The Controversy over the Application of Death Penalty in the United States of America

Abstract

Capital punishment has always been a matter of debate, and it is still a controversial issue in Europe, as well as in the United States. The disagreement over the subject is stronger than any other important political question. Capital punishment in the United States today is an issue of great legal, religious, ethical, political, and economic importance. This work is an attempt to clarify the question of American capital punishment, and explain the elements that create the controversy about the issue in America. Therefore, three major points have been analysed in this paper. 1) The historical background and Judicial position on the Issue of death penalty in the United States. 2) Religious and Ethical aspects of the controversy about death penalty in the United States. 3) Political and Economic causes of death penalty in America. Analysing the historical background of capital punishment in the United States is necessary to understand the actual situation of the puzzled question. It is also important to study the United States death penalty system in specific, as an American phenomenon, and its position in the American constitution throughout the Eighth Amendment. This dissertation also deals with the religious and ethical debates about the issue in America, as well as the political and economic aspects. Emphasis will also be put on the struggle of the Human Rights to abolish capital punishment.