NCJ Number
185403
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 62 Issue: 6 Dated: October 2000 Pages: 22-25
Date Published
October 2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The current debate and general philosophical interest in capital punishment have resulted from several factors.
Abstract
A June 2000 Gallup Poll revealed that public support for capital punishment has declined from 80 percent in 1994 to 66 percent since 1994 as a result of increased doubt about the moral, ethical, and racial disparity issues surrounding the death penalty. Proponents argue that capital punishment allows society to get even, satisfies the public’s demand for vengeance, serves as retribution for horrific offenses, incapacitates offenders, gives murderers what they deserve, and enables justice to prevail. Opponents argue that it is barbaric and inhumane, is carried out erratically, is morally unjust, is only a token appeasement to public demand, is a response to killing by killing, is ineffective as a deterrent, and sometimes allows the innocent to be executed. The United States is the only Western democratic country that has not abolished capital punishment. Executions have increased significantly in the United States in the 20th century. The United Nations Human Rights Commission has passed a resolution urging a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. Studies have documented racial disparities and the capital convictions of innocent persons. DNA testing has exonerated some defendants. Corrections professionals have a moral obligation to continue providing safety and treatment opportunities to death row inmates while these issues are being debated.