Capital Punishment: Debatabase - Debate Topics and Debate Motions

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Intro to Debatabase Discuss topic
Summary: Is it ever justifiable to execute criminals?
Debatabase Junior
Contributing Topics
Introduction
Commission Topics
Author:Eliot Jones ( Tunisia ) Eliot Jones is a freelance communications consultant.
My Topics
Submit Topic Created: Monday, November 13, 2000
Suggest Topic Last Modified: Saturday, August 22, 2009

Context
Close to 90 countries have the death penalty, but nowhere is it debated so often as in the United States
where each state can formulate its own policy according to the Constitution. 38 of the 50 states allow
the death penalty as a sentence although some, such as Illinois, have recently imposed a moratorium
while they study the arguments for and against.

Arguments

Pros Cons
The principle of capital punishment is that certain Execution is, in simplest terms, state-sanctioned
murderers deserve nothing less than death as a just, killing, and it devalues the respect we place on human
proportionate and effective punishment. There are life; how can we say that killing is wrong if we sanction
problems with the death penalty, but these are with its killing criminals? More importantly, the whole principle
implementation rather than its principle. Murderers is outweighed by the proven risk of executing innocent
forgo their rights as humans at the moment when they people. 23 innocent people were executed in the USA
2011 Bosnia and Herzegovina take away the rights of another human. By wielding in the 20th century. The avoidable killing of an
Leadership Program such a powerful punishment as the response to innocent person can never be justified, in any
Exact dates TBA. Eighteen murder, society is affirming the value that is placed circumstances.
high school students and three upon the right to life of the innocent person. Many
teachers from Bosnia and more innocent people have been killed by released,
Herzegovina (BiH) attend the
paroled or escaped murderers than innocent people
highly interactive Youth
executed.
Leadership Program and
accompanying Teacher Capital punishment is 100% effective as a deterrent to Higher execution rates can actually increase violent
Professional Development
the criminal being executed; that killer cannot commit crime rates. California averaged 6 executions a year
Program, in Salem, Oregon,
and Washington, DC. any more crimes. As a deterrent to others, it depends from 1952 to 1967, and had twice the murder rate
on how effectively the death penalty is applied; in the than the period from 1968 until 1991 when there were
More about this event
USA where less than 1% of murderers are executed, it no executions. In New York, from 1907 to 1964,
is difficult to assess the true effect of deterrence. But months immediately following an execution showed a
for example, a 1985 study (Stephen K. Layson, net increase of two murders - an average over a 57-
University of North Carolina) showed that 1 execution year period.
deterred 18 murders.

If and when discrimination occurs, it should be Implementation of the death penalty, particularly in
corrected. Consistent application of the death penalty America, can suffer from social or racial bias and in
against murderers of all races, and in cases where the fact be used as a weapon against a certain section of
Slovak Debate Association: victims were of all races, would abolish the idea that it society. In the USA nearly 90% of those executed
Bratislava Schools'
can be a racist tool. This could be done by making it were convicted of killing whites, despite the fact that
Competition
mandatory in all capital cases. non-whites make up more than 50% of all murder
The Slovak Debate victims.
Association would like to invite
you to the international Opponents of the death penalty prefer to ignore the Capital punishment costs more than life without
Bratislava Schools Debating fact that they themselves are responsible for its high parole. Studies in the US show that capital cases, from
Competition. The tournament
costs, by causing a never-ending succession of arrest to execution, cost between $1 million and $7
will take place from 7th to 11th
appeals. Prisons in many countries are over-crowded million. A case resulting in life imprisonment costs
April 2011 in Slovakia’s capital
city (yep, you guessed it) and under-funded, and this problem is made worse by around $500,000.
Bratislava. life sentences or delayed death sentences for
murderers. Why should the taxpayer bear the cost of
More about this event
supporting a murderer for an entire lifetime?

