Death Penalty

Post date: Nov 03, 2017 5:19:46 PM

Should We Have The Death Penalty?

by David Zhang and Elvin Li

    The Death Penalty, also known as the Capital Punishment, is a government approved practice where a prisoner that committed a serious and fatal crime is put to death by 1 of 5 different methods. Listing from the most to least common*, they are:

• Lethal Injection (33+ states)

• Electrocution (9 states)

• Gas Chamber (6 states)

• Hanging (3 states)

• Firing Squad (3 states)

*Some states use multiple methods

Lethal Injection Bed

    Lethal injection is the main approach in capital punishment. It involves the drugs of sodium thiopental, which puts people to sleep, pancuronium bromide, which causes muscles to contract and stay there, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart from beating, and kills someone within a matter of minutes.

    Electrocution uses the electric chair. It is the method of shocking the body with many volts (electromotive force). First, test Ol’ Sparky (an electric chair).  Second, place an electrode, or electrical conductor, on his/her head, legs, and wrists. Third, they pull the lever, and 2,000 volts of electricity flow into the body, killing them.

    Gas Chamber is a rare type of execution. Gases used in chambers include hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. It fills up the gas chamber, suffocates the prisoner, and kills him/her.

    Hanging is another form of execution. The criminal stands on a platform with a trap door and a noose tied around their neck. When the floor drops, gravity pulls the person down, choking and/or snapping the neck of the prisoner. This is very rare these days, but was very common back in the old days, where criminals always rampaged, and they didn’t have guns.

    A firing squad is now the rarest form of execution. It consists of 5 rifle marksmen with 4 bolt-action rifles that have blanks, along with 1 bolt-action rifle that has the actual bullet. No one wants to shoot the lethal shot, so the reason they have the blanks is so no one will know who fired the lethal shot that would kill the prisoner.

    “I think it is wrong to execute people because everyone has the right to live.” -  

There is much debate over the existence of the death penalty and if it should be used. Supporters argue that since the suspect killed innocent people, the suspect should also be killed for doing that; an eye for an eye. It guarantees that the prisoner would never kill anyone again. Opposers argue that there may be a chance of executing the wrong person and that everyone deserves to live. They also say that executing people is barbaric. Religious people argue that only God could take a life away. But we can’t control what they think and do with their opinions.