The death Penalty versus Life Without Parole Research Paper

The death Penalty versus Life Without Parole - Research Paper Example 1. Development of capital punishment & life without Parole: Capital punishment or death sentence developed in United States â€Å"as society searched for more humane ways for killing its condemned† & as a substitute of the brutal ways that the society used throughout history to punish the offenders of society (Hess and Orthman 534). It evolved gradually with the â€Å"first electrocution in 1890, the invention of the gas chamber in 1923, the use of a firing squad and the adoption of lethal injections in 1977† (Hess and Orthman 534). Till 2005 â€Å"38 states and the federal government had laws authorizing capital punishment† whereas the minimum age for capital punishment set by 18 states & the federal government following the court’s ruling in Ropper v. Simmons(2005) was 18 (Hess and Orthman 534). Life imprisonment without parole developed in U.S. as a means to portray that the punitive statutory law was strict. As of 1996, 12 states with capital punishmen t had no life without Parole option, 20 six states of U.S. ... Table 1 Life without Parole (LWP) and capital punishment (CP) 1996, of United States (Adapted): States LWP CP State LWP CP Alabama Yes Yes Montana Yes Yes Alaska No No Nebraska Yes Yes Arizona No Yes Nevada Yes Yes Arkansas Yes Yes New Hampshire Yes Yes California Yes Yes New Jersey Yes Yes Colorado No Yes New Mexico No Yes Connecticut Yes Yes New York No Yes States LWP CP State LWP CP Delaware Yes Yes N. Carolina No Yes Florida Yes Yes North Dakota No No Georgia Yes Yes Ohio No Yes Hawaii Yes No Oklahoma Yes Yes Idaho Yes Yes Oregon Yes Yes Illinois Yes Yes Pennsylvania Yes Yes Indiana No Yes Rhode Island Yes No Iowa Yes No S. Carolina Yes Yes Kansus No Yes South Dakota Yes Yes Kentucky No Yes Tennessee No Yes Lousiana Yes Yes Texas No Yes Maine Yes No Utah Yes Yes Source: Keith D. Harries, and Deral Cheatwood, The geography of execution: the capital punishment quagmire in America.(Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997) 110. Print. In the table 1, it can be seen that 34 states out of 38 states accept capital punishment as a means of punishment to its offenders that is 89% (Approx.) of the total no of states. Whereas, in case of life imprisonment without Parole 25 states out of 38 states accept it as a means of punishment, thus amounting to 67% (Approx.) of the total no. of states. Hence, it can be noted that capital punishment had greater acceptance as a means of punishment in comparison to life imprisonment without parole. 3. Differentiation between capital punishment & life imprisonment without parole, as a means of punishment: In case of capital punishment the prisoner is permanently incapacitated from doing any harm to the society, whereas life imprisonment without Parole does not prevent the offenders from harming the inmates of the prison &