Capital punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Capital punishment - Essay Example Those opposed to capital punishment do not believe that the government should be vested with the power to put any of its citizens to death. Opponents also maintain that the practice is racially biased, overtly costly and does not achieve the intended outcome. Historically speaking, the rational for punishing criminals has been to avenge the crime, to protect society by imprisoning the criminal, to deter that person and other potential offenders from the commission of crimes and to obtain reparations from the offender. Throughout the history of civilization, this rational has not changed substantially. The four fundamental reasons society punishes can be classified into two areas. One is to obtain desired consequences which includes protecting society, seeking compensation and deterrence. The other, retribution, or vengeance, involves punishment for a wrong perpetrated on society (Wolfgang, 1998). Those that subscribe to retribution as justification for the death penalty often invoke the Bible’s reference to ‘an eye for an eye.’ Aggression must be met with aggressive punishment (Olen & Barry, 1996: 268). â€Å"This use of punishment is society’s way of striking back at one who has disturbed the emotional and et hical senses of a people† (Lunden, 1967: 232). Interestingly, those that use the quote from the Old Testament to justify the use of the death penalty as moral either overlooked or ignored the passage in the New Testament where Jesus rebuffs this statement explicitly then reminds his followers to instead to ‘turn the other cheek.’ However, the ‘eye for an eye’ justification is still used by many today. Those that hold this view are certainly correct when they say that the death penalty insures that the criminal will not commit another crime against society. In addition to a vengeful act, the death penalty is the ultimate preventative measure (Olen &

Illegal Immigration and The Cost to US Citizens Essay

Illegal Immigration and The Cost to US Citizens - Essay Example mmigration in the United States and would provide with both the view points on it concluding as to if it should be stopped or not (Illegal immigration). It was found that the number of illegal immigrants residing in the United States were almost 10.8 million in January 2009 (Reuters 2010) Most of these immigrants belonged to Latin America, Mexico, and Central America. These immigrants have crossed borders illegally through different ways to enter USA. Most of them enter USA to earn a better living there as it is a developed country. The proponents of illegal immigration believe that they have a positive effect on the economy of the United States as these immigrants tend to work a lot for the service sector. A report known as Perryman report of 2008 found that these illegal immigrants were adding up to $245 billion to the GDP of United States. These proponents believe that it is because of these illegal immigrants that the service sector of United States is booming. The wages that the illegal workers take from their employers is quite less as compared to the wages written in the constitution and this is because it gives an edge to em ployers. The proponents believe that illegal immigration can create a lot of jobs which naturally other citizens of United States would not be willing to take. It is because of their courtesy that all the sectors of the United States are working in an organized manner. However all these views are opposed by the opponents of illegal immigration as they believe the opposite of what the proponents believe (FOX NEWS 2010; Illegal Immigration). The opponents of illegal immigration argue that these immigrants are taking the rights of the citizens of United States and are depriving them of the basic necessities as laid down in the constitution. The jobs taken up by the illegal immigrants in United States can be taken up by legal citizens if they are given the chance. The opponents not only lay down the problems of economy because of these