Debate - Capital Punishment: Anguments & Rebuttals

This is a debate I did at my school competition. Our team won first place with this!

Just in case anyone needs it... It's interesting to look at, even if you don't need it.

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CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

BACKGROUND

• Definition

- capital: originates from Latin capitalis: regarding the head

- punishment: penalty inflicted for an offense, fault, etc.

∴ capital punishment: killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense

• Forms

  - Hanging

- Electronic chair

- Lethal injection

- Gas chamber

- Single person shooting

- Firing squad

- Beheading

- Guillotine

- Stoning

- Garrote

• Status Quo

 - 58 nations actively practice it

 - 95 countries have abolished it

 - Other countries, including Korea, allow it but it hasn’t been used for over a decade

OPPOSITION

1. Capital punishment is costly

• A few trials and life in prison is cheaper than death sentence trials

 - A study says that capital trial costs $116,700 more than an ordinary murder trial

- In 2008, California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice reported death penalty system was $137 million per year

- According to a study done by the Los Angeles Times, California spends $250 million per execution

- According to the Los Angeles Times, it is $90,000 cheaper to keep a person in the general prison population, or $ 57.5 million annually, than to house him on death row

- Though capital punishment may be costly, it can save lives. If a criminal is released, then he/she can commit another crime. However, if we put the criminal to death, then he/she will not be able to commit any further crimes.

• Is it worth to spend so much on whether or whether not somebody should keep his life?

- It is absolutely worth it if we can save innocent citizens with it.

2. The victim might be wrongly convicted

  • Many innocent people, without any crimes, receive capital punishment

- the errors in eyewitness

- false confessions due to mental problems

- Though these things do occur, this is not the majority. The very small chance of a executing the wrong person is balanced by the benefits to society of deterring murderers. Around 7 to 8 murders were prevented by each execution from 1933 to 1967, according to a study done by Isaac Ehrlich. Also, in England, an average of four murders is reduced per execution.

• Timothy Evan’s Death

- was hanged after being accused of killing his wife and their daughter

- years after his death, John Christie was found guilty for Evan’s wife and daughter’s death and Evan was granted a posthumous pardon

- This is an exception, and cases like this rarely occur, because of the advanced science and technology that the police use nowadays.

• Results

- Innocent lives destroyed

- Family and friends affected

- This rarely happens. Also, if we do not allow capital punishment, a few lives are saved, while if we allow capital punishment, many more innocent citizens can be saved.

• The other way: prison

- Victims proven innocent can be released with an apology and compensation (still won’t be same BUT people will at least have the rest of their lives to enjoy)

- This rarely happens.

3. Capital punishment is inhumane

• Humane: characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, esp. for the suffering or distressed (dictionary.com)

- Capital punishment is the act of killing; it is not compassionate or tender

- Others should not become inhumane for those who have made inhumane actions (another wrong-doing will only make things worse)

- Prison can be seen as more inhumane, because being stuck in prison for years can be mentally damaging. If you commit a huge crime worthy of capital punishment but are sentenced to life in prison without parole, you will never again see daylight. Compared to this, a swift death can be considered a mercy.

4. Capital punishment has a possibility of being unjust

• Lack of money

 - Many people, who were poor, got the death sentence, because they weren’t able to hire good lawyers

 - According to www.innocentproject.org in some cases lawyers have slept during the trails of those who hired them, didn’t ask any experts on laws, or didn’t even show up. Thanks to them, many people lost their lives

• Members of minority races

 - In Harris Country, only 18% of the population is black. However, 73.3% of the people who were executed, because of the crimes they had committed when they were teenagers, were black and 13.3% were white

5. Capital punishment violates human rights

• In many democratic countries, including Korea, it is declared that all humans have the same rights

• Killing is violating human rights because all humans have the equal rights; no one can take away the lives of others

• Second paragraph of the American Declaration of Independence which says that no human can be in control of human life

GOVERNMENT

1. Incapacitation of the criminal

• Capital punishment permanently removes criminals from society

- dead criminals cannot commit any more crimes (obviously.)

     - Murdering mass amounts of criminals is not the best way to decrease murder. Yes, maybe some dangerous criminals will be gone, but it will plant the thought that murder is something that is common and not take it seriously.

• much safer for the innocent citizens

- no chance that the criminal will be sent back into society and left to commit more crimes

- Each execution deters an average of 18 murders, according to a 2003 nationwide study by professors at Emory University

- no one knows whether or whether not the criminal will make problems in society if he is forgiven and “only” receives “light” punishment (jail, fine)

2. Justice

• In any case, justice must be kept

 - Justice is what keeps the society in order, so that normal, innocent citizens can live peacefully

• Death penalties are a form of justice

 - if someone commits a crime, they must pay accordingly

- capital punishment ensures that a criminal can never harm another person again, and they pay the price for their wrong deeds

- if criminals are not punished well enough, this violates justice

- Yes, if you look at it harshly, it is fair to be treated how you treat others. However, that is against the things our society teaches. We teach that you should not mistreat others, even though they might have mistreated you. If someone punches you, do not punch them back. It might seem unfair but it is the right way. That is what they teach you in preschool, even before you actually start school! But if you go against that, that is being hypocritical.