Different countries and societies can have different Defendants who are mentally incompetent will often
attitudes towards the justifiability of executing mentally answer "Yes" to questions in the desire to please
incompetent or teenaged murderers. If society is others. This can lead to false confessions. Over 30
against such executions, then in cases where they mentally retarded people have been executed in the
happen it is a problem with the implementation of USA since 1976.
capital punishment. For opponents to seize on such

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Capital Punishment: Debatabase - Debate Topics and Debate Motions

cases is to cloud the issue; this is not an argument

HWS / IDEA Round Robin against the principle.
In the HWS / IDEA round
robin the International Debate Some criminals are beyond rehabilitation; it may be By executing criminals you are ruling out the
Education Association and that capital punishment should be reserved for serial possibility of rehabilitation - that they may repent of
Hobart and William Smith killers, terrorists, murderers of policemen and so on. their crime, serve a sentence as punishment, and
Colleges are bringing together emerge as a reformed and useful member of society.
an elite and internationally
diverse group of debaters and
adjudicators for a weekend of Motions
debate at the highest level.
This House supports the death penalty
More about this event This House would take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life

Useful Sites
Derechos Human Rights: Death Penalty Links
Pro-Death Penalty.Com
Death Watch International
Amnesty International and the Death Penalty

IDEA Exchange 2011 – Vilnius About.com links page

15-17th April! New Yorker article by Scott Turow
If you are interested in making Death Penalty Information Centre
a positive change in your New York Times Upfront article
community, if you are working
or volunteering for the European Union policy
promotion of the values of an ACLU
open society, if you are
Heritage Foundation testimony to Congress
interested in debate –
competitive and non-
competitive, if you would like Useful Books
to meet other
Against the Death Penalty: Christian and Secular Arguments against Capital Punishment
More about this event
By: Gardner Hanks
Capital Punishment: The Death Penalty Debate
By: Ted Gottfried
Just Revenge: Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty
By: Mark Costanzo
The Death Penalty: For and Against
By: Louis Pojman
Estonian Debating Society
The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective
and IDEA join forces to
By: Roger Hood , Carolyn Hoyle
organize Estonia Open 2011!
Death Penalty: Fair Solution or Moral Failure?
Estonian Open 2011 will be
By: Joann Bren Guernsey
held in British Parliamentary
Style: 5 preliminary rounds
with 5-minute speeches, Themes
followed by semi-finals and
Grand Final with 7-minute Moral and Religious
speeches. Team cap for the
tournament is 36 and N-1 Discuss
judging rule applies for the
teams. Chi View the full discussion

More about this event Author Post

godogs Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:05 am

Member
Why should a murderer be given the rights he has taken so hastily from another? By
killing another person the murderer is accepting their consequence for the crime they
have committed. There is no guarantee that the murderer won't escape from prison,
therefore, by keeping them alive and healthy the criminal justice system is not
guaranteeing the justice the victims family deserves. Lastly, as a hard worker I do not
want my hard earned money to go to a prison if it's going to be used to keep a
murderer alive, when that person has proved themselves unworthy of a single penny I
earn. I believe capital punishment is something that should be kept around. We as
human beings control our own actions and we are solely responsible for our actions.
There is no justice when another human being is murdered by a ruthless human
being. I say "human being," but in all reality how can anyone call this murderer a
"human being" after what they have done to another individual? When anyone thinks
of a murder, they do not automatically think about what the victim went through. They
just think the individual is dead. Put everything aside and think of the victim and the
suffering they endured! I am more than positive each victim pleaded for their life or let
out a cry of terror, but that did not stop the murderer from ending a life. They did not
show mercy so why should we?

tuahaa Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 11:55 pm

Member

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Capital Punishment: Debatabase - Debate Topics and Debate Motions

Isn't punishment supposed to be a deterrent to crime? I believe that capital

punishments for certain crimes such as murder should be allowed. What better price
for taking the life of another? If you say that murderers are "still humans", what about
their victims? Are they just lesser animals that do not deserve proper vengeance?

Perfect_Flaw Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 02:19 pm

Member
Punishing criminals I'm all for, but if you kill someone, and they have kids, they may
grow up to hate the government and try to get back, doing things and creating more
and more violence. And wasn't the whole point of Capital Punishment to stop
violence?? (now, this may or may not have happened before, i'm just making an
argument.)

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