Abolish the Death Penalty essays

Abolish the Death Penalty essays The death penalty is a major issue that brings up a lot of arguments in our society. The most important question concerning the death penalty is whether it should be abolished or not. I think that the death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment. Race, social and economic status, location of crime, and pure chance may be deciding factors in death sentencing. In addition, prosecutors seek the death penalty far more frequently when the victim of the homicide is white than when the victim is black. The actual cost of an execution is substantially higher than the cost of imprisoning a person for life. Death was formerly the penalty for all felonies in English law. In practice the death penalty was never applied as widely as the law provided, as a variety of procedures were adopted to decrease the harshness of the law. Many offenders who committed capital crimes were pardoned, usually on condition that they agreed to be transported to what were then the American colonies; others were allowed what was known as benefit of clergy(Ploski 2). The beginning of benefit of clergy was that offenders who were established priests were subject to trial by the church courts rather than the non-religious courts. If the offender convicted of a felony could show that he had be ordained, he was allowed to go free, subject to the possibility of being punished by the ecclesiastical courts. In medieval times the only proof of ordination was literacy, and it became the custom by the 17th century to allow anyone convicted of a felony to escape the death sentence by In 18th-century England concern with rising crime led to many statutes either extending the number of offenses punishable with death or doing away with benefit of clergy for existing fel...

Robert Fultons Steamboat Clermont

Robert Fulton's Steamboat Clermont Robert Fultons steamboat the Clermont was undoubtedly the pioneer of practical steamboats. In 1801, Robert Fulton partnered with Robert Livingston to build the Clermont. Livingston had received a monopoly on steam navigation on the rivers of New York State for twenty years, provided that he produced a steam-powered vessel able to travel four miles an hour. Construction of the Clermont Robert Fulton arrived at New York in 1806 and began the construction of the Clermont, named after Robert Livingstons estate on the Hudson river. The building was done on the East River in New York City. However, the Clermont was then the butt of jokes of passersby, who nicknamed it Fultons Folly. Launch of the Clermont On Monday, August 17, 1807, the first voyage of the Clermont was begun. Carrying a party of invited guests, the Clermont steamed off at one oclock. Pine wood was the fuel. At one oclock Tuesday the boat arrived at Clermont, 110 miles from New York City. After spending the night at Clermont, the voyage was resumed on Wednesday. Albany, forty miles away, was reached in eight hours, making a record of 150 miles in thirty-two hours. Returning to New York City, the distance was covered in thirty hours. The steamboat Clermont was a success. The boat was then laid up for two weeks while the cabins were built, a roof built over the engine, and coverings placed over the paddle-wheels to catch the water spray. Then the Clermont began making regular trips to Albany, carrying sometimes a hundred passengers, making the round trip every four days and continued until floating ice marked the break for winter. Clermont Builder - Robert Fulton Robert Fulton was one of the most important figures in early American technology. Before his steamboat Clermont first ascended the Hudson River in 1807, he worked for years in England and France on industrial development, especially inland navigation and the cutting of canals, and built a submarine.