3. Retribution

• Pain of victims & their families

- family and friends of victims will have to live with not only the pain of losing a loved one, but they must recognize that the person responsible for their loss and pain still lives, while the victim does not

  • Government responsibility

- While what constitutes an offense punishable by death differs around the globe, there is still one constant between these offenses: someone is harmed. If the criminal who harmed you was still living without any problems, while you are forced to live with enormous mental and physical injuries, you would be infuriated.

- Capital punishment may be the only way to bring peace of mind to the victim and the victim’s families, and bringing peace of mind to the victims may be the only consolation that the legal system can provide.

- True, it may calm down their sorrow and fury. However, it will not actually bring them anything back. Their loved one will not come back alive. Instead, they will share their sorrow and fury with another bunch of people; the criminal’s family and friends.

4. Humane

  • More humane than years stuck in prison

   - if sentence to life without parole, the criminal will never see daylight again

   - huge amount of mental stress and depression

   - long, intense level of suffering may be more inhumane – capital punishment can be considered a mercy compared to this

5. Rightful Punishment

• Punishment needs to be as severe as crime

 - capital punishment shows regard for human life

- because murder, the taking of an innocent life, is the most terrible crime there is, and anything less than death penalty is an insult to the victim

 - if the criminal deserves it, then capital punishment should be done

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Speech - Unicef

This is a speech about UNICEF that I did at my school last year... We were supposed to write a speech about a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and I picked UNICEF.

It's not very long, but I think it was pretty okay. Here it goes...

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UNICEF. I’m sure everyone has heard of UNICEF at least once. UNICEF stands for United Nations Children’s Fund. This is a shortened version of the original name, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

This is the UNICEF logo. It shows an adult holding up a child, and there is a globe in the background. The adult and the child symbolize protection and care for children, and the globe means that UNICEF gives help to countries all around the globe.

UNICEF was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. Its original purpose was to help children in countries that had been torn apart by World War II. Later, in 1953, UNICEF became a permaenent part of the United Nations System, and received its new shortened name, United Nations Children’s Fund. The headquarters of UNICEF are located in New York City. For years, UNICEF has been helping children and mothers in developing countries who need education and health care.

UNICEF does many things to help children. It protects children from violence, and it provides free education for both boys and girls so that they can have a good start in life. Also, it promotes health by ensuring that every child recieves health care. UNICEF believes that good care for children is extremely important in making human progress. Millions of children all over the world have been given a new, better life, thanks to UNICEF’s help.

UNICEF received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 26^th, 1965. As I have already explained, UNICEF has worked hard for the safety and health of children, and through their work, they have created a global partnership which includes hundreds of countries, organizations, and people. This promotion of better life for children without distinction of race, religion, or gender, and creation of a bond among nations was seen to be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, which is the reason UNICEF received the prize.

UNICEF has a huge effect on various parts of the world, and it has influenced many lives. Over 120 governments and 6 million individuals support and contribute to UNICEF’s work for children, and over 100 countries are receiving aid from UNICEF. If UNICEF grows until it is able to provide aid for all the children in the world, perhaps a day will come when UNICEF is no longer needed.

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Second History Presentation - Handout

This is my handout from my second history presentation (about Achilles). I like this handout a lot... :)

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Achilles – Sophia Lee

I. Introduction

• Name: Achilles

• Position: Leader of the Myrmidons

• From Phthia in Thessaly

• whole story of The Iliad is about Achilles’ anger and revenge

• famous for “Achilles’ heel”

II. Events that Happen to Achilles

• fights with Agamemnon

• insulted by Agamemnon, withdraws his army

• Patroclus leads Achilles’ army back into battle

• Patroclus killed in battle by Hector

• Achilles becomes angry, seeks out Hector and kills him

• Book ends with Hector’s funeral

III. Physical Characteristics

• Probably handsome, strong and skillful warrior

• only weakness is heel – “Achilles’ Heel”: only but crucial weakness (idiom)

IV. Personality

• Inspires fear and respect in others, presence boosts the Greeks’ courage

• Easy to annoy, Obstinate

• When angry, becomes unstoppable – could even change fate

V. Family and Friends

• Father: mortal Peleus

• Mother: sea-nymph Thetis

• War Prize(girl): Briseis

• Closest friend: Patroclus

VI. Death

• Many predictions in the book about Achilles’ short life and death

• Will die under Trojan walls

• Even Patroclus and Thetis predict his early death

VII. Athene

• Goddess of war, wisdom, and the arts and crafts, “Pallas Athene”/”Grey-eyed Athene”

• Always with Achilles, protecting him

Source: Translated by E. V. Rieu. The Iliad by Homer: Penguin Classics, 2003



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