An Argument against the Death Penalty as a Method of Punishment for People such as Ted Bundy

The death penalty has been used as a punishment for prisoners who have committed the most heinous of crimes. It has been used in different ways such as electrocution, lethal injection, and/or hanging. There have been many infamous killers who have received such a punishable consequence for their actions. People such as Ted Bundy, Gordon Stewart Northcott, John Wayne Gacy, and Stanley "Tookie" Williams have died because of it. These people notable for committing many horrifying actions will forever be etched in history for what they have done and for how they were punished. The death penalty should be enforced but should have certain criteria that must be met before proceeding.

Many who are opposed of the death penalty have questioned if the death penalty is right. Should we use it? What does killing another human being prove to all the people on the outside of the prison systems? A lot of these questions have been put into place, with many leading to no answers for the normal person to say. Just dying alone is a horrifying thought in the mind of a human being. No one wants to die, so why commit such a petrifying action like this? A lot who have witnessed these infamous people get executed for the simple reason of murder will argue it is the right action to take. Some ask what are we really proving here as a society? In the Bible it states "Thou shall not kill." Some who are people of faith go with committing such action without a care in the world, believing that what they are doing is justifiable, is actually turning their backs on their beliefs. Although we may never know the consequences of killing these criminals, we know the death penalty will be around for years to come just like it always has been.

Some people may ask themselves, what is the death penalty? The death penalty is a horrifying use of punishment by putting a hardened criminal to death for their actions. This is a form of justification for the victim and punishment for the criminal. This method has been in use for quite some time. There have been a number of 43 death penalty killing in North Carolina, where most of them was by lethal injection (Warren). The criminal justice system feels the need to execute these people in order to make the world a safer place to live.

There have been many reasons as to why the death penalty is authorized to another criminal. Usually the reason being is that if a criminal is being put to death as punishment, it is usually for committing murder. It is pretty ironic because they are doing the same exact thing that the criminal has done: murder. The reason the death penalty should be enforced is because if someone is willing to take away an innocent person's life, then they should be willing to accept eventually their life will be taken from them for committing such action. For example, the most infamous serial killer in recent memory to be executed is Ted Bundy. He murdered so many young women within a five year span. He was found guilty of over thirty counts of murder in the first degree. He was put to death by the electric chair on January 24, 1989 at Florida State Prison. In the "Popular Responses to the Execution to the Execution of Ted Bundy", people were actually happy Ted Bundy was executed. "As the white hearse carrying Bundy's body left the prison, death penalty supporters cheered and quickly dispersed." Many people felt that Ted Bundy got what he deserved for all the murders he committed (Saltzman). Some are definitely for the death penalty to be taken place without taking caution, not all of these death penalty executions are justifiable.

However, before they are given the death penalty, there must be concrete evidence for the crime they committed. The reason why is because there have been many incidents of where innocent people were wrongly accused and convicted for crimes they did not commit and put to death, only for them to be found innocent eventually. For example, the saddest and most illogical execution was of young fourteen year old George Junius Stinney Jr. of North Carolina. In 1944, be enforced, only under certain circumstances like having concrete evidence of the crime committed. Not one innocent person deserves to be executed for a crime they did not commit.

Works Cited

• Saltzman, Rachelk H. "This Buzz Is For You": Popular Responses To The Ted Bundy Execution.
• "Journal of Folklore Research 32.2 (1995): 101-119. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
• Warren, Sabian. "Death Penalty Law Changes Aim to Restart NC Executions." Citizen-Times.
• Citizen-Times, 22 Aug. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
• West, Tara. "George Stinney Jr: 14-Year-Old Black Teen Found Innocent Of Murder 70 Years After His Execution." The Inquisitr News. Inquisitr, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

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