The death penalty is a scare tactic that has been used since the 1800s. It was used as both a punishment and a statement, a statement displaying the consequence of breaking the rules.
The death penalty has evolved from hanging to needles, but the question is does it do the job of deterring individuals to commit murder.
Sophomore business major Ryan Morrow said, “I feel to some degree the death penalty influences individuals not to commit heinous crimes such as murder.”
Morrow opposes the death penalty and believes people should spend the rest of their natural lives thinking about what they have done and suffering for it. He is also of the belief life in prison is much worse than death and criminals who receive the death penalty may be getting the easy way out.
Sophomore sociology major Shevon Hubbard also opposes the death penalty.
“I don’t believe in anyone killing anyone else,” said Hubbard.
Her views are centered around the statement: practice what you preach. Hubbard questions how the government can tell people not to kill but turn around and kill, everyone who does.
Hubbard believes the death penalty does serve as a deterrent for others not to commit the same crime, to a certain extent.
“There are those select few who feel they have no purpose in life or are just crazy and don’t consider the consequences of their actions,” she said.
Freshman social work major Keyona Sims disagrees with the death penalty.
Although she isn’t opposed to the death penalty, she shares the view that capital punishment serves as a good deterrent.
“If someone were to kill a person I care deeply about then I feel that they should die. I do feel like the death penalty is effective in deterring people from committing murder. It’s death, as in the end of life, there is no coming back from that,” said Sims.
She bases her views on the fact that people value life and understand that if they commit murder they risk losing their own life.
There is a mixture of feelings toward the death penalty. Although there is no significant evidence that capital punishment actually deters individuals from committing a crime, the number of death sentences has decreased.