Capital punishment and life without parole are the two most severe forms of punishment in today’s society. Capital punishment is the legally authorized killing of someone for punishment of a crime. Life without parole is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime that commits the convicted person to remain in jail for the remainder of their life with no chance of parole. Parole is when a person is released from prison to end the maximum sentence proposed. Capital punishment has been a one of the largest social issues in the United States, its practice and use causes large commotions due to human rights activists. Over times, the American public has favored the punishment in cases of murder, however there has always been a strong opposing force against the movement. . Those two restrictions consist of a person under the age of 18 can never be sentence to death, along with anyone who is mentally retarded, i.e. someone with an IQ below 70. The death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor able to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat him as an animal with no moral sense.
Life without parole is the second harshest punishment our government can sentence a convicted person to. Life without parole is a sentence that denies the possibility of parole, condemning the convict to spend the remainder of his or her life imprisoned. Supreme court ruled that sentencing minors to life without parole for crimes other than murder violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment”. Life without parole is generally a mandatory sentence for first degree murder in states without the death penalty.
Capital punishment versus life without parole, both two very extreme forms of punishment. One, being sentenced to death by the government for crimes committed. The other, a life with no hope; one where the convicted person is confined to a jail cell for the rest of his natural life. The governments have choices in which to choose. However, the matter should be a national decision instead of a state one. This might put slightly less doubt in anyones minds.
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