Capital Punishment Pros Essays - Criminology, Penology,

Capital Punishment: Pros The Debate over the merits of capital punishment has endured for years, and continues to be an extremely indecisive and complicated issue. Adversaries of capital punishment point to the Marshalls and the Millgards, while proponents point to the Dahmers and Gacys. Society must be kept safe from the monstrous barbaric acts of these individuals and other killers, by taking away their lives to function and perform in our society. At the same time, we must insure that innocent people such as Marshall and Millgard are never convicted or sentenced to death for a crime that they did not commit. Many contend that the use of capital punishment as a form of deterrence does not work, as there are no fewer murders on a per- capita basis in countries or states that do have it, then those that do not. In order for capital punishment to work as a deterrence, certain events must be present in the criminal's mind prior to committing the offence. The criminal must be aware that others have been punished in the past for the offence that he or she is planning, and that what happened to another individual who committed this offence, can also happen to me. But individuals who commit any types of crime ranging from auto theft to 1st-Degree Murder, never take into account the consequences of their actions. Deterrence to crime, is rooted in the individuals themselves. Every human has a personal set of conduct. How much they will and will not tolerate. How far they will and will not go. This personal set of conduct can be made or be broken by friends, influences, family, home, life, etc. An individual who is never taught some sort of restraint as a child, will probably never understand any limit as to what they can do, until they have learned it themselves. Therefore, capital punishment will never truly work as a deterrent, because of human nature to ignore practised advice and to self learn. There are those who claim that capital punishment is in itself a form of vengeance on the killer. But isn't locking up a human being behind steel bars for many years, vengeance itself? And is it "humane" that an individual who took the life of another, should receive heating, clothing, indoor plumbing, 3 meals a day, while a homeless person who has harmed no one receives nothing? Adversaries of capital punishment claim that it is far more humane then having the state take away the life of the individual. In February 1963, Gary McCorkell, a 19 year old sex offender, was scheduled to hang. But just days before his execution, the then Liberal cabinet of Lester Person commuted McCorkell to life in prison. Less than 20 years later, McCorkell was arrested, tried, and convicted for the kidnapping and rape of a 10-year old Tenessee boy. He was sentanced to 63 years in prison. Prior to leaving Canada, he was sought by Metro Police in the attempted murder of an 11-year old boy. What has been gained by this? Had McCorkell been executed in 1963, two boys would never have had to have gone through the horror of being sexually abused. These individuals may themselves become sex offenders, as many sex offenders were sexually abused as children. McCorkell may have been a victim of sexually assualt in the past, but that does not justify what he did. He did not do this once, he killed two boys, and assaulted two others, leaving one for dead. He knew exactly what he was doing. What right does this man have to live? He has ruined the lives of 4 children, what will he do in life that will compensate for that? What kind of a life would the state have been taking away in this case? An innocent life? A forgiving life? No, a life that was beyond the realm of reform, and did not care to be. We must be careful. We must be very careful to never, even when suspicion may cause considerable doubt, send an innocent person to be executed. It could have happened to David Millgard, it could have happened to Donald Marshall. It probably has even occured numerous times in the history of the earth. But with proper police investigations, and where the evidence shows that the individual is a threat to the peace of society as long as he or she is alive, capital punishment must be used.

10 Olympic Legends Who Found Another Job

10 Olympic Legends Who Found Another Job Wondering what you’ll do if or when one career ends? Ever thought about what it must be like to train your entire life to compete in one event and then have to come up with a second plan when age or injury forces your hand? Here are the second career paths of 10  of the most legendary Olympic athletes for inspiration- or commiseration.Ray EwryRay Ewry was one of those sporting miracles. Told he’d never walk after a childhood polio diagnosis confined him to a wheelchair, he went on not only to recover but to become one of the most successful Olympic athletes in history, participating in three consecutive Olympic games and winning 10  gold medals. His record of eight individual event golds was topped only by Michael Phelps.When Ewry’s athletic career ended (and he didn’t live in an era of lucrative sponsorship deals to keep him rich without having to work), he returned home and worked as an engineer. Some of the projects he worked on included an aqueduct from the Catskills to NYC and naval vessels for WWI.Jim ThorpeJim Thorpe was a dominant force in Track Field in the 1912 Games, but was stripped of his gold medals when news surfaced that he had been paid to play baseball professionally before going to the Olympics.After the Olympics, he served as the first president of the American Professional Football Association, which later became the NFL. Though, his second career derailed after the Great Depression and he never quite righted the boat, living out the rest of his days in poverty.Duke KahanamokuThe Godfather of surfing, Kahanamoku was an Olympic gold and silver medalist in swimming, competing in three different Games. His international tour would go on to bring surfing to the world stage- and would inspire the film â€Å"Duke: A Great Hawaiian.†In addition to this, he had a bit part acting career in Hollywood, plus some extra odd jobs (including being a janitor), and finally the ceremonial position of Sheriff of Honolul u.Paavo Nurmiâ€Å"The Flying Finn† won four golds over the course of as many Games. His second career turned out to be running  a sewing shop in downtown Helsinki. He also went on to be something of a real estate mogul in Helsinki. This path led to a comfortable life†¦even if he did  pass up a chance to buy the property that would later be purchased by Disney for their first theme park in Florida.Eric Liddellâ€Å"The Flying Scotsman† was a deeply Christian man, born to Scottish parents in China. He sat out a 100-meter heat on a Sunday, but went on to get the gold in the 400 the next day. Liddel went back to China after the Games to do missionary work and teaching until he was officially ordained as a minister in 1932. Very sadly, he would lose his life in a Japanese internment camp in 1945, after the war broke out.Johnny WeissmullerSwimmer turned actor and Hollywood heartthrob, Weismuller won five gold medals between the 1924 and 1928 Games. His was another success story of overcoming childhood polio. He would go on to be granted the role of Tarzan in Tarzan the Ape Man and made several other films. His third and fourth careers? Amateur golf and a swimming pool company.Jesse OwensOwens was one of the greatest Track Field athletes of all time. After winning four gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Games, he was blacklisted from amateur competitions. He took work running against unruly racehorses. When asked if that was too degrading for an Olympic champion, he replied, â€Å"People say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can’t eat four gold medals.†Owens went on to run a dry cleaning business, work at a gas station, and, finally, became a U.S. goodwill ambassador.Bob MathiasMathias became a decathlon champion two months after he first tried the sport, and medaled in two consecutive Olympics (even though he’d originally gone for high jumping and shot put). After his Olympic victories, he joined the Marines, becoming a Captain. Later, he would star in a film, serve four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, and be named Deputy Director of the Selective Service.Emil ZatopekKnown as the â€Å"Czwch Locomotive,† Zatopek won the first marathon he ever participated in, at the 1952 Games. He also won the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races. He was a national hero until he fell afoul of his country’s Communist party and had to take dangerous work digging wells, mining uranium, and collecting refuse until he was finally rehabilitated in 1990.Wilma RudolphRudolph was considered the fastest woman alive in the 1960s. She was the first woman to win 3 golds in one Games in 1960. Another childhood polio survivor, she went on to teach second grade at her old school, and to coach track and do the occasional bit of television sports corresponding.