight. A short post without any additional contribution or that looks like the below will not produce passing scores.

Class,

In this week’s discussion board, you are going to be developing an argument on whether there should be a death penalty for first-degree murder. Remember that nothing in this course is an opinion-only assignment and therefore, should have references and information that back your argument. To develop your stance and turn it into an argument, it is important to find information that supports your argument. Please make sure to accurately cite and reference your sources. Please review and address all 3 parts that are listed in your Discussion Prompt. This includes:

1. Choosing a stance

2. Defining what is involved in first-degree murder

3. Provide Adequate reasoning and support for your argument

As you develop your own argument, use the following four questions to ensure you have built a solid argument with all of the necessary components.

1. Does your argument have a strong premise, terms, and conclusion? Try and poke holes in your argument.

2. Your argument may be clear to you, but will it be clear to the people who are reading it?

3. Are all parts of your argument clear, concise, and valid?

4. Can I support my argument with outside sources? Your posts should include, references, citations and sourced information. Many people’s assumptions are not correct about this topic, so make sure you have researched your claims and the information you are presenting can be supported.

After you work on the development of your argument, you will use the same breakdown to review your peers’ arguments.

Once again, please make sure to be respectful of each other, provide feedback on the structure of the argument, and do not attack the person. Many of the topics we will be writing on in the next few weeks run high on people’s emotions. These topics were intentionally chosen to help you learn to build a solid argument on things that you may have strong beliefs, but have never developed the argument supporting that belief.

This is an example of my classmates, it can’t be the same thing. This is just to show how its supposed to be.

In this week’s discussion, we are to make an argument either supporting or opposing the use of the death penalty in first-degree murder cases. Before I give you my view on this issue, I believe it is critical to understand what first-degree murder is and its involvement. First-degree murder is the most serious offense one can be charged for. According to Cornell Law School (n.d.), first-degree murder is “The intentional killing of another person by someone who has acted willfully, deliberately, or with planning”. In other words, a defendant intended to kill a victim or planned to kill the person purposely. Three conditions must be met in most cases such as, “intent, deliberation, and premeditation” (Halt Lawyer Directory, 2018). Furthermore, first-degree murder requirements differ from state to state, and various states can consider exceptional circumstance cases as first-degree murder (Halt Lawyer Directory, 2018). As a result, once you have been charged with first-degree murder, you are eligible for the death penalty.

My view is that I oppose the use of the death penalty in first-degree murder cases because the death penalty is morally wrong and racially biased. I believe it morally wrong because (A) Killing someone is wrong. (B) The death penalty kills someone. (C) Therefore, the death penalty is wrong because it kills someone. When the death penalty is used, they kill someone for killing someone else. The death penalty is vengeance, not justice. Austin (2020) himself writes, “We do not subject rapists to rape, those guilty of assault to violent assault, or thieves to theft”. In other words, if someone rapes someone, the state does not punish that person by raping them. In my view, regardless of the crime committed, it is morally wrong to kill someone. Two wrongs do not make it right.

The other reason why I oppose the death penalty is that studies show that “People of color are far more likely to be executed than white people” (American Civil Liberties Union, 2021). Studies show the disparities in sentencing and the death penalty when it comes to people of color. To take a case in this point, “Jurors in Washington state are three times more likely to recommend a death sentence for a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case” (Death Penalty Information Center, 2021). Furthermore, numerous studies have concluded that if a white person is killed, the defendant will most likely be sentenced to death (American Civil Liberties Union, 2021). In sum, various scientifical studies have shown that the death penalty is racially biased.

References:

American Civil Liberties Union. (2021). THE CASE AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY. https://www.aclu.org/other/case-against-death-pena…

Austin, M. (2020). What’s Wrong With the Death Penalty? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ethics-eve…

Cornel Law School. (n.d.). First Degree Murder. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/first_degree_murde…

Death Penalty Information Center. (2021). Facts about the Death Penalty. https://documents.deathpenaltyinfo.org/pdf/FactShe…

Halt Lawyer Directory. (2018). The Bloody Truth: Understanding First Degree Murder. https://www.halt.org/understanding-first-degree-mu…

University of Minnesota. (n.d.). Criminal Law. https://open.lib.umn.edu/criminallaw/chapter/9-3-first-degree-murder/